Industrial Designs

According to Articles 61, 66, and 67 of the Intellectual Property Law, protection conditions for industrial design are provided as follows: Novelty The standard for determining novelty of industrial design is based on universal novelty. To be considered to be new, an industrial design must not significantly differ from other industrial designs that have already disclosed to the public, anywhere in the world, by publication in tangible form, by oral disclosure, by use or in any other ways, prior to the filing date or, where appropriate, the priority date of the relevant design application. Article 66.4 of the Intellectual Property... Read More

Specification The specification must include the following sections in order: Title of the design: the title of the design identifies the article in which the design is embodied by the name generally known and used by the public; Classification: international classification code under the Locarno Agreement in the form of a class number and subclass separated by a dash; Field of application: a statement of the nature or intended use of the article in which the design is embodied; Known relevant industrial designs: stating designs at least different from the claimed industrial design; Brief description of the figure or figures... Read More

The costs of obtaining a patent for industrial design depend on factors such as the number of alternatives of the industrial design, the number of drawings/photographs, the convention priority rights claimed and objections raised during the examination by the NOIP. Payment for the costs can be made at the time of filing and granting. Application fees including fees for filing, claiming priority right (if any), publication, conducting search and substantive examination are often paid on the filing date. Granting fees including fees for granting patent, registration and publication of industrial design are paid upon being invited by the NOIP in... Read More

Industrial design applications may be filed at the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam (NOIP) directly or by mail. The filed applications will be subjected to the examination process as the following chart shows. Examination on filing The Receiving Division examines whether the industrial design application satisfies the requirements on the documentation and the application fees have been paid. If the application meets all the requirements on filing, a date of filing and an application number will be assigned. Examination as to form The filed application will be then examined as to form within one month. The NOIP examines... Read More

OPPOSITION After the publication date of the industrial design application and before the granting date, any third person may give notice of opposition to the NOIP concerning the grant or refusal of the grant of patent. Notice of opposition must be filed in a written reasoned statement accompanied by adequate evidence for the opposition. The opposer must pay the prescribed opposition fees. APPEAL The applicant may appeal against any decisions by which the NOIP accords a filing date, treats the application as if it had not been filed, considers a declaration claiming priority right not to have been made, rejects... Read More

SURRENDER A patent for industrial design may be surrendered in line with the Vietnamese industrial design law under the following circumstances: The industrial design holder submits a written declaration of abandonment to the NOIP; The term has not been extended; The industrial design holder no longer existed, and no lawful successor is found. Surrender of industrial designs will be recorded and published in the Industrial Property Gazette, Volume B of the NOIP. CANCELLATION During the term of a patent for industrial design, the patent may be canceled upon request by any interested person. The person requesting the cancellation must prove... Read More

The contracts must be in writing and must be signed by the parties to the contract. An assignment contract includes at least the following contents: The full names and addresses of the contracting parties; Identification of all industrial designs; Term of payment including price; Obligations and rights of the contracting parties. There are three types of licenses, namely exclusive, non-exclusive and sub-license. The content of license contract at least includes: The full names and addresses of the contracting parties; Identification of all industrial designs; Type of license; Scope of license, in particular, the territorial limits and the rights of use;... Read More