Procedures for division of applications for registration of industrial property in Vietnam

Procedures for division of applications for registration of industrial property in Vietnam (Internet image)

Regarding this issue, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

Procedures for separating industrial property registration applications are prescribed in Decision 2060/QD-BKHCN 2023 announcing new, abolished administrative procedures in the field of intellectual property within the scope of management functions of the Ministry of Science and Technology, specifically as follows:

1. Application for division of applications for registration of industrial property in Vietnam

- Document components include:

+ Declaration for registration of inventions, industrial designs, and trademarks according to Form No. 01, 07, 08, Appendix I, Decree 65/2023/ND-CP;

+ Explanation of the subject matter requested for protection and the content of changes compared to the original application when filing a split application;

+ Power of attorney (if applying through a representative);

+ Copy of fee payment voucher (in case of payment of fees and charges via postal service or direct payment to the Intellectual Property Department's account).

- Methods of submission of application:

+ Submit online via the Administrative Procedures Information System of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

+ Directly or via postal service to the headquarters of the National Office of Intellectual Property in Hanoi or 2 representative offices of the Department in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang.

2. Procedures for division of applications for registration of industrial property in Vietnam

- Step 1: Receive application

Organizations and individuals submit 01 set of documents requesting the separation of industrial property registration applications to the National Office of Intellectual Property.

- Step 2: Processing the application

+ The split application is given a new application number and is given the filing date of the original application or the priority date(s) of the original application.

+ In case the application has no errors, the split application is assessed by the National Office of Intellectual Property for form and continues to be processed according to the procedures not yet completed for the original application. The split application will be re-published if the split application is made after there has been a notice of acceptance of a valid application for the original application. The original application (after being split) continues to be processed according to the application processing procedure or according to the application amendment procedure.

+ In case the application has errors or is invalid, the National Office of Intellectual Property will issue a notice of intention to refuse to accept the division of the application, clearly stating the reasons for the requester to correct the errors or object. If the requester does not correct the errors, the correction is unsatisfactory, there is no objection, or the objection is not valid, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall issue a notice refusing to accept the request to split the application.

3. Requirements for division of applications for registration of industrial property in Vietnam

Before the National Office of Intellectual Property issues a decision to refuse to accept an application or to grant or refuse to grant a protection title, the applicant can separate the application (separate one or several technical solutions in the patent application, one or several industrial designs in the industrial design application, or part of the list of goods and services in the trademark registration application from one or more new applications).

4. General requirements applicable to applications for registration of industrial property in Vietnam

- An industrial property registration application shall contain the following documents:

+ Declaration for registration, made on the stipulated form;

+ Documents, samples and information identifying the industrial property object registered for protection as specified in articles 102 to 106 inclusive of this Law on Intellectual Property 2005;

+ Power of attorney, if the application is filed through a representative;

+ Documents evidencing the registration right, if such right is acquired by the applicant from another person;

+ Documents evidencing the priority right, if such right is claimed;

+ Documents describing the origin of the genetic resource or traditional knowledge about the genetic resource, applicable to inventions that are directly derived from the genetic resource or traditional knowledge about the genetic resource;

+ Receipt for payment of fees and charges.

- Industrial property registration applications and source documents of transactions between an applicant and the State administrative body for industrial property rights shall be made in Vietnamese, except for the following documents which may be made in another language but shall be translated into Vietnamese at the request of the State administrative body for industrial property rights:

+ Power of attorney;

+ Documents evidencing the registration right;

+ Documents evidencing the priority right;

+ Other documents supporting the application.

- Documents evidencing the priority right in an industrial property registration application shall include:

+ A copy of the first application(s) certified by the receiving office;

+ Deed of assignment of priority right if such right is acquired from another person.

(Article 100 of Law on Intellectual Property 2005, amended by Clause 32, Article 1 of Law on Intellectual Property 2022)

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