Regulations on registration for patent protection in Vietnam

In Vietnam, intellectual property protection is becoming increasingly important as the country continues to strengthen its economy and participate more actively in the international community. However, in order to obtain a patent in Vietnam, the applicants have to meet a number of specific regulations and requirements. This article aims to provide a comprehensive guide to the registration for patent protection in Vietnam: “Regulations on registration for patent protection in Vietnam”

Legal ground

• Law on Intellectual Property

Regulations on Invention

According to Clause 12, Article 4 of the Law on Intellectual Property of Vietnam, an invention means a technical solution in form of a product or a process that is intended to solve a problem by application of laws of nature.
Also, inventions are subjected to industrial property (Clause 2, Article 3 of the Law on Intellectual Property). The inventors or patent owners, after registering and being granted a patent by the NOIP (National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam), will be protected by law when there is any infringement of their patent rights.

Persons enjoying the right to register inventions

Article 86 of the Law on Intellectual Property stipulates that the following organizations and individuals have the right to register inventions:

• Authors who have created inventions with their own efforts and expenses.
• Organizations or individuals who have supplied funds and material facilities to authors in the form of job assignment or hiring unless otherwise agreed by the involved parties whose agreements are not contrary to the provisions provided by the government in regard to the right to register inventions, industrial designs, and layout designs created by using material and technical facilities and funds from the state budget. 

In the case of more than one organization or individual having jointly created or invested in the creation of an invention, these organizations or individuals shall all have the registration right, which shall only be exercised with their consensus. 

A person who has the registration right may assign that right to other organizations or individuals in the form of a written contract, bequeathal, or inheritance in accordance with the provisions of the law, including cases where a registration application has been filed. 

General conditions for inventions eligible for protection

For each type of patent, there will be specific conditions depending on the nature of the invention. However, Article 58 of the Law on Intellectual Property of Vietnam provides for the general conditions:

1. An invention shall be protected by mode of grant of invention patent when it satisfies the following conditions: 

• Being novel.
• Involving an inventive step.
• Being susceptible of industrial application. 

2. Unless it is a common knowledge, an invention shall be protected by mode of grant of utility solution patent when it satisfies the following conditions: 

• Being novel.
• Being susceptible of industrial application.

Novelty of inventions

• An invention shall be considered novel if it has not yet been publicly disclosed through use or by means of a written description or any other form, inside or outside the country, before the filing date or the priority date, as applicable, of the invention registration application. 
• An invention shall be considered having not yet been publicly disclosed if it is known to only a limited number of persons who are obliged to keep it secret.  
• An invention shall not be deemed to have lost its novelty if it is publicly disclosed by a person entitled to registration or by a person who obtains information about the invention directly or indirectly, provided that the patent application is filed in Vietnam within twelve months from the date of disclosure.
• The provisions of Clause 3 also apply to inventions disclosed in an industrial property registration application or an industrial property protection title published by the state management agency in charge of industrial property in case the publication is not in accordance with the provisions of law or the application is filed by a person who does not have the right to register.

Inventive step and applicability of industrial application of inventions

• An invention shall be considered involving an inventive step if, based on technical solutions already publicly disclosed through use or by means of a written description or any other form, inside or outside the country, prior to the filing date or the priority date, as applicable, of the invention registration application, it constitutes inventive progress and cannot be easily created by a person with average knowledge in the art. 
• Note that, a technical solution that is an invention published under Clauses 3 and 4, Article 60 (Stated in clauses 3 and 4 of the above section “Novelty of inventions) of the Law on Intellectual Property) may not be used as a basis for assessing the inventive level of such invention.
• An invention shall be considered applicable to the industrial application if it is possible to realize mass manufacture or production of products or repeated application of the process that is the subject matter of the invention and to achieve stable results. 

Patent registration procedure

Step 1: Apply for invention registration
Submit the application in person or by post to the NOIP’s headquarters in Hanoi or representative offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang.
Step 2: Verify the application form
The office checks the compliance of the form, thereby concluding the validity of the form to decide to accept the valid application /refuse to accept the application.

• If valid, the NOIP shall issue a decision to accept the valid application.
• If invalid, the NOIP shall issue a notice refusing to accept the application with the reasons and omissions that cause the application to be rejected and setting a time limit of 2 months for the applicant to make comments or correct the omission. In case failing to correct the omissions/unsatisfactorily corrects the omissions/has no objections/unwarranted objections, the NOIP shall issue a decision to refuse the application.
  Step 3: Publish the application
  After having the decision to accept the application, it will be published in the Industrial Property Official Gazette.
  Step 4: Verify the content of the application
• Conducted when having a request for the content appraisal;
• Assess the ability to be protected of the object stated in the application under conditions (newness, inventive level, industrial applicability), thereby determining the corresponding scope of protection.
  Step 5: Issue a decision to grant/refuse to grant a protection title
• In case the object stated in the application fails to satisfy the requirements for protection, the NOIP shall issue a decision to refuse to grant a protection title.
• In case the object stated in the application satisfies the requirements for protection, and the applicant fully and timely pays fees, the NOIP shall issue a decision to grant a protection title and record it in the National Register of Inventions and publish it in the Industrial Property Official Gazette.

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Frequently asked questions

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