Register Invention in Vietnam

Invention means a technical solution in the form of a product or process which is intended to solve a problem by application of natural laws. Each invention is the result of a serious, painstaking work-study process by the inventor. However, right of industrial property shall only be established by the registration procedure, and the scope of protection is defined in the patent. Therefore, without prior registration at governmental competent authorities, right of industrial property could be violated.

 

Register invention in Vietnam

With highly professional staff and great experience in IP aspect, ANT Lawyers would like to support you in registering patent in Vietnam as follow:

Required information

Title of invention/ utility solution;

Name, address and nationality of the applicant (s);

Name, address and nationality of the investor (s);

Information of priority document: Nation, number of applications and dossiers for priority right;

International dossiers/ or publication (if any).

Document

For dossiers applied as national application

01 original Power of Attorney – POA (No need for notarization). The Copy of POA shall be accepted for filling but the original shall be submitted within 03 months since the date of filling.

02 copies of an invention description. An invention description must consist of the section of invention description and the invention protection coverage;

02 Drawings, photos or description (if any);

01 notarized copy of document to prove prior right (only for dossiers have prior right under the Paris Convention). The document shall be submitted within 03 months since the date of filling.

For dossiers applied as PCT application.

03 English declaration for registration originating in Vietnam

02 copies of an invention description (including images, if any);

02 written request of protection;

Related documents (if any);

Dossiers can be submitted at National Office of Intellectual property or International Office or sent via post office.

ANT Lawyers -  A Law firm in Vietnam is supported by a team of experienced patent, trademark, design attorneys with qualification and skills handling full range of legal services relating to intellectual property rights in Vietnam. We have specialized in the preparation and registration of patents, trademarks and designs for our clients.

 

 

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How do I get a patent for a website/app idea?

You can’t patent an idea. Patents are for tangible inventions, so you need to have an invention to be granted a patent. An invention can be a product, a machine, a process or a method for doing something; but, an idea is not an invention. That is not to say that you can’t get a patent, you just can’t get a patent on your whole idea. You need to define what it is you are seeking a patent to protect.

Patent Consultant in Vietnam

So your first step is to determine if you have an invention. If you do have an invention, it still must meet certain requirements to receive patent protection. It needs to be new and not simply an obvious improvement. The “state of the art” will be examined to make sure that the claimed invention is not already in the public domain and that it is more than an obvious improvement on what currently makes up the state of the art. The invention also needs to be useful. The idea behind a patent is that as a society we want to incentivize innovation that provides value to society by granting inventors very strong patent protection. So, in order to get the patent protection, you need to show that your invention has a use to society.

Now, those are the basic requirements, but how do you actually get a patent? Well, you will want to hire a patent attorney to help you with the application process because it can be tricky. You will file an application with the US Patent and Trademark Office. For that application, you will need to persuade the PTO that your invention is worthy of a patent and to do that you will need to gather evidence that will prove that you invention meets all patent requirements.

Generally, patents provide the most protection of all intellectual property rights and therefore are also generally the hardest to acquire. But, an experienced patent attorney will know how to navigate the process and will be able to advise you about your best options.

Source: Quora

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How do you patent your startup idea?

You can’t patent an idea, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a patent on some part of your startup. A patent is for an invention but it doesn't necessarily have to be a product, it can be a process or a method of doing something or it can be an improvement on an existing product, process, or method. The first thing is that you need to determine whether you have an “invention” that can be patented.

Register patent in Vietnam

Along with the proper subject matter above, the invention also needs to be new and non-obvious. An invention that is already in the public domain or has already been patented will not be granted a patent. It also needs to be more than an obvious improvement. The standard is determined by looking at the prior art of the subject area and determining whether the claimed invention is simply an obvious improvement on what was already in the public domain. If the claimed invention is only an obvious improvement, it will not be granted a patent. You will also need to prove that your claimed invention is useful.

Whether you meet the requirements will be determined by the USPTO through the filing process. You will submit all required application and filing materials to the office and they will make a determination on the patentability of your claimed invention. I would suggest that you hire a patent attorney to help you with the filing process.

