Vietnam: Detailed procedures for industrial design registration

Vietnam: Detailed procedures for industrial design registration (Illustration)

1. Components of the application for industrial design registration in Vietnam

The applicant should prepare the application, including:

- Industrial Design Registration Application Form: 02 copies;

- Set of photographs or drawings: 04 sets;- Description: 01 copy;- Power of Attorney (in case of submission through a representative);

- Documents proving the right to register if the applicant enjoys the right to register from another person;

- Documents proving priority rights, if claiming priority rights;

- Copy of the fee and charge payment receipt (in case of payment via postal services or directly into the account of the Intellectual Property Office).

2. Methods of submitting the application for industrial design registration

The applicant can choose one of two submission methods as follows:

- Directly submit 01 application at the headquarters of the Intellectual Property Office in Hanoi or 02 representative offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang;

- Submit via postal services.

3. Fees for industrial design registration

According to Circular 263/2016/TT-BTC, the fees for industrial design registration are as follows:

- Application fee: 150,000 VND per application;

- Fee for examination of priority claim: 600,000 VND per request;

- Fee for publication of the application: 120,000 VND per illustration (from the second illustration onward: 60,000 VND per illustration);- Examination fee: 700,000 VND per solution;

- International classification fee for industrial designs: 100,000 VND per classification group;

- Information search fee for examination: 120,000 VND per solution;

- patent issuance fee: 120,000 VND per solution (from the second solution onward: 100,000 VND per solution);

- Publication fee for the Decision on issuance of patent: 120,000 VND per illustration (from the second illustration onward: 60,000 VND);

- Registration fee for the Decision on issuance of patent: 120,000 VND.

4. Procedures for industrial design registration

Formal assessment: The competent authority examines the compliance with the formal requirements of the application and issues a decision on acceptance of the valid application or rejection:

- For a valid application, the Intellectual Property Office issues a decision on acceptance of the valid application;

- For an invalid application, the Intellectual Property Office issues a notice of intended rejection stating specific reasons and shortcomings that may lead to the rejection, setting a 2-month deadline for the applicant to give opinions or rectify the shortcomings. If the applicant fails to rectify or the rectification is insufficient, or opposition opinions are not reasonable, the Intellectual Property Office will issue a decision to reject the application.

Publication of the application: After the decision on acceptance of the valid application, the application will be published in the Industrial Property Gazette.

Substantive assessment: The evaluation of the protectability of the design mentioned in the application based on protection conditions (novelty, creativity, industrial applicability), thereby determining the corresponding protection scope.

Issuance of the decision to issue or refusal of the issuance of the Industrial Design Patent:

- If the design in the application does not meet the protection requirements, the Intellectual Property Office issues a decision to refuse to issue the patent;

- If the design in the application meets the protection requirements and the applicant pays all fees and charges on time, the Intellectual Property Office issues a decision to issue the Industrial Design Patent, records it in the National Register of Industrial Designs, publishes it in the Industrial Property Gazette, and issues the Industrial Design Patent.

5. Time limit for processing the application for industrial design registration in Vietnam

- Formal assessment within 01 month from the application filing date;

- Publication of the application within 02 months from the date of acceptance of a valid application;

- Substantive assessment within no more than 07 months from the date of publication of the application.

6. Eligibility requirements for the industrial design registration in Vietnam

- The author creates the industrial design with their own effort and expense

- Organizations or individuals invest funds and resources for the author under the form of work assignment or contract, unless otherwise agreed by the parties in accordance with the law.

- If multiple organizations or individuals jointly create or invest in the industrial design creation, all have the right to register and such registration is only performed with the consent of all parties.

- In cases where the industrial design is created using resources or funds from the state:

+ For designs created entirely with state investment, the state has the right to register the design. State organizations or agencies assigned as the investor's representative must represent the state in registering the design;

+ For designs created with partial state investment, a portion of the right to register corresponding to the investment ratio belongs to the state. State organizations or agencies managing the state investment must represent the state in registering the design;

+ For designs created under research cooperation between state organizations or agencies and others, absent specific agreements, a portion of the registration right corresponding to the state’s contribution belongs to the state. Representing the state in registering such rights is the responsibility of state organizations or agencies involved in the cooperation.

Note: The entitled party may transfer the registration right to other organizations or individuals through written contracts, inheritance, or other legal actions, even after the application has been filed.

Le Vy

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