All legal regulations on inventions follow Vietnamese law

1. What is an invention? 

According to the provisions of Clause 12, Article 4 IP Law An invention is: a technical solution in the form of a product or process that aims to solve a defined problem by applying natural laws.

Inventions are also one of the subjects protected by intellectual property rights in Vietnam according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 3. IP Law.

The owner of an invention, after registering and being granted a patent protection certificate by the National Office of Intellectual Property, will be protected by law when there is any infringement of patent rights.

2. Subjects are entitled to apply for patent protection

Article 86 IP Law stipulates that the following organizations and individuals have the right to register inventions, including:

- Authors create inventions, industrial designs, and layout designs with their own efforts and expenses;

- Organizations and individuals invest funds and material facilities for authors in the form of job assignment or hiring, unless the parties have otherwise agreed and that agreement is not contrary to the provisions of IP law.

In cases where many organizations and individuals jointly create or invest in creating an invention, industrial design, or layout design, those organizations and individuals have the right to register and that right to registration can only be granted. implemented if all organizations and individuals agree.

The person with the right to register as prescribed above has the right to transfer the right to register to another organization or individual in the form of a written contract, to inherit or inherit according to the provisions of law, including cases where submit application.

3. Conditions for registration of invention and patent protection

According to the provisions of Article 58 IP Law Regulations on general conditions for protected inventions are as follows:

– Is new;

– Have a creative level;

– Capable of industrial application.

In particular, the "newness" of the invention is considered the most important factor. “Novelty” means that any product that wants to be patented but has been disclosed before the time of filing is considered no longer novel and cannot be registered. Therefore, before putting the product into circulation on the market or in the media, the owner needs to file a patent application to ensure novelty and meet protection conditions.

4. Patent registration procedures

The procedure for posting a patent is carried out through the following steps:

Step 1: Look up the patent before applying

Step 2: Prepare documents for patent registration

Step 3: Submit application to the Intellectual Property Department

Step 4: Appraise the patent application at the Intellectual Property Office

Step 5: Receive patent registration certificate

5. Patent protection registration dossier

– Declaration (application) for registration of invention protection according to the general form (02 copies drafted and signed by the application owner or the person authorized by the application owner);

– The invention description includes 03 parts: description; request patent protection; drawings/diagrams (if any);

– Summary of registered invention;

– Fee voucher when filing a patent application.

In addition to the above documents, in case the application owner uses the patent registration service of a service organization, he or she will need an Authorization to Register.

6. Where to apply for patent protection

The only agency in Vietnam that receives patent registration applications, reviews them and grants patent protection certificates is the Vietnam Intellectual Property Office.

(Address: No. 386 Nguyen Trai Street, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi City).

In addition to the headquarters in Hanoi, the Intellectual Property Office also has 02 representative offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang.

The owner of the patent registration can choose to submit the patent application at one of the above addresses by submitting it in person or by mail.

For foreign organizations/individuals/companies that do not have a representative office in Vietnam, when conducting patent registration procedures, they must authorize an Intellectual Property Representative Organization to submit the application. sign.

7. Term of patent protection

According to the provisions of Clause 4, Article 93 IP Law, the protection period of a patent is 20 years from the date of filing.