To answer your more specific question, it seems like what you really need is a non-disclosure agreement. An NDA is an agreement between parties to not disclose certain information allowing you to choose who gets to hear your secrets and prohibit those chosen people from further disclosure of your secret to other people. So, if you want a patent because you are worried about disclosing your secrets without protection, then an NDA will offer you that protection. Again, though, you would want to hire an attorney to help you draw up you NDAs.

Source: Quora

If you are looking for an experienced patent attorney in Vietnam to help you with your patent or an attorney with experience drawing up NDAs, you should visit ANT Lawyers.vn. We are supported by a team of experienced patent, trademark, design attorneys with qualification and skills handling full range of legal services relating to intellectual property rights in Vietnam.  We have specialized in the preparation and registration of patents, trademarks and designs for our clients.   Please contact our lawyers in Vietnam for advice via email ant@antlawyers.vn or call our office at +84 28 730 86 529.

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What Are Legal Requirements of Patent Description?

When patent owner registers for their patent, one of the most important documents included in the dossiers is the patent’s description. Patent is a technical solution in the form of a product or process which is intended to solve a problem by application of natural laws. Patent description is very important which is aimed to reveal the nature of a patent for examiner to consider its ability if satisfying the protected conditions. Specifically, patent description must include the description and protection scope.

Register patent in Vietnam

The description must completely disclose the nature of the technical solution sought to be registered. It must contain sufficient information based on which any person with average skill in the art can deduce the solution and also clarify the novelty, inventive steps and susceptibility of industrial application of the technical solution.

The description includes the following contents:

-Title of the invention, which briefly expresses the object or objects sought to be registered and must be brief and must not be of a promoting or advertising purpose;

-Use field of the patent: the field in which the object is utilized or to which the object is relevant;

-Technical state of the use field of the patent: The technical state of the above mentioned file at the time of;

-Technical nature of the patent: The nature of the object, in which clearly state the signs (characteristics) featuring the object and clearly indicate the signs (characteristics) which is new to those of known similar technical solutions;

-Brief description of attached drawings (if any);

-Detailed description of invention operating variations;

-Detailed description of invention operating variations;

-Benefits (effects) expected to be achieved.

Protection scope or protection claim of the patent:

The protection scope is used for determination the scope of industrial property rights to patent. The protection scope must be presented briefly and clearly in conformity with the description and drawings, making clear signs of novelty of the object sought to be protected and comply with the following regulations:

-The protection scope (claim) must be adequately demonstrated by the description, including prerequisite and sufficient substantial technical signs to identify the object, achieve the set objective and distinguish the object from a known object;

-Technical signs within the protection scope (claim) must be clear, precise and recognizable in the similar art;

-The protection scope (claim) should not invoke the description and drawings, except for invocation to parts that cannot be accurately described with words;

-If the application contains drawings illustrating the protection claim, signs presented in the protection scope (claim) may be accompanied with indication numbers put in brackets. Those indication numbers are not considered confining the protection scope (claim).

-The protection scope (claim) should (is not required to) be expressed in two sections: Restriction and Distinction. The section Restriction covers the title of the object and signs of the object that are identical to those of the latest known object and is connected to the section Distinction by the phrase distinguishable by or characterized by or equivalent expressions. The section Distinction covers signs that distinguish the object from the latest known object and are combined with signs of the section Restriction to constitute the object of protection claim.

-The protection scope (claim) may include one or more than one points. A multi-point protection scope (claim) may be used to present an object sought to be protected, with the first point (called independent point) and subsequent point(s) used to concretize the independent point (called dependent point(s)); or to present a group of objects sought to be protected, with several independent points, each presenting an object sought to be protected in the group. Such an independent point may have dependent point(s);

-A multi-point protection scope (claim) used to present a group of objects must satisfy the following requirements: Independent points presenting different objects must not invoke other points of the protection scope(claim), unless the invocation helps avoid total repetition of the content of another point; dependent points must immediately follow the independent point on which they are dependent.

