Organizations and individuals that have their rights to plant varieties protected are organizations or individuals that select, breed or discover and develop plant varieties, or invest in the work of selecting, creating, or discovering and developing plant varieties, or are permitted by law. transfer of rights to plant varieties.
Organizations and individuals specified in Clause 1 of this Article include Vietnamese organizations and individuals; foreign organizations and individuals belonging to countries that have signed agreements with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on plant variety protection; foreign organizations and individuals that have permanent residence addresses in Vietnam or have establishments producing and trading plant varieties in Vietnam.

Protected plant variety means a plant variety that has been selected, created or discovered and developed, on the List of plant species protected by the State promulgated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, with novelty and distinctiveness, uniformity, stability and proper name.

A plant variety is considered novel if the propagating material or the harvested product of such plant variety has not been sold or distributed by the person having the right to registration specified in Article 164 of the IP Law or his/her authorized person. by other means for the purpose of exploiting plant varieties in the territory of Vietnam one year before the date of application for registration or outside of the territory of Vietnam six years before the date of application for registration, for plant varieties of woody and vine species , four years for other cultivars.

A plant variety is considered distinctive if it is clearly distinguishable from other plant varieties that are widely known at the time of application or priority date if the application enjoys priority.

The widely known plant variety specified in Clause 1 of this Article is a plant variety falling into one of the following cases:

A plant variety for which the propagating material or by-products of such variety have been widely used on the market in any country at the time of filing of the application for protection;
The plant variety has been protected or registered in the List of Plant Species in any country;
The plant variety is the subject of an application for protection or is registered in the List of Plant Species in any country, provided these applications are not refused;
Plant variety for which a detailed description of the variety has been published.

A plant variety is considered to be homogenous if there is an equal expression of the relevant traits, except for deviations within the allowable range for some specific traits during the propagation process.

A plant variety is considered to be stable if the relevant characteristics of the plant variety keep the same expression as originally described, and do not change after each propagation season or after each propagation cycle for a period of time. case of cyclic reproduction.

The registrant must propose a suitable name for the plant variety with the same name as the name registered in any country when applying for protection.

A cultivar name is considered appropriate if it is readily distinguishable from the name of other widely known cultivars of the same or similar species.

The name of the plant variety is not considered appropriate in the following cases:

Include only numerals, except where the number relates to that characteristic or to the formation of the variety;
Violation of social ethics;
It is easy to cause misunderstanding about the characteristics and characteristics of that variety;
Easily misleading the author’s identity;
Identical or confusingly similar to trademarks, trade names or geographical indications that were protected before the date of publication of the application for registration of plant variety protection;
Identical or similar to the name of the product harvested from the same plant variety;
Affecting the pre-existing rights of other organizations and individuals.

Organizations and individuals that offer for sale or put on the market propagating materials of plant varieties must use the name of the plant variety as stated in the protection title, even after the end of the protection term.

When the name of a plant variety is combined with a trademark, trade name or indications similar to the name of a plant variety that has been registered for sale or put on the market, such name must still be recognizable, easily.

In order to be protected for rights to plant varieties, organizations and individuals must submit a protection registration application to the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties.

Organizations and individuals that have the right to register for plant variety protection (hereinafter referred to as registrants) include:

Authors directly choose to create or discover and develop plant varieties with their own efforts and expenses;
Organizations and individuals that invest in the breeders to select, create, or discover and develop plant varieties in the form of job assignment or hiring, unless otherwise agreed upon;
Organizations and individuals may transfer, inherit or inherit the right to register for plant variety protection.

If a plant variety is selected, created or discovered and developed using the state budget or from a project managed by the State, the right to such plant variety belongs to the State. The Government shall specify the registration of rights to plant varieties specified in this Clause.

Vietnamese organizations and individuals, foreign organizations and individuals with permanent residence addresses in Vietnam or with establishments producing and trading plant varieties in Vietnam shall submit applications for registration of rights to plant varieties (hereinafter referred to as: this is called a protection application) directly or through a legal representative in Vietnam.
Foreign organizations and individuals that do not have a permanent address in Vietnam or do not have a plant variety production or business establishment in Vietnam shall apply for protection registration through a legal representative in Vietnam.

