WIZPRO - Vietnam IP Law Firm

Australia Helping to Strengthen Intellectual Property in Vietnam

2008-03-13T13:40:00.002+07:00

Senator Kim Carr, the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research says an agreement signed today between the intellectual property (IP) offices of Australia and Vietnam has the capacity to assist Australian exporters.

The agreement was signed at an international meeting of senior trade mark officials from around the world being held in Sydney over the next two days.

“Vietnam is an important country for Australian exporters given its growing significance as an export market. This agreement has the potential to improve the IP system in Vietnam, giving Australian businesses a better chance of enforcing their valuable IP rights,” Senator Carr said.

The agreement between IP Australia and the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam outlines the commitments of the two countries to build an ongoing cooperative relationship that contributes to the needs and priorities of each organisation over the next three years.

The main elements of the action plan are:

Public education and awareness – training on strategy development and implementation of activities;
IP resource development – examiner training and provision of information on administration; and
Plant breeders rights (PBR) – assisting the development of Vietnam’s PBR system.

The document was signed by the Directors General of IP Australia (Mr Philip Noonan) and the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam (Mr Tran Viet Hung).

“This government is aware of the important role IP plays in every exporter’s strategy, as a result we are supportive of efforts to make the IP system in countries like Vietnam stronger and more effective. Improvements to the Vietnamese IP system will also benefit local Vietnamese innovators, enabling them to develop and commercialise their intellectual property with increased confidence” said Senator Carr.

For more information on IP Australia’s international assistance program visit: http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au

Viet Nam ‘TRIPS’ on WTO’s strict IP rights protection

2008-01-09T19:40:00.002+07:00

by Tran Van Nam, Law Faculty, National Economics University

The WTO, through its Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), obligates all of its member states to protect intellectual property (IP) rights, requiring them to build or revise domestic legislation to conform to standards set forth in the TRIPS Agreement.

Viet Nam has complied through passage of its Civil Code in 2005 and the Law on Intellectual Property. The latter governs copyright, inventions, industrial designs, trademarks and trade names, geographical indicators, business secrets and such specific areas as integrated circuit designs and plant varieties. Where Viet Nam’s legal provisions on IP rights differ from IP provisions in treaties to which Viet Nam is a contracting party, those treaties prevail.

Viet Nam joined the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property in 1949 and has concluded and acceded to the Berne Convention on copyright; the Geneva Convention on recorded works; the Brussels Convention on satellite transmissions; the Madrid Agreement and Protocol on international registration of marks; the Patent Co-operation Treaty; and the Stockholm Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), as well as the TRIPS Agreement.

With WTO accession, Viet Nam’s IP commitments and obligations in the TRIPS Agreement exert impacts on most of other bilateral and multilateral commercial and trade relations between Viet Nam and its partners.

Economic impacts

Meeting the requirements of the TRIPS Agreement is likely to create a financial burden on countries with small budgets, including Viet Nam. The most-developed countries are most likely to benefit from greater protection of IP rights, while countries that need to import technology will be economically burdened. Fairly high costs are likely to be borne by developing countries, including licensing of IP such as computer software.

The Business Software Alliance, a non-profit organisation operating in 80 countries, has gathered information on software copyright infringements committed by Vietnamese enterprises and concluded that software piracy exerted negative impacts on the development of the domestic software industry, tax revenues and local job opportunities. A 10-per-cent reduction in the piracy rate (from 92 per cent to 82 per cent) by this year could help add US$1 billion to the country’s GDP,.create more than 4,000 jobs in hi-tech industries, generate an additional $43 million in local tax revenues and bring $726 million in additional revenue to domestic software companies, the alliance concluded.

According to general forecasts of WIPO and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), short-term impacts of the TRIPS Agreement’s high standards on developing countries, including Viet Nam, will be adverse in that that strict IP rights protection is likely to limit the access of Vietnamese society and consumers to many products and services that are simply priced beyond their reach.

At present, almost all patents in Viet Nam are held by foreign parties. During 1995-2003, Vietnamese invention registration applications accounted for only 3.4 per cent of the total number of patent applications filed in Viet Nam. This figure implies that most new products and technologies patented in Viet Nam since 1995 were created overseas or held by foreign parties. As a result, the use and import in Viet Nam of such products and technologies have been controlled by their foreign patent holders.