Besides the description and protection scope, the patent abstract is also a compelled part in the dossier for patent registration. Accordingly, the patent abstract is used to concisely describe (with no more than 150 words) the nature of the patent. The abstract must disclose principal details of the nature of the technical solution for the informatory purpose and may contain typical drawings or formulas.

If the client needs any other information or requires for further advice, our IP attorney in Vietnam at ANT Lawyers, the IP agent in Vietnam will be available for service.

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Four Steps of Patent Application Processing Procedures

After submitting patent application at National Office of Intellectual Property in Vietnam (NOIP), the applicant will concern on how their application will be processed.

Specifically, patent application will be gone through the following phases: receipt of application; formality examination of application; substantive (ex-officio) examination of application; grant of or refusal to grant protection titles; official registration and publication of decisions on the grant of protection titles.

Vietnam patent

Firstly, receipt of patent application:

When receiving the application in this first phase, the NOIP will check and prepare with the documents listed in the declaration to consider whether to receive the dossiers. In case of sufficient dossiers according to the law, the receiving officer shall receive the dossiers and stamp the submitting date in the dossiers and send back a declaration to the applicant. In case of insufficient dossiers, the NOIP shall decline to receive the dossiers.

Secondly, formality examination of patent application:

The purpose of formality examination is for examination of observance of regulations on formalities applicable to applications, serving as a basis for concluding whether applications are valid or invalid. If the application is valid, it will be proceeded to the next step, otherwise, it will be denied. The formality is considered related to the language in the application, application presentation, word size; the declaration must ensure the compulsory information and be uniformed; regarding the documents required to have the confirmation of competent authority then those documents must have that seal. Besides, the NOIP also check the filing date and priority date (if any). If there are any errors in the dossiers, the NOIP will send a notification to applicant of intention to refuse the valid application and set a period so as the applicant can correct the errors. In case applicant does not reply to the notification, the NOIP will issue the refusal notification of the application; if the application is valid, the NOIP will issue the acceptance notification of the valid application.

Thirdly, publication of valid application:

After being accepted the validity, the NOIP will publish the valid application on Industrial Gazette in the nineteenth month from the date of priority or the filing date in case the application has no date of priority or within two months after it is accepted as a valid application, whichever is later. If the patent application is under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, it shall be published within two months from the date it is accepted as a valid application and entering the national phase. Regarding the application which request for earlier publication, it shall be published within two months from the date the NOIP receives that request or the date it is accepted as a valid application, whichever is later.

Fourthly, substantive examination of patent application;

The purpose of substantive examination is to assess the protect ability of objects stated in those applications under the protection conditions and corresponding protection coverage. Be noted that during the substantive examination process to the application having the priority, the NOIP may use the searching information result and corresponding substantive examination result of the application submitted abroad. However, the applicant could actively provide the following documents for substantive examination: (i) searching information result and corresponding substantive examination result of the application submitted abroad (ii) the copy of protection title on the basis of similar application submitted abroad (iii) the documents related to technical art of the subject mentioned in the application which provided by oversea competent authority and other documents. The content of substantive examination is to assess the corresponding of the subject in the application to each protection claim. After finishing the substantive examination period, the NOIP will issue one of the following notifications:

-The subject in the application does not satisfy the protected conditions or satisfies the protection conditions and remains some errors. Then, the NOIP will issue a notification of intention of refusal to grant protection title and set a period for applicant to have opinion and correct the errors. If the applicant replies to the notification and the NOIP considers to be suitable, then NOIP then issues the intention of granting protection title and set a period for application to submit the granting fee.

-If the subject in the application satisfies the protected conditions, the NOIP then issues the intention of granting protection title and set a period for application to submit the granting fee.

In both the above cases, if the applicant submits the granting fee, publication of granting decision fee; registration protection title fee and first year remaining validity fee, applicant will then be granted the patent registration certificate. Every year, applicant will have to submit the remaining validity fee, otherwise, the protection title will be invalid.  It is suggested that patent attorney in Vietnam will be assigned to follow up with the authority for effective management of IP properties.