In case two or more people independently file a protection registration application on different days for the same plant variety, the plant variety protection certificate can only be granted to the earliest valid registrant.
In case many applications for protection of the same plant variety are filed on the same day, the plant variety protection certificate can only be granted to the person who files a single application under the agreement of all. subscribers; If the registrants cannot reach an agreement, the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties will consider and grant a plant variety protection certificate on the basis of determining that the first person has chosen to create or discovered and developed a plant variety protection certificate, grow that plant.

The registrant has the right to claim the right of priority if the application for protection is filed within twelve months from the date of filing the application for protection of the same plant variety in the country which has concluded with the Republic of China. Socialist Republic of Vietnam agreement on plant variety protection. The first filing date does not count towards this deadline.
In order to enjoy priority, the registrant must show the claim for priority in the protection application. Within three months at the latest from the date of filing the registration application, the registrant must provide copies of the documents on the first application certified by the competent authority and samples or other evidence confirming the similarity of the application. Plants in two applications are one and must pay a fee. The registrant has the right to provide necessary information, documents or materials to the state management agency in charge of plant variety rights for appraisal according to the provisions of Articles 176 and 178 of the IP Law within two years. after the expiration of the priority period or within a suitable time depending on the species of the plant variety in the application, after the first application is rejected or withdrawn.
When a protection registration application enjoys priority, the priority date is the first filing date.
Within the time limit specified in Clause 1, Article 167 of the Intellectual Property Law, the filing of another application or the publication or use of a plant variety that is the subject of the first application shall not be considered a ground for refusal of a protection registration application priority.

A plant variety protection certificate shall record the name of the plant variety and species, the name of the owner of the rights to the plant variety (hereinafter referred to as the protection certificate holder), the name of the breeder of the plant variety and the term of protection of the rights to the plant variety. type of tree.
The state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties shall record the grant of a protection certificate and the content of the protection title into the National Register of protected plant varieties and keep such information.

A plant variety protection certificate may be suspended in the following cases: a) The protected plant variety no longer meets the conditions of uniformity and stability as at the time of grant of the certificate; ) The protection certificate holder fails to pay the validity maintenance fee as prescribed; c) The protection certificate holder fails to provide necessary documents and propagation materials to maintain and store the plant variety as prescribed; d) The protection certificate holder does not change the name of the plant variety at the request of the state management agency in charge of the rights to the plant variety. In the cases specified at points a, c and d, the state management agency on the rights to plant varieties shall issue a decision to suspend the validity of the plant variety protection certificate. In the case specified at point b, upon the expiration of the time limit for paying the validity maintenance fee, the state management agency in charge of rights for plant varieties, a decision to suspend the validity of a plant variety protection certificate is issued from the first day of the next effective year, but the validity maintenance fee is not paid. In the case specified at Point a, all organizations and individuals have the right to request the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties to suspend the validity of the plant variety protection certificate.Based on the review results of the application for termination of validity of the plant variety protection certificate and the opinions of relevant parties, the state management agency in charge of plant variety rights issues a notice of refusal to suspend the validity of the plant variety protection certificate. protection title or issue a decision to suspend the validity of the protection title.In cases where the plant variety protection certificate is suspended, the state management agency in charge of plant variety rights shall publish a notice in a specialized journal, clearly stating the reason for the suspension, and at the same time send a notice. for the owner of the insurance. Within thirty days from the date of notification, the protection title holder has the right to submit an application to remedy the reasons for the suspension to the state management agency in charge of plant variety rights and pay the fee. to restore the validity of the plant variety protection certificate. Within ninety days from the filing date of the application, the protection title holder must remedy the reasons for the suspension for the cases specified at Points b, c and d above. The state management agency in charge of plant variety rights considers restoring the validity of the protection certificate and announcing it in specialized journals.

