Decree 65/2023/NĐ-CP – guiding the Intellectual Property Law on industrial property

Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization dated June 19, 2015; the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Government Organization and the Law on Organization of Local Government dated November 22, 2019;

Pursuant to the Intellectual Property Law dated November 29, 2005; the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Intellectual Property Law dated June 19, 2009; the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Insurance Business Law, the Intellectual Property Law dated June 14, 2019, and the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Intellectual Property Law dated June 16, 2022;

At the proposal of the Minister of Science and Technology;

The Government promulgates a Decree detailing a number of provisions and measures to implement the Intellectual Property Law regarding industrial property, protection of industrial property rights, rights to plant varieties, and state management of intellectual property.

Articles Explained

Articles Explained

Part One

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Decree details and provides measures to implement the provisions of the Intellectual Property Law on:

1. The establishment, subjects, content, limitations of industrial property rights, transfer of industrial property rights, industrial property representation, and measures to promote industrial property activities.

2. Determining acts of infringement, the nature and extent of infringement of industrial property rights and plant variety rights, determining damages, requests and handling of infringement claims, handling of infringement of industrial property rights and plant variety rights, controlling goods for export and import related to industrial property rights and plant variety rights, expert examination of industrial property rights and plant variety rights, and state management of intellectual property.

Article 2. Subjects of application

1. Vietnamese organizations and individuals, foreign organizations and individuals that meet the conditions for enjoying industrial property rights protection in Vietnam under international treaties to which Vietnam is a member.

2. Organizations and individuals with protected industrial property rights or plant variety rights, or those that commit acts of infringement of industrial property rights or plant variety rights as prescribed by the Law on Intellectual Property.

3. Other relevant organizations and individuals.

Article 3. Interpretation of terms

In this Decree, the following terms are understood as follows:

1. “Vietnamese organizations and individuals” are individuals, legal entities, and other subjects of civil law.

2. “Applicant” means an organization or individual submitting an application to establish industrial property rights or an organization or individual submitting an application requesting the handling of acts of infringement of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties.

3. “Paris Convention” means the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of 1883, as amended in 1967 and 1979.

4. “PCT Treaty” means the Patent Cooperation Treaty of 1970, as amended in 1984 and 2001.

5. “Madrid Agreement” means the Madrid Agreement concerning the International Registration of Marks of 1891, as amended in 1979.

6. “Madrid Protocol” means the Protocol relating to the Madrid Agreement of 1989, as amended in 2006 and 2007.

7. “Hague Agreement” means the Hague Agreement concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs, 1999 Act.

Amended and supplemented provisions:

Supplementary provisions

8. “PCT application” means a patent application filed under the PCT Treaty.

9. “PCT application designating or electing Vietnam” is a PCT application filed in any member of the PCT, including Vietnam, in which Vietnam is the designated or elected country.

10. “PCT application entering the national phase” is a PCT application designating or electing Vietnam filed with the state management authority on industrial property.

11. “PCT application of Vietnamese origin” is a PCT application filed from Vietnam, which requests protection in any member of the PCT, including Vietnam.

Amended and supplemented provisions:

12. “Madrid application” is an international trademark registration application filed under the Madrid Agreement or the Madrid Protocol.

13. “Madrid application of Vietnamese origin” is a Madrid application requesting trademark protection in other members of the Madrid Agreement or Madrid Protocol, filed from Vietnam.

14. “Madrid application designating Vietnam” is a Madrid application requesting trademark protection in Vietnam, originating from other members of the Madrid Agreement or the Madrid Protocol.

15. “Hague application” is an international industrial design application filed under the Hague Agreement.

16. “Hague application designating Vietnam” is a Hague application requesting industrial design protection in Vietnam, originating from any member of the Hague Agreement, including Vietnam.

17. “Hague application originating from Vietnam” is a Hague application filed from Vietnam, which requests industrial design protection in any member of the Hague Agreement, including Vietnam.

18. “International Bureau” is the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization.

19. “Infringing act” is an act of infringement of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties.

20. "Handling infringing acts" is handling acts that infringe industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties.

21. "Infringer" is an organization or individual that commits acts infringing industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties.