Most commercially valuable copyrighted materials (books, CDs and DVDs, computer software) are also from foreign countries. Protecting such products would result in more limited access to them at much higher costs beyond what local users could reasonably afford.

Strict IP rights protections also put Vietnamese businesses and investors in a complex and costly legal environment. Many Vietnamese businesses are still not fully aware of the significance and operation of IP rights protection. Complying is a burden on domestic businesses, few of whom in turn benefit from IP regulations as they themselves have registered few IP objects for protection.

Patent protection also makes investments to create new technologies more risky, especially in circumstances in which research is slow to bring about inventions or invention registration procedures are carried out late, and all IP rights to research might be appropriated by other entities that have obtained patents for similar products. Stringent IP rights protection tends to favour large-sized enterprises and large economies over small.

Let’s examine the case of Viet Nam and the US: the number of Vietnamese inventions and marks registered for protection in the US remains negligible compared with that of US inventions and marks registered for protection in Viet Nam. A similar situation can be seen in the exchange of invention and mark registrations between Viet Nam and regional countries. As a result, Vietnamese entities have few opportunities to exploit IP rights in other countries whereas foreign IP rights holders, with many more opportunities here, benefit from IP rights protection in Viet Nam. Poor financial capacity and the small size of Vietnamese businesses also hinder them, and high legal costs conspire to prevent Vietnamese parties from pursuing legal actions to protect IP rights against infringements in foreign countries.

What’s your prescription?

Access to pharmaceuticals is crucial to many developing countries as disease and other health problems greatly impede development and public welfare. IP objects mentioned in the TRIPS Agreement related to pharmaceuticals include inventions, marks and business secrets.

For developing and the least developed nations, essential medicines are much needed for public health. Lack of these medicines is a major problem for many developing countries and becomes more difficult when they accede to the TRIPS Agreement. However, Article 125 of Viet Nam’s Law on Intellectual Property provides some limitations on the rights of industrial property rights holders to prevent other entities from using industrial property objects.

At present, though most inventions patented in Viet Nam come from foreign countries, a few of them have been utilised in the country. Protected products have therefore to be imported at high prices, especially Western medicines and hi-tech products. Article 125 has helped improve access to medicines patented in Viet Nam allows the importation of medicines which cannot be domestically manufactured.

Source: Viet Nam News

Government & Businesses Discuss Brand Protection

2007-10-22T07:36:00.000+07:00

HCM CITY—Business, government and other experts discussed measures to prevent the sale of counterfeit goods in major cities at a conference on Thursday co-organized by the Viet Nam Association for Anti-Counterfeiting and Trademark Protection (VATAP) and the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations.

Authorities said counterfeit goods affected both local and foreign companies. Those behind the illegal sales are not systematically penalized, and therefore have little incentive to discontinue. Read more from Viet Nam News...

Ensuring IP rights, due diligence in an M&A deal

2007-08-29T19:51:00.000+07:00

by Tran Manh Hung, Albrecht Brodhun & Tyler McKinley

The nation is witnessing an increasing trend towards mergers and acquisitions among both Vietnamese and foreign companies. One of the most important factors in ensuring the success of an M&A deal is for the acquiring company to conduct proper "due diligence," lawyer-speak for the process whereby the potential buyer evaluates the target company and its assets.

While lawyers have long focused due diligence efforts on tangible assets, including land, buildings, and equipment, little attention has been paid to intangible assets, such as intellectual property, which can in some instances be as or more valuable to the company’s operations and profitability.

Due diligence should extend to a wide range of intangible assets related to intellectual property, including business information, employee know-how, licence agreements, marketing and distribution agreements, domain names and even intellectual property which is not legally protectable, e.g., business ideas. Like customer "good will", these types of intangible assets can be important elements of a target enterprise’s value, although evaluation of their worth is not an easy task.

