Our patent attorneys are registered to practise before the Australian, New Zealand and Singapore Patent Offices and they instruct patent attorneys registered before the National Office of Industrial Property of Vietnam on all aspects of Vietnamese patent prosecution.
The government agency responsible for grant of patent rights in Vietnam is the National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP).
| Key prosecution event
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Deadline
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| Paris Convention Filing:
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12 months from earliest claimed priority
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| PCT National Phase Entry:
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31 months from earliest claimed priority
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| Substantive examination request:
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42 months from earliest claimed priority
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| Divisional application:
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before the issuance of decision on grant of patent or decision of refusal of application
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A National phase application must be filed by 31 months from the earliest claimed priority date. View filing requirements for a Vietnamese National phase application.
Vietnam is a party to the Paris Convention. A Convention application must be validly filed by 12 months from filing the earliest priority application. Conventional status must be claimed on filing and multiple and partial priorities are allowed. View filing requirements for a Vietnamese Convention application.
Utility patents are available in Vietnam and provide a 10 year term. They relate to inventions that are novel and susceptible to industrial application but must not be common knowledge.
i) Examination
Formalities examination will commence automatically soon after filing. The applicant is given 2 months to respond (extendible). The applicant must request substantive examination by 42 months from the priority date, or by 32 months if the request is for a utility patent.
The examiner may conduct a new search but is most likely to rely on examination reports issued for corresponding applications - especially EPO reports.
The grounds of examination include novelty (absolute), inventive step and industrial applicability.
The following subject matter is not patentable:
During substantive examination, if there are lawful grounds of objection (eg the invention is not novel) an examination report will be issued. The applicant is given 3 months to respond and overcome the objections.
ii) Divisional applications
A divisional application can be filed at any time during examination.
iii) Acceptance
Once the examiner is satisfied that there are no outstanding issues, the application will be granted.
A third party may also file observations regarding the patentability of the application during substantive examination and can also oppose the grant of an application from the date of publication to the date of patent grant.
Re-examination can also be requested by a third party, and a request can also be lodged for nullification of a patent during its entire lifetime.
Vietnam is not a party to the Budapest Treaty.
There is no express statutory exclusion to patent eligibility of isolated nucleic acid molecules.
For details on the renewal requirements in Vietnam, view South East Asia – Renewal Requirements.