22. "Infringing element" is an element created from acts infringing industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties.

23. "Act under consideration" is an act suspected and considered to make a conclusion whether it is an infringing act or not.

24. "Object under consideration" is an object suspected and considered to make a conclusion whether it is an object infringing industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties or not.

25. "Request for handling infringement" refers to an application requesting the implementation of measures to handle infringing acts.

26. “Intellectual Property Law” is the Intellectual Property Law dated November 29, 2005, amended and supplemented by the Law on Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Intellectual Property Law dated June 19, 2009, the Law on Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Insurance Business, the Intellectual Property Law dated June 14, 2019, and the Law on Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Intellectual Property Law dated June 16, 2022.

Part Two

STATE MANAGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Article 4. Principle of unified state management of intellectual property

The organization and implementation of state management activities on intellectual property as stipulated in Article 10 and Article 11 of the Intellectual Property Law shall be based on the principle of unification in objectives, content, and measures under the general direction of the Government, with clear allocation of responsibilities and close coordination among ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies under the Government, and People’s Committees at all levels.

Article 5. Responsibility for leading and coordinating in state management of intellectual property

1. The Ministry of Science and Technology is responsible for leading and coordinating with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and other ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, People's Committees at all levels, and relevant agencies to carry out the following common activities to ensure unified state management of intellectual property:

a) Developing, issuing, or submitting to competent authorities for issuance and organizing the implementation of strategies, policies, and general legal documents on the protection of intellectual property rights;

b) Monitoring, urging, and inspecting the implementation of common tasks on intellectual property assigned by the National Assembly and the Government to ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, and People's Committees at all levels as prescribed in Articles 10 and 11 of the Intellectual Property Law and this Decree;

c) Synthesize, assess, and report to the Government on the situation of intellectual property rights protection activities; propose policies and specific measures to improve the effectiveness of the intellectual property system and ensure unified state management of intellectual property;

d) Develop and direct the organization of the implementation of programs and general projects on intellectual property rights protection, and measures for coordination among competent state agencies in the field of intellectual property rights protection;

dd) Negotiate, sign accession, and organize the implementation of international treaties on intellectual property; propose handling of national dispute issues related to intellectual property in international relations;

e) Develop a database system and establish a national information network on state management of intellectual property and protection of intellectual property rights.

2. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is responsible for coordinating with the Ministry of Science and Technology to implement the tasks stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article; ensuring the performance of state management functions regarding copyright and related rights, ensuring that policies, strategies, and legal documents on copyright and related rights are consistent with general policies, strategies, and legal documents on intellectual property; periodically or unexpectedly providing information to the Ministry of Science and Technology on state management activities and the protection of intellectual property rights to coordinate the handling of arising issues, and compiling reports for the Prime Minister.

3. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is responsible for coordinating with the Ministry of Science and Technology to carry out the tasks stipulated in clause 1 of this Article; ensuring the performance of state management functions regarding plant variety rights, ensuring that policies, strategies, and legal documents on the protection of plant variety rights are consistent with the general policies, strategies, and legal documents on intellectual property; periodically or unexpectedly providing information to the Ministry of Science and Technology on state management activities and intellectual property protection to coordinate the handling of arising issues and compile reports to the Prime Minister.

Article 6. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Science and Technology regarding industrial property

The Ministry of Science and Technology has the following responsibilities in state management of industrial property:

1. Develop and organize the implementation of strategies and policies for the protection of industrial property rights.

2. Issue, submit to the competent authority for issuance, and organize the implementation of legal documents on industrial property.

3. Organize the system of agencies performing state management functions on industrial property.

4. Provide professional guidance, organize training, and foster expertise and professional skills on industrial property.

5. Organize the implementation of establishing industrial property rights, registering industrial property rights transfer contracts, and carrying out other procedures related to industrial property rights protection certificates.

6. Exercise the right to compulsory transfer of the use of inventions as prescribed in Article 147 of the Intellectual Property Law.

7. Preside over or coordinate the implementation of measures to protect the legal rights and interests of organizations, individuals, the State, and society regarding industrial property.

8. Manage industrial property appraisal activities; issue industrial property appraiser cards.

9. Inspect and supervise the compliance with the law on industrial property; resolve complaints, denunciations, and handle violations of the law on industrial property.

