Overview of the legal framework

Vietnam’s IP legal framework is characterised by a single, consolidated statute covering patents, trade marks, industrial designs, copyright, geographical indications and plant variety protection.
Key laws and regulations include:

• Law on Intellectual Property (first adopted in 2005, amended in 2022);

• Decree No. 65/2023/NĐ-CP detailing and guiding the implementation of the IP Law;

• Copyright provisions contained in the Law on Intellectual Property;

• Rules on unfair competition and technology transfer (Competition and Technology Transfer Regulations).

The competent authority is the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (IP Vietnam), which is under the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST).
Vietnam is a member of WIPO, the PCT, the Madrid System (Madrid Protocol), the Paris Convention and the TRIPS Agreement.

International filings and examination in Vietnam

• Language requirements: all documents must be in Vietnamese; documents in other languages must be accompanied by a Vietnamese translation;

• Representation: foreign applicants must file through a registered IP agent in Vietnam;

• Digitalisation in progress: some online filing is available, but paper originals may still be required for verification;

• Active international cooperation: participates in ASEAN IP and WIPO digitalisation projects, and in PPH programmes with offices such as Japan and Korea.

Key features of the trade mark system

Filing routes

• Applications may be filed directly with IP Vietnam;

• or Vietnam may be designated via the Madrid System (Madrid Protocol).

Classification standard

• Uses the Nice Classification;

• Each class must be covered by a separate application; multi-class filings are not available.

Examination procedure

• Formal examination: around 1 month;

• Substantive examination: around 9–12 months;

• Publication period: 2 months, during which oppositions may be filed.

Use and renewal

• Registration term: 10 years, renewable indefinitely;

• Non-use for a continuous period of 5 years may result in revocation.

Examination characteristics

• Particular focus on distinctiveness, similarity of device marks and similarity in translation;

• Foreign-language marks must be accompanied by a Vietnamese translation of the mark.

Patent system

Types of protection and term

• Invention patents: 20 years from the filing date;

• Utility solutions: 10 years from the filing date.

Examination system

• A request for substantive examination must be filed within 42 months from the filing date (36 months for utility solutions);

• The average examination period is about 18–24 months.

International routes

• Vietnam is a PCT Contracting State;

• Applicants may enter the Vietnamese national phase via the PCT international phase.

Key features

• Inventions must meet the requirements of novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability;

• The language of proceedings is Vietnamese, and foreign applicants must act through a local patent agent.

Industrial design protection

Legal basis

• Articles 63–75 of the Law on Intellectual Property and the relevant implementing regulations.

Scope of protection

• The external appearance of a product, including shape, patterns, colours, ornamentation and their combinations;

• Applicable to industrial and handicraft products.

Term of protection

• 5 years from the filing date, renewable twice, up to a maximum of 15 years.

Key features

• Examination period of about 6–9 months;

• Strict novelty requirements;

• Multiple related designs may be combined in a single application where permitted.