Vietnam’s Amended Intellectual Property Law: Key Changes Effective 1 April 2026

Introduction
Vietnam’s Law Amending the Intellectual Property Law (the “Amending IP Law”), together with its guiding regulations including Circular 10/2026/TT-BKHCN, came into effect on 1 April 2026. This is among the most substantial revisions to Vietnam’s intellectual property framework in recent years, spanning patent, industrial design, copyright, plant variety rights, and enforcement.

The reforms are driven by five principal objectives:
• Support the creation and commercialisation of IP assets to promote innovation;
• Streamline administrative procedures and accelerate examination timelines to facilitate IP rights establishment;
• Strengthen the effectiveness of IP rights enforcement;
• Ensure full compliance with Vietnam’s international IP commitments; and
• Update Vietnam’s IP regime to better align with emerging international trends.

The following summarises the most notable amendments across general provisions and specific IP subject matters.
Notable Amendments
General Matters
• IP rights as transaction assets (first in Vietnam): IP rights holders may now use their IP rights in civil, commercial, and investment transactions — including as capital contributions or collateral for loans — in accordance with applicable law. This marks the first explicit legislative recognition of IP as a transactional and financing asset in Vietnam.
• New exception for AI training and text & data mining: A new IP infringement exception permits the use of lawfully published, publicly accessible texts and data for scientific research, testing, and AI training purposes, provided such use does not unreasonably harm the rights and interests of IP owners.
• Conflict of rights: Where multiple IP rights arise or are established over the same object, the later-arising or later-registered right shall be terminated if its exercise conflicts with the normal exploitation of the earlier right. The court has authority to decide on such termination.
• Digital transformation in IP administration: The Amending IP Law promotes digitisation in IP activities, including online filing, digital enforcement platforms, and valuation of IP rights in transactions.
• Power of Attorney (POA) — industrial property matters:
◦ Where a POA does not specify a validity period, its duration is governed by the Civil Code: either one year from the effective date or until the specific authorised task is completed.
◦ Circular 10/2026/TT-BKHCN clarifies that a POA stating it “remains valid until formally revoked in writing or replaced by another POA” will be treated as having a time-limited duration consistent with the Amending IP Law.
◦ POAs for appeal procedures are no longer required to be notarised or certified.
• Streamlined examination and accelerated timelines:
◦ The Decision on Formality Acceptance is abolished. Upon passing formality examination, applications will be directly published without a separate acceptance decision.
◦ Legal grounds are introduced for requesting accelerated substantive examination for inventions, utility solutions, and trademarks.
◦ Publication period reduced from two months to one month.
◦ Opposition periods reduced: from 9 to 6 months (or 3 months under accelerated examination) for inventions/utility solutions; from 4 to 3 months for industrial designs; and from 5 to 3 months for trademarks.
◦ Examination periods reduced: from 18 to 12 months for inventions/utility solutions; from 7 to 5 months for industrial designs; from 9 to 5 months for trademarks; and from 6 to 5 months for geographical indications.
◦ Response period to substantive examination reduced from 3 to 2 months for industrial designs and trademarks.
◦ Period for paying grant fees reduced from 3 to 2 months.
• Additional grounds for refusal and invalidation:
◦ Applications for inventions/utility solutions, industrial designs, or integrated circuit layout designs may be refused or invalidated if the named authors are not natural persons.
◦ Failure to comply with the first-to-file principle is added as a ground for invalidation of industrial design patents and trademark certificates (previously applicable only to inventions/utility solutions).
Patent
• Foreign filing licence — relaxed requirements: Vietnam no longer requires applicants to file domestically first as a condition for the foreign filing licence. Additionally, the scope of inventions subject to security control has been narrowed to those on the list of state secrets. These changes represent a significant liberalisation of Vietnam’s foreign filing requirements.
• Reduced deadline for requesting substantive examination: The period for filing a request for substantive examination of invention applications is shortened from 42 to 36 months.
• Compulsory licence compensation: Compensation benchmarks for compulsory licences under agreement are removed. Compensation will now be determined on a case-by-case basis as a reasonable amount reflecting the economic value of the rights, in accordance with Government regulations.
• Transfer of authority for compulsory licences: The authority to grant compulsory licences in certain circumstances is transferred from the Ministry of Science and Technology to the Provincial People’s Committee.
• Accelerated examination using foreign examination results: The Amending IP Law clarifies that results from national or regional IP offices designated as competent search and preliminary examination authorities under the PCT Treaty may be used as the basis for accelerated substantive examination.
Industrial Design
• Partial designs protected (first in Vietnam): Vietnam now extends protection to partial designs — that is, the design of component parts that are inseparable from a complete product — as well as industrial designs of non-physical products. Infringement provisions are correspondingly updated to cover acts relating to these newly protected partial designs.
• Expanded novelty grace period: The 6-month novelty grace period is expanded. Novelty is preserved where a design is publicly disclosed by the person entitled to file or by a person who obtained information on the design directly or indirectly from such person. The grace period also covers cases of mistaken publication by competent authorities, or where an application is filed by a person ineligible to do so.
Copyright
• New categories excluded from copyright protection: Ideas, slogans, and stand-alone work titles are expressly excluded from copyright protection.
• Ex officio invalidation of copyright registration certificates: A new mechanism allows competent authorities to invalidate certificates of copyright or related rights registration on their own motion, without requiring a third-party request.
• New exception for AI training and text & data mining: Consistent with the general exception described above, copyright is subject to an exception allowing use of lawfully published, publicly accessible texts and data for scientific research, testing, and AI training purposes. This exception is subject to the following cumulative conditions:
◦ Texts and data are subject to copyright and related rights protection to be used must be published legally;
◦ The content is accessed through lawful conduct and from a lawful source;
◦ No technological protection measures implemented by the rights holder are circumvented;
◦ The use is not for commercial purposes;
◦ The use does not conflict with the normal exploitation of the protected content and does not unreasonably infringe the legitimate interests of authors, performers, or rights owners; and
◦ The AI output does not replace the normal market for the relevant copyright and related rights, nor create unfair competition in respect of their exploitation.
Plant Variety Protection
• New deadline for commencing technical testing: Where applicants independently conduct technical testing, the test must commence within 24 months of the date the application is accepted following formality examination. Failure to meet this deadline will result in the application being deemed withdrawn. This new provision aims to reduce delays caused by previously unclear timelines under the former regulations.
Enforcement
• Extended liability of intermediary service providers (ISPs) and owners of digital platforms: ISP liability is extended beyond copyright to cover all IP rights. The definition of ISP is broadened to encompass digital platform operators, in addition to internet and telecommunications service providers. Digital platform owners are now specifically required to implement measures to protect IP rights in cyberspace in accordance with IP, e-commerce, cybersecurity, and related laws.
• Court-ordered destruction of counterfeit goods: Courts are empowered to order the destruction of counterfeit and pirated goods, except in specific cases stipulated by the Government. Courts may also order destruction or non-commercial distribution or use of raw materials, materials, and means used to produce counterfeit and pirated goods, provided this does not prejudice the IP right holder’s ability to exploit their rights.
• New remedies against online infringement: Courts may apply remedies (removal, hiding, or disabling of access) or interim measures (removal or temporary disabling of access) against infringing information, user accounts, websites, applications, or internet identifiers.
• Increased statutory damages:
◦ Maximum statutory damages for material losses (where actual loss cannot be determined) increased from VND 500 million to VND 1 billion.
◦ Moral damages range increased from VND 5–50 million to 10–100 times the State base salary (VND 25.3 million to VND 253 million, effective from 1 July 2026).
• Storage of counterfeit goods as infringement: The act of storing counterfeit goods is explicitly added as an act of infringement.
• Administrative sanctions for unfair competition: Unfair competition acts relating to IP rights are expressly confirmed to be subject to administrative sanctions.