In the case specified at point a, the validity of a plant variety protection certificate will be restored after the owner proves that the variety has met the conditions for uniformity and stability and is approved by the management agency. the state on the rights to certified plant varieties.

A plant variety protection certificate is invalidated in the following cases:
The application for registration of plant variety protection is in the name of a person who does not have the right to registration, except where the right to a plant variety is transferred to the person having the right to registration;
The protected plant variety does not satisfy the conditions of novelty or distinctiveness at the time of granting the plant variety protection certificate;
The plant variety does not satisfy the  conditions for uniformity or stability in the case where a Plant Variety Protection Certificate is granted based on the results of a technical test performed by the registrant.Within the validity period of a plant variety protection certificate, all organizations and individuals have the right to request the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties to cancel the validity of the plant variety protection certificate.Based on the results of the review of the application for invalidation of the plant variety protection certificate and the opinions of the concerned parties, the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties shall issue a notice of refusal to cancel or issue a decision to invalidate the plant variety protection certificate.

In the event that a plant variety protection certificate is cancelled, all transactions arising on the basis of the plant variety granted such protection will be invalidated. The handling of invalid transactions shall comply with the provisions of the Civil Code.

The protection certificate holder has the right to request the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties to change or correct errors related to the name and address of the protection certificate holder, provided that he/she has to pay fees and charges. In case these errors are caused by the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties, the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties must correct them, and the protection certificate holder is not required to pay fees. , fees.
The protection certificate holder has the right to request the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties to re-issue the plant variety protection certificate in case of loss or damage, provided that fees and charges must be paid.

The decision on the grant, re-grant, suspension, cancellation or modification of a plant variety protection certificate published by the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties published in a specialized journal on plant varieties within a period of time. sixty days from the date of issue of the decision.

The application for protection registration includes the following documents:
The registration declaration form according to the prescribed form;
Photograph, technical declaration according to the prescribed form;
Power of attorney, if the application is filed through a representative;
Documents proving the right to register, if the registrant is the person to whom the right to register is transferred;
Documents proving the right of priority, if the application has a claim for priority right;
Proof of payment of fees and charges.The protection registration application and transaction documents between the registrant and the state management agency in charge of plant variety rights must be made in Vietnamese, except for the following documents which may be made in another language but must be translated into Vietnamese when requested by the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties:Power of Attorney;
Documents proving the right to register;
Documents proving the right of priority;
Other documents to support the application.Documents evidencing the priority right of an application for protection of rights to a plant variety include:A copy of the first application or applications certified by the application-receiving agency;
Paper of transfer, inheritance or inheritance of priority right, if such right is inherited from another person.

Each application can only be registered for protection of one plant variety.

A protection registration application will only be received by the state management agency in charge of plant variety rights when it has all the documents specified above.
The filing date is the date the application is received by the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties.

The state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties shall examine the application form within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the application to determine the validity of the application. The protection registration application is considered invalid. in the following cases: a) The application does not meet the formal requirements as prescribed; b) The plant variety stated in the application is not a plant species named in the List of protected plant species; c) An application filed by a person who does not have the right to register, even where the right to registration belongs to many organizations or individuals, but one or more of them do not agree to make the registration. State management agency in charge of rights for plant varieties carry out the following procedures:
Notice of refusal to accept the application for the cases specified at Points b and c above, clearly stating the reasons for refusal;
Notify the registrant to correct the shortcomings in the case specified at point a above and fix within thirty days from the date of receipt of the notice, the registrant must remedy such deficiencies;
A notice of refusal to accept the application, if the registrant fails to correct errors or has no reasonable objection to the notice specified at Point b of this Clause;
Notify acceptance of the application, request the registrant to send the variety sample to the testing establishment for technical testing and carry out the procedures specified in Article 178 of this Law if the application is valid or the registrant corrects deficiencies. fail to meet the requirements or have reasonable objections to the notice as prescribed.