Intellectual property itself is a term that has traditionally referred to copyrights, patents, trademarks and trade secrets. In Viet Nam, the new Intellectual Property Law states that "intellectual property rights are the rights of organisations and individuals to their intellectual property, including copyrights and copyright-related rights, industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties" (Article 4.1). The concept of industrial property is further understood as including industrial designs, utility solutions, layout-designs of semi-conductor integrated circuits, trademarks, trade names, geographical indications, trade secrets, and rights to repression of unfair competition under the IP Law.

Most industrial property objects are only protectable under the IP Law if they are registered with the National Office of Intellectual Property. Well-known trademarks established on the basis of use, however, may be protected independent from registration procedures. However, a claim for protection of a well-known mark is complex, as it is normally made during cancellation or infringement proceedings. Therefore, the protection afforded by registration is more effective in most ordinary cases.

Unlike industrial property objects such as industrial designs and trademarks, objects which are protected by copyright do not need to be registered to afford protection. In this respect, Vietnamese law is consistent with international definitions of copyright which provide that copyright adheres in an original work of authorship published or fixed in a particular medium. Registration of the copyrighted work serves purposes of providing notice and evidence of the copyright.

When conducting due diligence into these types of intangibles, a lawyer must ask two fundamental questions: (1) what are the key rights and intangible assets needed to operate the business successfully? and (2) how can the business be assured the benefits of those rights and assets following the acquisition?

The lawyer then must confirm licences and ownership records, evaluate contracts and licensing agreements, and check for existing litigation and infringement notices.

Issues uncovered in the course of due diligence may significantly alter the terms of an acquisition. For example, if the prospective buyer discovers the target company’s trademark is in use by another firm and rights cannot be secured to the target company, this could lead to significant costs involving re-branding and re-working marketing and promotional materials. Such information, revealed in the course of due diligence, could dramatically affect the target company’s value in the eyes of the prospective investor.

IP rights owned by another division within the target group would also need to be assigned or licensed to the target if the acquiring investor wants to secure these rights. Lawyers conducting due diligence must also ensure target company employees have signed confidentiality agreements and agreed in writing to assign inventions to their employer. This prevents critical copyrights, patents, and trade secrets from leaving the company with departing employees. For instance, a company might sell off a software division, only for the buyer to learn that it owns the copyright in original software but not in any modifications after the developer became an independent contractor.

In addition to ensuring control of IP rights before and during a merger or acquisition, lawyers must also consider what happens after the sale. Following any acquisition, patents will usually need to be re-assigned, licence agreements may need amendment, and notices about the transfer of rights may need to be issued.

Depending on the type of intellectual property, the lawyer must determine whether a particular form of intangible asset is transferable as a matter of contract or under the IP Law. For instance, most industrial property objects such as trademarks, patents, and industrial designs may be transferable, but the moral rights in a copyrighted work cannot be transferred, except under certain circumstances, pursuant to the IP Law.

In short, investigating IP issues in the course of due diligence is of paramount importance during an acquisition. Though often time-consuming and resource-intensive, solid IP due diligence will lessen risk, make valuation more accurate, and give an investor a better understanding of the target company’s business.

Source: Viet Nam News

Digital library and e-filing boost IP protection

2007-08-09T11:26:00.000+07:00

HCM City — Intellectual property (IP) has become more of an urgent matter for Viet Nam as it integrates into the world economy and seeks to fulfill its commitments to the World Trade Organisation.

To help organisations and individuals save time and to promote IP protection, the National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP) introduced an IP digital library and e-filing system in HCM City yesterday. The goal is to process IP applications more quickly and accurately and to enable anyone to freely access the latest IP information.

"The IP digital library and e-filing system represent a huge step toward ensuring IP protection. We hope organisations and individuals will know about these two systems, and use them for their IP registration and protection," said Pham Phi Anh, deputy director of NOIP.

In recent years, NOIP has tried to encourage people to register IP rights for their products. It also has made efforts to speed up the use of automation technology. Read more from Viet Nam News...

Agribank Buys Microsoft Office 2007 Copyright

2007-06-25T13:04:00.001+07:00

On June 21, during the US visit of
Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet, the Bank for Agriculture and
Rural Development of Vietnam (Agribank) signed a contract to buy a
copyright of Microsoft Office 2007 software. Read more...