Practical Takeaways for IP Practitioners and rights holders
The following action points are particularly relevant for IP practitioners and rights holders operating in Vietnam:

1. Review Power of Attorney arrangements. Existing POAs without an explicit validity period should be reviewed against the new Civil Code-based duration rules and Circular 10/2026/TT-BKHCN guidance.
2. Update filing and prosecution dockets. The revised examination and opposition timelines are shorter across all major IP categories. Docketing systems should be updated promptly to avoid missed deadlines. The shortened deadline for requesting substantive examination from 42 to 36 months should be noted for PCT applications entering Vietnamese national phase, awaiting official confirmation from IP Vietnam on applicable application date.
3. Consider accelerated examination. Applicants with commercially urgent patent or trademark needs should evaluate whether requests for accelerated substantive examination — now with an explicit legal basis — are appropriate for their portfolios.
4. Document AI and text & data mining activities. Organisations using AI for research or training should ensure their workflows satisfy all cumulative conditions of the new exception, particularly regarding lawful access, non-commercial use, and non-displacement of the rights holder’s market relating to copyright and related rights.
5. Reconsider IP valuation and financing structures. The recognition of IP rights as eligible for capital contribution and collateral opens new structured financing options. Rights holders should consider whether IP assets can be leveraged more actively in corporate transactions.
6. Consider partial design protection. The rights holder should consider design protection for component parts that are inseparable from a complete product — as well as industrial designs of non-physical products that are now available for the first time in Vietnam.
7. Strengthen online enforcement strategies. The expanded ISP/platform liability framework and new court remedies for online infringement provide stronger tools against digital counterfeiting and piracy. Enforcement strategies should be updated to take advantage of these mechanisms, including targeted actions against infringing accounts, websites, and applications.
8. Revisit enforcement budgets in light of higher damages caps. The doubling of maximum statutory damages for material losses (to VND 1 billion) and the restructured moral damages scale may influence settlement positions and litigation strategy for IP disputes.

Conclusion
The Amending IP Law and its guiding regulations represent a significant step in modernising Vietnam’s intellectual property framework — bringing it into closer alignment with international standards, reducing administrative burden, and providing stronger tools for IP creation, commercialisation, and enforcement. Practitioners and rights holders should review their existing IP portfolios and procedures promptly to take full advantage of the new provisions and to ensure compliance with the revised timelines and requirements.

This newsletter provides a general update and does not constitute specific legal advice. For further information, please contact: hanoi@duongtran.vn