In case the application is accepted as valid, the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties shall publish the valid application in a specialized journal on plant varieties within ninety days from the date on which the application is accepted. .
Contents of application announcement include application number, filing date, representative (if any), registrant, owner, name of plant variety, name of plant species, date the application is accepted as a valid application.

The state management agency in charge of plant variety rights conducts substantive examination of the accepted application as valid. Evaluation content includes:
Evaluation of novelty and appropriate names of plant varieties;
Evaluation of technical test results for plant varieties.Technical testing is the conduct of experiments to determine the distinctness, uniformity and stability of plant varieties.

The technical testing shall be conducted by competent state agencies or organizations and individuals capable of conducting plant variety testing according to regulations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties can use the results of the technical testing already available.

The time limit for appraising technical testing results is ninety days from the date of receiving technical testing results.

Before the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties issues a notice of refusal to grant a plant variety protection certificate or a decision to grant a plant variety protection certificate, the registrant has the following rights:
To amend and supplement the application but must not change the nature of the protection registration application;
Request to record changes in the name and address of the registrant;
Request to record change of registrant due to transfer of application under contract or inheritance;The requester to carry out the procedures for amending and supplementing the application must pay fees and charges.

From the date on which the application for protection of a plant variety is published in a specialized journal on plant varieties until the date on which the decision on grant of a plant variety protection certificate is issued, any third party has the right to have an opinion on the matter. the grant of plant variety protection certificates with the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties. Opinions must be made in writing and accompanied by supporting documents and evidences.

The protection registration application is refused to grant a plant variety protection certificate in case the plant variety fails to satisfy the conditions specified in Articles 176 and 178 of the IP Law. In case of refusal to grant a plant variety protection certificate, the state management agency in charge of plant variety rights shall carry out the following procedures: 1. Notice of intention to refuse to grant a plant variety protection certificate, clearly stating the reason and setting a time limit for the registrant to correct deficiencies or make objections to the intended refusal; 2. Notice of refusal to grant a plant variety protection certificate if the registrant cannot remedy the shortcomings and has no reasonable objection to the intended refusal specified in Clause 1 of this Article; 3. To carry out the procedures specified in Article 183 of this Law, if the registrant can remedy the shortcomings or make a valid objection to the intended refusal specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

In case the protection registration application is not refused according to the provisions of Article 182 of the IP Law and the registrant pays the fee, the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties shall decide to grant the plant variety protection certificate. planted and recorded in the National Register of protected plant varieties.

The registrant and any third party have the right to appeal the decision to grant or refuse to grant a plant variety protection certificate.2. The settlement of complaints about decisions on grant or refusal to grant plant variety protection certificates shall comply with the provisions of the law on complaints and denunciations.

The breeder of a plant variety has the following rights:
To be named as the author in the Plant Variety Protection Certificate, the National Register of Protected Plant Varieties and in the published documents on the plant variety;
To receive remuneration according to the provisions of Point a, Clause 1, Article 191 of this Law.

The protection title holder has the right to use or permit others to use the following rights in relation to the propagating materials of the protected variety:
Production or breeding;
Processing for propagation purposes;
Offer;
Sell or perform other go-to-market activities;
Export;
Import;
Keeping it to perform the acts specified at Points a, b, c, d, dd and e clause of this.Prohibiting others from using the plant variety as prescribed in  Article  188 of the Intellectual Property Law.

To inherit and inherit rights to plant varieties and to transfer rights to plant varieties according to the provisions of Chapter XV of the Intellectual Property Law.

The rights of the patent holder are extended to the following plant varieties: 1. Plant varieties are derived from protected plant varieties, except for cases where the protected plant variety is derived from another protected plant variety. Plant varieties are considered to have originated from protected varieties. if the plant variety retains expression of the principal traits obtained from the genotype or combination of genotypes of the protected variety, except for differences resulting from manipulation of the protected variety. household; 2. The plant variety is not clearly different from the protected plant variety; 3. A plant variety whose production requires the repeated use of a protected plant variety.