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Protecting Invention Abroad via Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)

Patent is an intellectual property right which owner could benefit from limited monopoly or commercialize through licensing the patent to others in return for royalty.  To protect  invention internationally, an inventor may file an international application with a national or regional patent office or WIPO and this aplication must comply with the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) formality requirements. The patent owner should have a patent lawyer to help out with the process of patent registration, and filing an international protection through PCT process.

Vietnam patent 

 What is Patent Cooperation Treaty?

The PCT is an international treaty with 153 Contracting States. This treaty helps the applicant in protecting their invention internationally when filing only one international patent application to be protected in a large number of countries instead of filing several separate national or regional patent applications. The granting of patents remains under the control of the national or regional patent offices in what is called the “national phase”.

The general procedures when filing an PCT application would be:

Filing, International search, International Publication, Supplementary International Search (optional), International Preliminary Examination (optional), National Phase.

With the filing step, the applicant needs to file an international application with a national or regional patent office or WIPO, complying with the PCT formality requirements, in one language, pay one set of fees. Before International Publication, the patent must go through an International Search by an “International Searching Authority” (ISA) (one of the world’s major patent offices). The purpose of this Search is to identify the published patent documents and technical literature which may have an influence on whether invention is patentable. After that, a written opinion on invention’s potential patentability will be issued. Then, the PCT application can go directly to national phase. However, there are two optional steps which applicants may go through: (i) Supplementary International Search (optional), and (ii) International Preliminary Examination (optional). These two steps based on applicant’s request should publish documents which may not have been found by the first ISA and carry out an additional patentability analysis, usually on an amended version of application, respectively.

How long does the PCT process take? Normally, applicant will have 30 months from the filing date of the initial patent application of which they claim priority or up to an additional 18 months from the time applicant files their international patent application before they have to begin the national phase procedures with individual patent offices and to fulfill the national requirements.

At any time, however, applicant may request an early entry into the national phase instead of waiting for the expiration of 30 months from the earliest filing date of their patent application. Once the application has gone into national phase, the time required for the examination and grant of a patent varies across patent offices of each state.

One of the important steps in filing PCT is to make sure the translation into Vietnamese language match up with the original language.  Patent attorneys in Vietnam at ANT Lawyers will assist along the process including the translation of the patent and work with the national office of intellectual property in Vietnam to follow the instructions to complete the registration process in Vietnam.

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Brief Reminder of Time Schedule to Apply PCT Application into Vietnam

According to Vietnam Law on Intellectual property, a PCT applicant who would like to go into Vietnamese phase after the end of PCT procedures need to submit the application within the following duration:

Vietnam patent 

If an international application designates Vietnam, the National Office of Intellectual Property in Vietnam (NOIP) is the designated office. In this case, in order to enter the national phase, the applicant shall submit, within 31 months from the date of priority, to the NOIP the following:

-Written declaration requesting invention registration, made according to a set form;

-Copy of the international application (if the applicant requests the entry into the national phase before the date of publication of the international publication);

-Vietnamese translation of the international application: The description, consisting of a description section, protection request, annotations for drawings and abstract (the published copy or initially filed original application, if the application has not yet been published, and modified copy and explanation of modified contents, if the international application has been modified underArticle 19 of Patent Cooperation Treaty;

-National charges and fees.

If an international application elects Vietnam, the NOIP is the elected office. In this case, if the election of Vietnam is made within 19 months from the date of priority, in order to enter the national phase, the applicant shall submit, within 31 months from the date of priority, to the NOIP the following documents:

-Written declaration request;

-sting invention registration, made according to a set form;

-Vietnamese translation of the international application: The description, consisting of a description section, protection request, annotations for drawings and abstract (the published copy or initially filed original application, if the application has not yet been published, and modified copy and explanation of modified contents, if the international application has been modified under Article 19 and/or Article 34(2)(b) of the Treaty);

-Vietnamese translations of annexes to the international preliminary examination report (when substantive examination of the application is requested);

-National charges and fees.