10. Organize activities related to information and statistics on industrial property; manage and organize the implementation of activities related to the national database on industrial property.

11. Organize the implementation of education, propaganda, and dissemination of knowledge, policies, and laws on industrial property.

12. Manage industrial property representation activities; issue professional practice certificates for industrial property representation services.

13. International cooperation on industrial property; propose solutions to disputes between Vietnam and other countries regarding industrial property.

14. Perform other tasks assigned by the Government.

Article 7. Coordination mechanism in state management of intellectual property

1. The Ministry of Science and Technology is responsible for taking the lead, coordinating with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and relevant agencies in protecting, inspecting, supervising, and handling violations of intellectual property rights.

2. The state management agency for intellectual property is responsible for providing full and timely responses to requests from the competent authority handling violations of intellectual property rights.

3. The state management agency for intellectual property is responsible for participating in inspection or supervision teams when requested to serve the work of inspection and supervision.

Article 8. Responsibilities of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-affiliated agencies, and People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities regarding intellectual property

The ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-affiliated agencies, and the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities, within the scope of their functions and tasks, are responsible for coordinating with the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to carry out the following specific tasks:

1. Carry out the tasks specified in Clause 1, Article 5 of this Decree and directly perform the specific tasks assigned by the Government.

2. Ensure the implementation of intellectual property policies and laws at the local level in accordance with and in compliance with the provisions of the Intellectual Property Law and guiding legal documents for the implementation of the Intellectual Property Law.

3. Periodically or unexpectedly provide information to the Ministry of Science and Technology about state management and the protection of intellectual property rights to coordinate in handling arising issues and to compile reports for the Prime Minister.

Article 9. Responsibilities of the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government agencies regarding industrial property

1. The People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities have the following responsibilities in state management of industrial property at the local level:

a) Organize the implementation of policies and laws on industrial property;

b) Develop, promulgate, and organize the implementation of local regulations on industrial property;

c) Organize the management system for industrial property activities at the local level and implement measures to enhance the effectiveness of that system;

d) Organize propaganda and dissemination of knowledge, policies, and laws on industrial property, and implement measures to promote industrial property activities;

e) Guide and support organizations and individuals in carrying out procedures related to industrial property;

e) Cooperate with relevant agencies in activities protecting industrial property rights and handling violations of industrial property law;

g) Inspect and supervise the compliance with industrial property law, and resolve complaints and denunciations regarding industrial property at the local level;

h) Manage geographical indications belonging to the locality, including place names and other signs indicating the geographical origin of local specialties;

i) International cooperation on industrial property at the local level.

2. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government-affiliated agencies are responsible for organizing and directing the implementation of industrial property law and managing industrial property objects under their management.

Part Three

INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

Chapter I. ESTABLISHMENT OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

Section 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS ON ESTABLISHMENT

INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

Article 10. Basis and procedures for establishing industrial property rights

1. Industrial property rights for inventions, layout designs, industrial designs, trademarks, and geographical indications are established based on the decision of the state management agency for industrial property rights to grant a protection certificate to the applicant registering those objects in accordance with the provisions of Chapter VII, Chapter VIII, and Chapter IX of the Intellectual Property Law and Appendix I of this Decree.

Industrial property rights for trademarks registered internationally under the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol are established based on the acceptance of protection by the state management agency for industrial property rights for that international registration.

Industrial property rights for industrial designs registered internationally under the Hague Agreement are established on the basis of acceptance for protection by the state management agency for industrial property regarding that international registration.

2. Industrial property rights for well-known trademarks are established on the basis of the widespread actual use of those trademarks pursuant to the provisions of Article 75 of the Intellectual Property Law without the need to carry out registration procedures. When exercising rights and resolving disputes over well-known trademarks, the owner of the trademark must prove their rights with evidence in accordance with the provisions at point c, clause 5, Article 91 of this Decree.

3. Industrial property rights to a trade name are established based on the actual lawful use of that trade name corresponding to the area (territory) and business field, without the need to go through a registration procedure. When exercising the right and resolving disputes regarding the trade name, the holder of the trade name must prove their rights with evidence as stipulated in point b, clause 5, Article 91 of this Decree.