First Literature Copyright Lawsuit Sets Precedent

2007-06-15T12:56:00.000+07:00

People’s Supreme Court in Hanoi has recently issued a decision on the first major literature copyright lawsuit between two experts of the literature classic Tale of Kieu, shedding new light on Vietnam’s copyright laws. Read more...

Licensing and Intellectual Property in Vietnam

2007-06-13T17:21:00.000+07:00

A foreign manufacturer has different options for selling products in Vietnam: direct importing; licensing a Vietnamese firm to manufacture the products using proprietary trademarks, methods or industrial designs; or setting up a venture under Common Investment Law, which came into force on 1st of July 2006.

Licensing a local manufacturer is generally the quickest option for foreign companies, and it offers the licenser some advantages: avoiding all or part of the cost of market research and marketing; using the local company distribution network and expertise, to the extent that the local importer has the latter; and not needing to commit a substantial investment during the risky initial phase of market penetration. The last is a particularly big advantage since many of Vietnam markets, though promising, are too small to justify large-scale investment in production.

Nevertheless, licensing has its downsides: stringent regulations, long approval times, restrictions on payments and limited contract duration, and potential intellectual-property-rights violations. Perhaps the greatest challenge is finding a partner with adequate capacity to manufacture and market the goods. Moreover, there are substantial bureaucratic obstacles to establishing a proper licensing operation.

Moreover, there are limits on the rights of foreign licensers to sublicense technology such as restrictions on tie-in arrangements. The restrictions are generally worded in such a way that the foreign licenser may not unreasonably restrict the licensee, though the determination of what is reasonable is unclear. The length of permitted licensing contracts is 710 years, unless the licensing is part of a foreign-invested joint venture; the arrangement is then subject to negotiation.

A new licensing alternative has begun to emerge in recent years: franchising. According to the World Franchise Council, a trade group, Vietnam had 70 franchise systems and nearly 100 executed franchise agreements in late 2006. About ten foreign franchises were operating in the retail sector in early 2007. Franchising activities will probably grow in the coming years in the food, beverage, fashion and supermarket sectors. Decree 35 of 31st of March 2006 regulates the details of implementation of franchising provisions of the Commercial Law, and Ministry of Trade Circular 9 of 25th of May 2006 regulates registration procedures.

With the promulgation of a revised Civil Code in June 2005 (which took force on 1st of 2006) and the adoption on 29th of November 2005 of a Law on Intellectual Property (which took force on 1st of July 2006), followed by a raft of subsequent implementing decrees, Vietnam consolidated previously scattered regulations on intellectual-property rights (IPR). The Civil Code sets out general provisions for all types of contracts. The Law on Intellectual Property sets regulations on copyright and related rights, industrial-property rights, plant varieties, and policies, procedures and measures for protection. Vietnam agreed to implement the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) agreement immediately upon accession to the World Trade Organisation on 11th of January 2007. The 26th of October 2006 WTO Working Party Report on Vietnams accession outlines in detail the administrative and legal framework for IPR protection. Five implementing decrees for the Law on Intellectual Property were adopted in September and October 2006. Those decrees enacted in September 2006 are Decree 100/2006/ND-CP detailed and implemented the provisions on industrial property rights of the IP Law; Decree 103/2006/ND-CP detailed and implemented the provisions on copyrights of the IP Law; Decree No 104/2006/ND-CP guiding the implementation of articles of the IP Law concerning rights on plant varieties; Decree 105/2006/ND-CP detailed and implemented the provisions on enforcement of the IP Law; Decree 106/2006/ND-CP detailed and implemented the provisions on handling of administrative violations.

In recent years, Vietnam has ratified several international conventions that govern copyright and trademark protection. Vietnam signed the Bern Convention for Protection of Literary and Artistic Works on 7th of June 2004, with effect from 1st of October 2004. The Bern Convention requires the country to protect the copyright of works from 155 other member countries, and it provides for reciprocal protection for Vietnamese works in those countries. On 11th of April 2006, Vietnam ratified the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (Madrid Protocol), which took force on 11th of July 2006. Under the protocol, those who register trademarks in Vietnam and 66 other member countries and territories enjoy reciprocal protection if they pay the requisite fees.