The following acts shall be regarded as infringements of rights of a protection certificate holder:

1. 1. Exploiting or using rights of such protection certificate holder without his/her permission;
   2. Using a plant variety denomination which is identical or similar to a denomination protected for a plant variety of the same species or a species closely linked to the protected plant variety.
   3. Using a protected plant variety without paying the remuneration according to the provisions of Article 189 of this Law.

The rights of the patent holder are extended to the following plant varieties: 1. Plant varieties are derived from protected plant varieties, except for cases where the protected plant variety is derived from another protected plant variety. Plant varieties are considered to have originated from protected varieties. if the plant variety retains expression of the principal traits obtained from the genotype or combination of genotypes of the protected variety, except for differences resulting from manipulation of the protected variety. household; 2. The plant variety is not clearly different from the protected plant variety; 3. A plant variety whose production requires the repeated use of a protected plant variety.

The protection certificate holder has the following obligations:
To pay remuneration to the breeder of the plant variety as agreed; in case there is no agreement, the level of remuneration must comply with the provisions of law;
Pay the fee for maintaining the validity of the plant variety protection certificate according to regulations;
Keeping protected plant varieties, providing propagating materials of protected plant varieties to state management agencies in charge of rights to plant varieties, and maintaining stability of protected plant varieties according to the provisions of law. regulations.
The breeder of a plant variety is obliged to assist the holder of the protection certificate in maintaining the propagating material of the protected plant variety.

Licensing of a plant variety means the permission of the protection certificate holder for another person to conduct one or several acts of his/her right to use the plant variety.

Where the right to use a plant variety is under co-ownership, the licensing of such plant variety to another person must be consented by all co-owners.

The licensing of a plant variety must be effected in the form of a written contract.

A plant variety licensing contract must not contain terms which unreasonably restrict rights of the licensee, particularly restrictions neither deriving from nor aimed at protecting rights of the licensor to the licensed plant variety.

The licensor has the right to allow or not allow the licensee to transfer the use right back to a third party.2. The licensee has the following rights:
Transfer the right of use to a third party, if so permitted by the licensor;
To request the licensor to take appropriate necessary measures to combat the infringing acts of third parties causing damage to them;
Take necessary measures to prevent infringements by third parties, if within three months from the date of receipt of the request of the licensor, the necessary measures are not taken in accordance with the provisions of law. appropriate to protect against third-party infringements.

Assignment of rights to a plant variety means the transfer by the plant variety protection certificate holder of all rights to such plant variety to the assignee. The assignee shall become the plant variety protection certificate holder from the date of registration of the assignment contract with the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties according to procedures specified by law.

Where rights to a plant variety are under joint ownership, the assignment of such rights to another person must be consented by all co-owners.

The assignment of rights to a plant variety must be effected in the form of written contract.  

A layout-design shall be protected when it satisfies the following conditions:

1. 1. Being original;
   2. Being commercially novel.

The following subject matters shall not be protected as layout-designs:

1. 1. Principles, processes, systems or methods operated by semiconductor integrated circuits;
   2. Information or software contained in semiconductor integrated circuits.

1. A layout-design shall be considered original if it satisfies the following conditions:

a/ Being result of its author’s creative labor;

b/ Having not been widely known among creators of layout-designs or manufacturers of semiconductor integrated circuits at the time of its creation.

2. A layout-design that is a combination of elements and common interconnections shall be considered to be original only if such combination, taken as a whole, is original according to the provisions of Clause 1 of this Article.

• A layout-design shall be considered commercially novel if it has not yet been commercially exploited anywhere in the world prior to the filing date of the registration application.
• A layout-design shall not be considered having lost its commercial novelty if the layout-design registration application is filed within 2 years from the date it was commercially exploited for the first time anywhere in the world by the person who has the right to register it defined in Article 86 of this Law or his/her licensee.
• Commercial exploitation of a layout-design mentioned in Clause 2 of this Article means any act of public distribution for commercial purposes of a semiconductor integrated circuit produced by incorporation of such layout-design, or a commodity containing such semiconductor integrated circuit.