4. Industrial property rights to trade secrets are established on the basis of financial, intellectual investment or any legal means to discover, create, or obtain information and to maintain the confidentiality of information that constitutes such trade secrets without the need to carry out any registration procedures. When exercising rights and resolving disputes regarding trade secrets, the subject holding the trade secrets must prove their rights with evidence in accordance with the provisions at point a, Clause 5, Article 91 of this Decree.

5. The right to prevent unfair competition is established based on the practice of competitive activities without the need to carry out registration procedures with the state management agency for industrial property rights. When exercising the right to prevent unfair competition, the subject must prove their rights with evidence showing the object, field, territory, and business time related to the competitive activity.

Article 11. Industrial property rights according to international treaties

1. In the case where an international treaty related to industrial property, of which Vietnam is a member, stipulates the recognition and protection of industrial property rights of organizations and individuals of the members in accordance with the provisions of Article 6 of the Intellectual Property Law, the industrial property rights of organizations and individuals of other members shall be recognized and protected in Vietnam.

Industrial property rights are protected within the scope and duration in accordance with the provisions of the international treaty and do not require registration procedures under the Intellectual Property Law.

2. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall publish all necessary information related to industrial property rights recognized and protected in Vietnam under the international treaty.

Article 12. Priority rights of applications for inventions, industrial designs, trademarks

The right of priority for patent, industrial design, and trademark applications as prescribed in Article 91 of the Law on Intellectual Property is applied as follows:

1. In the case that an applicant for a patent, industrial design, or trademark wishes to claim the right of priority under the provisions of the Paris Convention, the applicant's request to claim priority will be accepted if the following conditions are met:

a) The applicant is a Vietnamese citizen, a citizen of a member country of the Paris Convention, or a citizen of another country residing in or having a production or business establishment in Vietnam or in a member country of the Paris Convention;

b) The first application was filed in Vietnam or in a member country of the Paris Convention and that application contains the corresponding part for claiming the priority right of the patent, industrial design, or trademark application;

c) The application is filed within the following period from the date of filing the first application: 6 months for an industrial design or trademark application, 12 months for a patent application;

d) In the application for a patent, industrial design, or trademark, the applicant must clearly state the request for priority rights and submit a copy of the first application referred to in point b of this clause in the case of filing abroad, including the confirmation from the first receiving office. The copy of the first application can be submitted within 03 months from the date of filing the application;

d) Pay in full the fee for requesting priority rights.

2. The first application that has been filed in Vietnam or in a member country of the Paris Convention according to the provisions of point b, clause 1, of this Article is an application eligible to confirm the filing date of that application in the relevant member country, regardless of the result of the processing of that application.

3. In the case where the applicant for a patent, industrial design, or trademark wishes to enjoy priority rights under another international treaty, the request for priority rights will be accepted if it meets the conditions for priority rights specified in that international treaty.

Article 13. Industrial property registration rights under international treaties

1. Foreign organizations and individuals that meet the conditions for industrial property protection in Vietnam as specified in Article 2 of this Decree may file applications for industrial property registration in Vietnam under or related to the international procedures provided in international treaties.

2. Vietnamese organizations and individuals may file international industrial property applications to request protection of their rights in Vietnam if provided for by an international treaty.

Article 14. Security control procedures for inventions

1. For inventions in the field of technology that affect security and national defense, listed in Appendix VII of this Decree, created in Vietnam and subject to registration rights of individuals who are Vietnamese citizens and permanently reside in Vietnam or organizations established under Vietnamese law, in order to meet the conditions for filing for foreign patent registration as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 89a of the Intellectual Property Law, the security control procedure must be carried out before the state management agency for industrial property announces the patent application.

2. The Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security shall designate agencies to receive and handle requests for determination of inventions in patent applications in technical fields that affect national defense and security, as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article.