(Source: TMCnet)

The National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam Launched E-filing System

2007-06-08T17:51:00.000+07:00

The Vietnam National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP) began using an electronic filing system for the first time to enhance accuracy and speed when handling industrial property applications as of 1st June 2007.

The software can be downloaded for free at www.noip.gov.vn.

NOIP’s new programme will automatically check data, issue registration numbers and post applications on the Intellectual Property Administration System.

This method prevents human errors that occur during data input and saves three to five days in assigning registration numbers, said NOIP officials. Read more...

Tech Transfer Straightened Out

2007-05-25T21:02:00.000+07:00

For the first time, definitions of “high technology”, “new technology” and “advanced technology” have been issued.

The new Law on Technology Transfer is set to paint technology issues with an even brush.
When the seven-chapter, 61-article law dated November 29, 2006 by the National Assembly (the “Law”) comes into force from July 1, 2007, superseding Decree No. 11 dated February 2, 2005 (“Decree 11”), technology transfer (TT) activities will be governed by a higher level legal document and this is expected to create more unification of TT regulations with other Vietnamese laws, in particular, the Civil Code of 2005. Read more...

Vietnam Gives Priority to Open Source Software

2007-04-18T09:23:00.000+07:00

The government has approved the software industry development programme to 2010, in which priority will be given to the use of open source software in state-funded IT projects.

The state will encourage and assist organisations and businesses in providing services supporting the use of open source software. Read more...

Import of Steel from China is Legal, Vietnam Trade Ministry Assured

2007-04-13T21:43:00.000+07:00

Vietnam’s Ministry of Trade has declared that state-owned firm VIS did not violate Vietnamese law in importing steel made in China but bearing its trademark for domestic sale.

In a report to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, the ministry said the Vietnam-Italy Steel Company (VIS) had merely signed a merchandise contract with the Chinese firm under which it allowed the latter to use the VIS trademark registered in Vietnam.

So the imports bearing the VIS name for sale in the domestic market was in line with Vietnamese trademark laws, and did not violate intellectual property regulations, the ministry said.

The National Office for Intellectual Property had entered the fray to say that VIS’s action was illegal.

The ministry said, however, it was ready to conduct an anti-dumping investigation if sought by the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) and other parties together with evidence of losses due to VIS’s imports.

The VSA had renewed a request last week to the prime minister to halt VIS’s import from China pending a study to determine if they conformed to trademark regulations.

It had first appealed last month before the consignments reached Vietnam.

The ministry said, however, it was ready to conduct an anti-dumping investigation if sought by the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) and other parties together with evidence of losses due to VIS’s imports.

The VSA had renewed a request last week to the prime minister to halt VIS’s import from China pending a study to determine if they conformed to trademark regulations.

It had first appealed last month before the consignments reached Vietnam.

The ministry also said there was no need to raise tariffs on imported steel rods at this moment because domestic steel prices were rising.

Source: Tuoi Tre, VOV – Translated by Thu Thuy

Customs Lags in Counterfeit Fight

2007-04-10T20:51:00.000+07:00

As a full member of the World Trade Organisation, Vietnam has been implementing international commitments, of which implementation of IPR play an important role in the country’s sustainable economic development.

In fact, IPR implementation in the customs sector has been going on for a long time with programmes designed to control smuggling and fake goods. Read more...

New Circular on Industrial Property

2007-04-04T13:58:00.000+07:00

A voluminous circular has recently been issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology (Circular No. 01/2007TT-BKHCN) to further detail Decree No. 103/2006/ND-CP guiding the Intellectual Property (IP) Law on industrial property. It governs in 67 articles specific industrial property procedures for establishing industrial property rights; registration of contracts on industrial property rights transfer and compulsory licensing; industrial property representation; and assurance of industrial property information. Read more...

EU and US Help Vietnam Combat Fake and Imitation Goods

2007-04-03T22:05:00.000+07:00

More than 60 customs officers, economic policemen and market managers from southern localities have sought ways to protect local trademarks at a workshop opening in Ho Chi Minh City on April 2.

During the five-day event, the Vietnamese officers are expected to gain experience relating to the enforcement of intellectual property rights and the fight against fake and imitation goods from experts from the European Union and the United States.