After having submitted the application, the time  when the processing of an international application designating or electing Vietnam in the national phase starts is the first day of the thirty second month from the date of priority if the applicant files no written request for entry into the national phase earlier than the above time limits. The international application shall be put to formality examination and substantive examination according to the procedures applicable to ordinary invention registration applications.  If the applicant requests in writing earlier examination of his/her application and pay the prescribed charge, the international application shall be examined earlier than the time limit specified above in accordance with the provisions of Article 2 3(2) of the Treaty.

Please be noted that in addition to the cases where an international application is considered withdrawn specified in the Treaty and the Regulation on implementation of the Treaty, an international application designating or electing Vietnam shall be considered withdrawn if the national fees are not paid to the NOIP or there is no Vietnamese translation upon the expiration of the set time limit.

It is important to adhere to the deadline and patent attorney of ANT Lawyers always follow up with the Client to remind on the schedule to follow when submitting for PCT application in Vietnam.

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How do you get an idea patented?

While an idea is not eligible for patent protection, most reproduceable inventions are. If you have created something new, novel, and reproduceable, chances are that your creation is eligible for legally enforceable intellectual property rights protection.

Vietnam patent 

It’s important to understand that not all creations are treated the same under the law. If you’re an artist, author, or musician and you’ve created an original work of art or authorship, your work isn’t patentable. Instead, you’ll want to register the copyright for your work (which is created as soon as your work is fixed in a tangible form) with the U.S. Copyright Office. If your business has developed a branding tool, such as a graphic, logo, phrase, original domain name, etc. then you’ll need to register your original trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. However, if your novel and reproduceable creative work is a manufactured product, process, machine, product design, or plant species, that work may be patentable.

Source: Quora

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How to register a patent in Vietnam?

Law on Intellectual Property of Vietnam had come into effect from 2005 to keep up with the considerable development of the world. One of the most important subject of Intellectual property is patent which contribute a huge part for the mankind development. According to Vietnamese law, to be granted patent title, a patent must fulfill 3 conditions which are: (i) novelty; (ii) inventive nature; (iii) susceptible of industrial application.

Register Patent in Vietnam

Firstly, a patent shall be deemed novel if it has not yet been publicly disclosed by use or by means of a written description or any other form either inside or outside Vietnam before the filing date or the priority date, as applicable, of the invention registration application. Besides, a patent shall not be deemed to have lost its novelty if it is published in the following cases, provided that the invention registration application is filed within six (6) months from the date of publication:

-It is published by another person without permission from the person having the right to register it;

-It is published in the form of a scientific presentation by the person having the right to register it;

-It is displayed at a national exhibition of Vietnam or at an official or officially recognized international exhibition by the person having the right to register it

Secondly, An invention shall be deemed to be of an inventive nature if, based on technical solutions already publicly disclosed by use or by means of a written description or any other form either inside or outside Vietnam prior to the filing date or the priority date as applicable of the application for registration of the invention, the invention constitutes inventive progress and cannot be easily created by a person with average knowledge in the art.

Thirdly, an invention shall be deemed to be susceptible of industrial application if it is possible to realize mass manufacture or production of products or repeated application of the process which is the subject matter of the invention, and to achieve stable results.

If a patent fulfills the above criteria then it is granted patent title.

What is the process of registration a patent in Vietnam?

After submitting the patent application into Noip (Intellectual Property office of Vietnam), it shall gone through 2 phases of examination which are formal examination and substantial examination.

Formal examination of applications means examination of observance of regulations on formalities applicable to applications, serving as a basis for concluding whether applications are valid or invalid, this phase would take from 1-3 months. All applications accepted as valid shall be published by the Noip in the Industrial Property Official Gazette.

After the publication, if there are no third parties object the application, then it go to substantial examination. The purpose of substantive examination of applications is to assess the protectability of objects stated in those applications under the protection conditions and corresponding protection coverage (volume). This phase would take from 12 months to 16 months. If it does meet protection criteria, NOIP will grant Patent for Invention.

However, in practice, the time from the filing to granting will be 18 months to 20 months due to huge load of work.

It is wise to consult the advice of a patent attorneys in Vietnam to help assist you with your patent. We are a legal marketplace with quality lawyers who are knowledgeable in various areas of the law—including patents.

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