3. Within 01 month from the date of receiving a written notice from the applicant of a national patent application regarding the intended filing of an application abroad to carry out patent security control as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, or the date a Vietnam-origin PCT application is filed through the state management agency on intellectual property, if there are grounds to suspect that the invention in that application falls under the case specified in Clause 1 of this Article, the state management agency on intellectual property shall temporarily suspend the examination process of the application and send a written request to determine whether the invention belongs to technical fields affecting national defense and security to the designated agency of the Ministry of National Defense or the Ministry of Public Security. The agency designated by the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security shall issue a document to determine whether the invention mentioned in the application falls under inventions in technical fields affecting national defense and security within 03 months from the date the state management agency on industrial property rights sends the request document.

4. For a patent application specified in Clause 3 of this Article, the state management agency on industrial property shall notify the applicant of the suspension of the examination procedure to carry out the security control procedure in accordance with Article 89a of the Intellectual Property Law within 07 working days from the date the written request is sent to the designated agency of the Ministry of National Defense or the Ministry of Public Security.

5. Within 20 days from the date of receiving the notice from the agency designated by the Ministry of National Defense or the Ministry of Public Security regarding the fact that the subject in the patent application belongs to technical fields affecting national defense and security as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article, the state management agency on industrial property shall notify the applicant of the above information, and at the same time require the applicant to file the patent application following the procedures in accordance with the law on the protection of state secrets within 01 month from the date of notification and to carry out the following procedures:

a) For patent applications filed under the national procedure: In cases where the applicant files a patent application in accordance with the procedures prescribed by the laws on state secrets protection, the application will continue to be processed according to the provisions of the law. In cases where the applicant does not file the patent application in accordance with the procedures prescribed by the laws on state secrets protection within the prescribed time limit, the application shall be considered withdrawn and shall be destroyed by the state management agency on intellectual property rights in accordance with the laws on state secrets protection, except in cases where the applicant has grounds to prove that the invention is not a state secret.

b) For PCT applications originating from Vietnam submitted through the state agency managing industrial property rights: The application shall be destroyed in accordance with the laws on the protection of state secrets and implementing the provisions at point e, clause 1, Article 20 of this Decree, except in cases where the applicant has grounds to prove that the invention is not a state secret.

6. The state agency managing industrial property rights continues the application examination process in the following cases:

a) Upon the expiration of the 03-month period stipulated in clause 3 of this Article, if the state management agency on industrial property does not receive notification from the agency designated by the Ministry of National Defense or the Ministry of Public Security.

b) The agency designated by the Ministry of National Defense or the Ministry of Public Security notifies that the invention in the application is not an invention belonging to technical fields affecting national defense and security.

The state management agency on industrial property shall notify the applicant about the continuation of processing the application within 01 month from the time mentioned in point a of this clause or from the date of receiving the notification mentioned in point b of this clause.

Amended and supplemented provisions:

Supplementary provisions

7. For applications falling under the case specified in clause 6 of this Article, the applicant has the right to file for patent registration of that invention abroad.

Article 15. Method of calculating deadlines

1. The method of calculating deadlines in industrial property activities shall be carried out according to the provisions on deadlines in the Civil Code.

2. The time limit for the applicant and related parties to submit, amend, supplement documents, or provide opinions may be extended once for the same duration as specified in the notice of the state management agency on industrial property rights, provided that the person requesting the extension submits a written request for the extension before the end of the specified time limit and pays the extension request fee as prescribed.

3. The period during which a force majeure event or an objective obstacle occurs shall not be counted towards the time limit if it prevents an organization or individual with rights or obligations from exercising those rights or performing those obligations within the specified time, provided that the organization or individual submits a request and has valid evidence proving that situation. If the request is accepted, the state management agency for industrial property shall decide, notify the withdrawal of the decision, or notify that the decision has been issued on the grounds that the organization or individual did not exercise the rights and obligations on time, and restore the application processing process to the state as if the time limit had not yet expired.

4. A force majeure event is an event that occurs objectively and cannot be foreseen (for example, natural disasters, wars, etc.) and cannot be remedied even though necessary and feasible measures have been applied.

Objective obstacles are those obstacles caused by external circumstances (for example: illness, business trips, studying in remote places, etc.) that prevent a person with rights and obligations from being aware that their legitimate rights and interests are being infringed, or from exercising their rights and obligations.