Right holders of well-known trademarks available in Vietnam, including Cisco Systems, L'Oreal, Nokia, Christian Dior, Givenchy, Guerlain, Kenzo, Tag Heuer, Nike, Gedeon Richter, Scotch Whisky Association, Ambro and Uniliver, will also take part in discussions at the workshop.

Under a tripartite co-operation programme, right holders of trademarks of Vietnamese origin will be assisted in protecting intellectual property rights in the coming time.

The EU also plans to organise around 30 activities in Vietnam this year to boost co-operation in combating fake and imitation commodities.

The workshop is being held by the EC-ASEAN Intellectual Property Rights Co-operation Programme (ECAP II), the US Patent and Trademark Office and the General Department of Customs of Vietnam.

(Source: Viet Nam News)

Vietnam Industrial Property Statistics

2007-04-03T21:13:00.000+07:00

Industrial Property Applications Filed from 2002 through 2006

Industrial Property Granted Protection Titles from 2002 through 2006

Please click here to see full figures in tables. (Source: National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam (NOIP))

Filing Requirements - National Phase of PCT Applications in Vietnam

2006-05-12T22:47:00.002+07:00

Documents

A Power of Attorney from the applicant (required within 34 months from the priority date), this deadline can not be extended unless approved by the NOIP;
A copy of the international patent application as filed if the Applicant requests entry into the Vietnam national phase before the international publication date (required at the date of entry);
A copy of the specification, claims, any text matter of drawings and abstract in English (if any of those parts have been amended, then both as originally filed and as amended under PCT Articles 19 or 34) for the purpose of translation into Vietnamese. (These documents should be available to us at least one month before the date of entry into Vietnamese national phase so that we can have enough time to prepare their translation thereof).

Note: For all applications including applications for utility solution, patent, trademark and industrial design, notarization of Power of Attorney and Deed of Assignment is no longer required, just need to be signed the applicant if the applicant is a natural person; or by the authorized person of applicant if the applicant is a legal entity and affixed by the corporate seal of such an entity (if any).

Information

Name and address of the inventor(s) if they have not yet been furnished in the "request" part of the international application.

Filing Requirements - National Patent & Utility Solution Applications in Vietnam

2006-05-12T22:31:00.001+07:00

Documents

A Power of Attorney from the applicant (required within one month from the filing date);
A copy of the specification, claims, drawings and abstract in English for the purpose of translation into Vietnamese (required at filing);

Information

Full name, address and nationality of the applicant and inventor(s);
Country, application No., filing date and applicant of the basic application(s) from which the Paris convention priority is claimed.

Services

2006-05-12T21:46:00.000+07:00

Attorneys in WIZPRO counsel the firm's clients on matters concerning the acquisition, maintenance, and protection of patents, industrial designs, trademarks, trade names, trade secrets, geographical indications, plant varieties, copyrights and other intellectual properties. To address your needs as effectively and efficiently as possible, we work collaboratively, drawing upon our depth and breadth of legal experience and industry knowledge.

Our clients range from those that operate around the globe to entrepreneurs with a single great idea. We represent major pharmaceutical and medical device companies, software and electronics businesses, academic institutions and their commercial spin-offs, health care organizations, telecommunications, optical technology, chemicals, and e-commerce businesses.

Firm patent attorneys have diverse technical backgrounds in the electrical, electronics, telecommunication, software, chemical and mechanical sciences; pharmaceutical, organic and physical chemistry, biotechnology, physics, material and animal sciences; and other areas.

In today's ever-changing and technology-intensive business environment, these attorneys provide assistance in the registration of intellectual properties, and are able to provide ongoing support as the needs and uses of clients' intellectual properties evolve. Their intellectual property practice includes:

Registration of patent, industrial design, plant varieties, trademarks, trade names, copyrights and other intellectual properties;

Protection registered intellectual properties through litigation, alternative dispute resolution methods, and administrative proceedings;

Negotiation and preparation of licensing and assignment agreements.

In Vietnam, Is There a Grace Period and Any Exceptions to Novelty of Patent Applications?