Documents, samples and information identifying a layout-design  registered for protection in a layout-design registration application include:

1. Drawings and photos of the layout-design;
2. Information on functions and structure of semiconductor integrated circuits produced under the layout-design;
3. Samples of semiconductor integrated circuits produced under the layout-design, if such layout-design has been commercially exploited.

A layout design registration application is published in a form allowing direct search at the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights, but may not be copied; for confidential information in an application, only competent agencies and related parties in the process of carrying out procedures for invalidation of protection titles or carrying out procedures for handling acts of infringement of rights. only allowed to search.

Basic information on layout design registration applications and layout design protection titles shall be published within two months from the date of grant of protection titles.

An application for registration of a layout design shall be refused to grant a protection title in case it fails to satisfy the requirements on form as prescribed in Article 109 of the Intellectual Property Law.

A layout design registration application that does not fall into the cases of refusal to grant a protection title and the applicant pays a fee shall be granted a protection title by the NOIP and recorded in the National Register of Public Property.

The registration certificate for semiconductor integrated circuit layout design is valid from the date of issue and terminates on the earliest of the following dates:

End of ten years from the date of application;
End of ten years from the date on which the layout design is first commercially exploited by the person having the right to registration or by the person authorized by him or her anywhere in the world;
The end of fifteen years from the date of creation of the layout design.

Copy layout design; manufacture semiconductor integrated circuits according to protected layout designs;
Sell, rent, advertise, offer, or possess copies of layout-designs, layout-design semiconductor integrated circuits, or goods containing layout-manufactured semiconductor integrated circuits protection;
Importing copies of layout designs, semiconductor integrated circuits manufactured according to layout designs or goods containing semiconductor integrated circuits manufactured according to protected layout designs.

For layout designs that have been commercially exploited by the person with the right to registration or by the person authorized by him/her before the date of issue of the Certificate of registration of layout design of semiconductor integrated circuits, if the person having the right to registration knows that that layout design is being used by another person for commercial purposes, that person has the right to notify in writing of his/her registration right to such layout design to the user so that he/she can terminate the use of such layout design. Use layout design or continue to use.
In case the notified person continues to use the layout design after being notified, when the Certificate of registration for layout design of a semiconductor integrated circuit is issued, the layout design owner has the right to claim demand that the person who has used the layout design pay a compensation equivalent to the price of transferring the right to use the layout design within the respective scope and term of use.

The following acts are considered to infringe upon the rights of layout design owners:
Using the protected layout design or any original part thereof during the validity of the protection title without the permission of the owner;
Using the layout design without paying compensation according to the provisions on temporary rights specified in the Intellectual Property Law.

The owner of a layout design is obliged to pay remuneration to the author, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.
The minimum remuneration that the owner must pay to the author is prescribed as follows:– 10% of the profit earned by the owner from using the layout design;– 15% of the total amount received by the owner in each payment due to the transfer of the right to use the layout design.

In the case of layout designs created by multiple authors, the remuneration is the same as for all co-authors; The co-authors themselves agree on the division of the remuneration paid by the owner.
The obligation to compensate the author of the layout design exists throughout the term of protection of the layout design.

Registration form for layout design, typed (according to the NOIP’s form);
Set of drawings and photos of layout design;
Information on functions and structures of semiconductor integrated circuits manufactured according to layout design;
Model of a semiconductor integrated circuit manufactured according to a layout design, if the layout design has been commercially exploited.

From the date of receipt by the National Office of Intellectual Property, the layout design registration application shall be considered in the following order: Formal examination: 01 month The layout design registration application is not subject to substantive examination. : within 2 months from the date on which the layout design registration application has a decision on acceptance of the valid application, the layout design registration application is published in the form of allowing direct search at the state management agency on industrial property rights that may not be copied; for confidential information in an application, only competent agencies and related parties in the process of carrying out procedures for invalidation of protection titles or carrying out procedures for handling acts of infringement of rights. Only search is allowed. Basic information on layout design registration applications and layout design protection titles shall be published within two months from the date of grant of protection titles.