Provisions repealed

Article 16. Amendments and supplements to industrial property applications

1. Before the state management agency on industrial property issues a decision to refuse the acceptance of an application, a decision to grant or refuse to grant a protection title, the applicant may:

a) Amend or supplement the documents in the application provided that such amendments or supplements do not extend the scope (extent) of protection disclosed in the description for the patent application, the set of photographs, drawings, and description for the industrial design application, the photographs and drawings for the industrial design application, the trademark specimen and the list of goods and services for the trademark application, and do not alter the nature of the subject matter disclosed in the application;

b) Amendments to the name, address, country code of the applicant, name, nationality, address of the inventor, layout design, industrial design; amendment of the industrial property representative.

2. Amendments and supplements to the application are carried out as follows:

a) In the case where amendments or supplements to the application are made voluntarily by the applicant after the state management agency for industrial property rights accepts a valid application, including changes to the legal representative in Vietnam, the application for amendment or supplement must be made according to Form No. 04 in Annex II of this Decree;

b) In the case of amending or supplementing an application before the state management agency on industrial property rights accepts or refuses to accept the valid application, or amending or supplementing the application based on the notice of the state management agency on industrial property rights related to that application, the request for amendment or supplementation must be made in writing, clearly stating the content of the requested amendment or supplementation;

c) The applicant may request amendments or supplements with the same content related to multiple applications of the same type of industrial property rights in one Declaration or one written request for amendment or supplementation;

d) The person requesting to amend or supplement the application must pay the following fees:

d1) The examination fee for the request to amend or supplement for each amendment content as prescribed and a copy of the proof of payment (in case of payment through postal services or direct payment into the account of the state management agency on industrial property rights);

d2) The fee for publishing information on amendments and supplements to the application according to regulations if the amended or supplemented content must be published according to the provisions in point a, clause 3 of this Article. In cases where amendments or supplements must be made to correct errors caused by the state management agency of industrial property rights, the applicant is not required to pay the publication fee;

d) For requests to amend or supplement the following documents, the applicant must submit the corresponding modified or supplemented documents:

d1) Part or all of the description, abstract of the invention for a patent application;

d2) 04 sets of photographs or sets of drawings and layout descriptions of integrated circuits for applications for layout designs;

d3) 04 sets of drawings or 04 sets of photographs and descriptions for industrial design applications;

d4) 05 samples of trademarks, lists of goods and services bearing the trademark for trademark applications;

đ5) Description of the specific characteristics of the product carrying the geographical indication, and a map of the geographical area corresponding to the geographical indication for the geographical indication application.

Amendment and supplementation documents of the application must comply with the provisions on those documents in Appendix I of this Decree. For requests for amendment and supplementation under points đ1, đ2, and đ3 of this clause, the applicant must submit a detailed explanation of the content of the amendments and supplements compared to the initially submitted documents.

e) In the case of amending the name, address, or country code of the applicant, or the name or nationality of the author, the applicant must submit confirmation documents (original or certified copy) or legal documents (certified copy) proving the change (decision to change name, address; business registration certificate recording the change of name, address, etc.). In the case of amending the industrial property representative, the applicant must submit a declaration of change of the industrial property representative.

3. The state management agency on industrial property rights handles requests for amendment or supplementation of applications as follows:

a) Publishes the amended or supplemented contents in the case of a request to amend or supplement information related to an application that is formality-compliant as recorded in the decision to accept the valid application; the name and nationality of the inventor, industrial design, layout design; the abstract of the invention accompanied by drawings (if any); a set of photographs or industrial design drawings; trademark samples and the accompanying list of goods and services; a description of the specific characteristics of products bearing geographical indications and the name of products bearing geographical indications;

b) In the case where the applicant requests to amend or supplement the application as prescribed in point a, clause 2 of this Article, the amended or supplemented contents are examined in accordance with the provisions of Article 109 of the Intellectual Property Law and relevant legal regulations;

Provisions repealed

Amended and supplemented provisions:

c) Requests for amendments or supplements to an application submitted after receiving a notification of intention to grant a protection title in the following cases must be re-examined, and the applicant must pay the fee as prescribed:

c1) Amendments to information related to the nature of the subject mentioned in the application: invention description; description, photo set, industrial design drawings; trademark specimen, list of goods and services bearing the trademark, regulations on the use of collective marks, regulations on the use of certification marks; description of the distinctive characteristics of products bearing geographical indications, the geographical area corresponding to the geographical indication;

c2) Change of trademark applicant;

d) Notification of acceptance or refusal to accept the request for amendment or supplement within the period prescribed in Clause 4, Article 119 of the Intellectual Property Law;

d) Notification of acceptance or refusal to accept requests to amend or supplement the application in documents sent to the applicant during the processing of industrial property applications in cases specified in Point b, Clause 2 of this Article.