2006-05-12T16:53:00.000+07:00

The actual wordings of the exceptions in the old provisions were ambiguous. The new provisions clearly state that the following disclosures will not be deemed novelty-destroying, provided that a Vietnam patent application is filed within 6 months from the disclosure:

Publication by non-authorized third parties

Scientific publication

Disclosure in international exhibition

The new provisions also provide for confidential disclosure.

About Us

2006-05-12T15:41:00.000+07:00

WIZPRO is a Vietnamese intellectual property law firm with a difference. Our highly respected and experienced attorneys who are here to help you resolve your case. Whether it involves a patent, trademark, industrial design, copyright, or any other intellectual property matters in Vietnam or throughout South East Asia region, our attorneys has the skills to resolve your case.

The cornerstone of the attorney-client relationship is communication. Our attorneys pride themselves on being readily accessible and responsive to our clients and in keeping our clients informed with timely advice and reporting of case developments.

Our experience and background enable us to provide our clients with personalized and proactive representation. We provide the necessary staffing and expertise for complex matters yet are flexible enough to manage smaller ones efficiently. Providing our clients with the highest quality legal work in the protection of their IP rights is our first priority.

We pride ourselves on being client-oriented and accountable. We believe that it is vitally important to have satisfied clients. To that end, the firm is committed to its goals of providing the highest quality legal services while controlling the cost of those services. Each of our firm's attorneys has demonstrated academic excellence and significant experience in a wide range of legal and business settings.

At WIZPRO, we commit our time, our talent, and our resources to delivering results for our clients. We work hard to understand what our clients need; we devote ourselves to ensuring that our clients have what they need to reach their own ambitious goals.

At WIZPRO, we understand more than the law. We work to understand our clients’ businesses; to understand the economic, political, financial, and technological developments that affect their goals. We inform ourselves so that we can more effectively serve our clients. It’s a never-ending process, but as a result, we are more than a law firm; we are valued advisors.

It is in our nature to work together. We collaborate with clients, offering our expertise and our effort to ensure that they succeed. We also collaborate within the firm, working across practice and industry groups to give our clients access to more diverse skills and expertise. It’s a practice that is both more effective for our clients and healthier for our firm.

WIZPRO continues to recruit highly motivated attorneys with outstanding academic records and the skills required to lead us into tomorrow. We recognize that our firm is based not only on our people, but also on our technology and we are committed to staying abreast of technological advances in legal research as well as support services. We approach the future with excitement and optimism, looking forward to continuing our tradition of service to our clients with a skilled, equipped contingent of attorneys and staff.

Contact Us

2006-05-12T07:53:00.001+07:00

Address:

Tel: +84 (4) 2241-6795
Fax: +84 (4) 3641-5485
Email:

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Filing Requirements - Industrial Design Applications in Vietnam

2006-05-12T01:31:00.001+07:00

Documents

A Power of Attorney from the applicant (required within one month from the filing date);
6 sets of photos/drawings comprising of front, top, bottom, left, right, back and perspective views (required at filing). They must be in the same scale and size must not smaller than 90mm x 120 mm and not larger than 210 mm x 297 mm. Please note that if a design is applied to a part of an article, perspective photos/drawings of the article showing this part are required;

In the case where the design is of a high level of difficulty, a cross-sectional drawing(s) in necessary places may be required.

If an article to which the design is applied has a lid or is foldable (for example: refrigerator, wardrobe or suitcase), drawings or photos of it in the open position are required.

Description of the design which should show its main characteristics (required at filing).

Information

Full name, address and nationality of the applicant and creator(s);
Filing date, application number and country of the earlier application from which the Paris convention priority is claimed.

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2006-05-11T21:25:00.004+07:00

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Filing Requirements - Trademark Applications in Vietnam

2006-05-11T19:58:00.001+07:00

Documents

15 identical representations of the trademark (if applying for registration of a device mark), size should not be smaller than 8 x 8mm and not larger than 80 x 80mm;
A Power of Attorney from the applicant (required within one month from the filing date).

Information

Full name, address and nationality of the applicant;
Description of the mark: meaning, colors claimed, transliteration into Roman letters, if necessary.
List of goods and/or services; international classification of goods and services, if known. (Even though, Vietnam is not a member country of Nice agreement, the 9th edition of the Nice classification is still officially applied for purposes of the registration of marks in Vietnam.)