Basis and procedures for establishing industrial property rights in Vietnam according to Decree 65/2023/ND-CP

Basis and procedures for establishing industrial property rights in Vietnam according to Decree 65/2023/ND-CP (Internet image)

Regarding this issue, LawNet answers as follows:

The Government issued Decree 65/2023/ND-CP dated August 23, 2023, guiding the Law on Intellectual Property on industrial property, protection of industrial property rights, rights to plant varieties, and state management of intellectual property.

Basis and procedures for establishing industrial property rights in Vietnam according to Decree 65/2023/ND-CP

According to Article 10 of Decree 65/2023/ND-CP, the grounds and procedures for establishing industrial property rights are prescribed as follows:

- Industrial property rights to inventions, layout designs, industrial designs, trademarks, and geographical indications are established based on the decision of the state management agency on industrial property rights, granting protection titles to applicants for registration of those objects according to the provisions of Chapter VII, Chapter VIII, and Chapter IX of the Intellectual Property Law and Appendix I of Decree 65/2023/ND-CP.

Industrial property rights for internationally registered trademarks under the Madrid Agreement and Madrid Protocol are established on the basis of acceptance of protection by the state management agency on industrial property rights for that international registration.

Industrial property rights to industrial designs registered internationally under the Hague Agreement are established on the basis of acceptance of protection by the state management agency on industrial property rights for that international registration.

- Industrial property rights to famous trademarks are established on the basis of the widespread practice of using that trademark according to the provisions of Article 75 of the Law on Intellectual Property without the need to carry out registration procedures. When using rights and resolving disputes over rights to a famous trademark, the owner of that trademark must prove his or her rights with evidence as prescribed in Point c, Clause 5, Article 91 of Decree 65/2023/ND-CP.

- Industrial property rights to trade names are established on the basis of the practice of lawfully using the trade name corresponding to the area (territory) and business field without the need to carry out registration procedures.

When using rights and resolving disputes over rights to trade names, the entity with the trade name must prove its rights with evidence as prescribed in Point b, Clause 5, Article 91 of Decree 65/2023/ND-CP.

- Industrial property rights to business secrets are established on the basis of financial, intellectual investment, or any other legal means to discover, create, or obtain information and keep confidential the information constituting that business secret without the need to carry out registration procedures.

When using rights and resolving disputes over rights to business secrets, the owner of the business secret must prove his or her rights with evidence as prescribed in Point a, Clause 5, Article 91 of Decree 65/2023/ND-CP.

- The right to combat unfair competition is established on the basis of practical competition activities without the need to carry out registration procedures at the state management agency on industrial property rights.

When using the right to combat unfair competition, the subject must prove its right with evidence showing the subject, field, territory, and business period related to competitive activities.

Methods to calculate the term in industrial property activities in Vietnam according to Decree 65/2023/ND-CP

The term for industrial property activities is calculated as follows:

(1) The calculation of term in industrial property activities is carried out according to the provisions on term of the Civil Code.

(2) The time limit for the applicant and related parties to submit, amend, supplement documents, or provide comments may be extended once by the established deadline in the notice of the state management agency on industrial property rights, provided that the extension requester must submit a written request for extension before the end of the fixed period and pay the extension request fee according to the law.

(3) Not including in the time limit the occurrence of force majeure events or objective obstacles that prevent organizations and individuals with rights and obligations from being able to exercise their rights and obligations within the time limit if the organization or individual requests it and has valid evidence to prove that situation.

If the request is accepted, the state management agency on industrial property rights issues decisions and notices to revoke decisions and notices issued on the grounds that organizations and individuals do not exercise their rights and obligations on time and restore the application processing to the state it was in before the deadline expired.

(4) A force majeure event is an objective event that cannot be predicted.

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