Provisions repealed

Article 17. Division of applications, withdrawal of industrial property applications; request for substantive examination, conversion of patent applications

1. The division of industrial property applications is carried out as follows:

a) Before the industrial property authority issues a decision to refuse to accept the application, a decision to grant, or a decision to refuse to grant a protection title, the applicant may divide the application (divide one or several technical solutions in a patent application, one or several industrial designs in an industrial design application, or part of the list of goods and services in a trademark application into one or more new applications, called a divisional application);

b) A divisional application carries a new application number and takes the filing date of the original application or the priority date(s) of the original application (if any). For each divisional application, the applicant must pay the filing fee and any fees and charges for procedures conducted independently of the original application (apart from procedures already carried out in the original application that do not need to be repeated in the divisional application), but is not required to pay the examination fee for claiming priority rights (except in the case of a divisional industrial design application due to lack of unity). The divisional application is examined for formality and continues to be processed according to procedures not yet completed for the original application. The divisional application must be published as prescribed;

c) The applicant must submit a statement explaining the subject matter requested for protection and the changes compared to the original application when filing a divisional application;

d) The original application (after being divided) continues to be processed according to the application processing procedure or the application amendment procedure.

2. The withdrawal of a industrial property registration application under the provisions of Article 116 of the Intellectual Property Law is carried out as follows:

a) The withdrawal of an application must be carried out by the applicant themselves or by a representative authorized by the applicant through a written declaration. For applications submitted through a representative, the power of attorney must clearly state the authorization to withdraw the application or must be accompanied by an instruction letter specifying the application number to be withdrawn;

b) Within 02 months from the date of receipt of the request, the state management agency on industrial property:

b1) Issue a notice of acceptance of withdrawal in cases where the request to withdraw the application meets the provisions at point a of this clause and terminate the processing of the application, recording the withdrawal in the application file. A withdrawn industrial property registration application cannot be restored but can only be used as a basis to request priority rights according to the provisions of Clause 3, Article 116 of the Intellectual Property Law;

b2) Issue a notice of intent to refuse acceptance of withdrawal in cases where the request to withdraw the application does not meet the provisions at point a of this clause and set a 02-month deadline from the date of the notice for the applicant to remedy the deficiencies;

b3) Issue a notice of refusal to accept the withdrawal if the applicant does not remedy the deficiencies within the period specified in point b2 of this clause or remedies the deficiencies but does not meet the requirements.

3. The conversion of a patent application according to the provisions at point đ, Clause 1, Article 115 of the Intellectual Property Law is implemented as follows:

a) Before the state management agency on industrial property rights issues a decision to refuse the acceptance of the application, a decision to grant, or a decision to refuse the granting of a protection title, the applicant for a patent may convert the request for a patent grant into a request for a utility solution registration or vice versa for all or part of the application, provided that the applicant must pay the application fee for the converted application as prescribed. In the case of converting part of an application, the applicant must carry out the divisional application procedure before requesting the conversion;

b) After receiving a valid request for application conversion, the state management agency on industrial property rights continues to carry out the procedure for handling the converted application according to the corresponding regulations, but does not redo the procedures already conducted for the application before the conversion request.

4. A third party requests the state management agency on industrial property rights to perform substantive examination of the patent application according to the provisions of Article 113 of the Intellectual Property Law as follows:

a) The request for substantive examination of the patent application must be made using Form No. 05 in Appendix I of this Decree;

b) The deadline for submitting the request for substantive examination of the patent application is as prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2, Article 113 of the Intellectual Property Law;

Amended and supplemented provisions:

c) The person requesting the substantive examination of the patent application must pay the search fee and substantive examination fee as prescribed;

d) The request for substantive examination of the patent application shall be notified to the applicant of that patent application within 03 months from the date of receipt of the request;

d) In cases where the request for substantive examination is invalid, within 01 month from the date of receipt of the request for substantive examination, the state agency in charge of industrial property shall notify and set a period of 02 months from the date of the notification for the requester of the substantive examination to correct the deficiencies. If the requester of the substantive examination does not correct the deficiencies within the prescribed period or the corrections do not meet the requirements, the state agency in charge of industrial property shall notify the refusal to examine the content of the application;

e) In cases where the request for substantive examination is valid, the state agency in charge of industrial property shall conduct the substantive examination of the application in accordance with Article 114 of the Law on Intellectual Property and relevant legal regulations, and notify the results of the substantive examination to the requester.

Provisions repealed

Article 18. Recording the change of the applicant for industrial property registration

1. Before the state management agency for industrial property rights issues a decision to refuse to accept an application, or a decision to grant or refuse to grant a protection certificate, the applicant may request the state management agency for industrial property rights to record the change of applicant based on transfer, inheritance, succession, or according to the decision of a competent authority.

2. The recording of the change of applicant due to the transfer of the application is carried out as follows:

a) The dossier requesting the recording of change due to the transfer of the application includes:

a1) The request to record the transfer of the application made according to Form No. 05 in Appendix II of this Decree;

a2) The document transferring the industrial property registration application (original or certified copy) must include the main contents such as the name and address of the transferor and the transferee; the number of the transferred application or sufficient information to identify the application;

a3) A copy of the payment receipt for fees and charges as prescribed (in case of payment of fees and charges via postal service or directly into the account of the state management agency on industrial property rights);

b) The request for recording a change due to the transfer of multiple applications by the same applicant can be made in the same declaration, provided that the examination fee is paid according to the regulations corresponding to the number of applications for which the transfer recording is requested;

c) The request for recording a change due to the transfer of an application is processed as a request to amend or supplement the application according to the provisions of Article 16 of this Decree. In case the request for recording a change due to the transfer of a trademark registration application is submitted after the notice of intended grant of protection certificate, the trademark registration application must be re-examined and the transfer content must be published. The requester must pay the application examination fee and publication fee as prescribed.

3. The recognition of changes in the applicant due to inheritance, succession, or according to the decision of a competent authority shall be carried out upon request based on inheritance, succession of assets in the case of consolidation, merger, division, separation of legal entities, joint ventures, associations, establishment of new legal entities by the same owner, conversion of business forms, or according to the decision of a Court or other competent authority. The procedure for requesting recognition of changes in the applicant in these cases shall be conducted in the same manner as the procedure for amending and supplementing the application as prescribed in Article 16 of this Decree.

Section 2. APPLICATIONS AND HANDLING OF PCT APPLICATIONS

Provisions repealed

Article 19. PCT Application

1. A PCT application includes a PCT application originating from Vietnam and a PCT application entering the national phase.

2. For a PCT application originating from Vietnam, the applicant may file the application through the state management agency for industrial property or directly with the International Bureau. An application filed directly with the International Bureau must be made in a language prescribed by the PCT Treaty and must meet the formal and substantive requirements prescribed in the PCT Treaty. An application filed through the state management agency for industrial property must be made in English, each application must be in one copy, and must meet the formal and substantive requirements prescribed in the PCT Treaty. The applicant must pay the preliminary examination fee, as well as other fees and charges according to the provisions of the Regulations under the PCT Treaty and the laws on fees and charges of the designated member countries in the PCT application.

3. For a PCT application designating or electing Vietnam, in order to enter the national phase, the applicant must submit to the state management agency on industrial property within 31 months from the priority date (if the application claims priority) or from the international filing date the following documents:

a) Patent application form, according to Form No. 01 in Appendix I of this Decree;

b) A copy of the international application (in case the applicant requests entry into the national phase before the international publication date);

c) A Vietnamese translation of the description and abstract in the international application (the published version or the original version initially filed if the application has not been published, and any amendments and explanations of amendments, if the international application has amendments according to Article 19 and/or Article 34.2(b) of the PCT).

d) Copy of the receipt for payment of fees (in case of payment of fees via postal service or directly into the account of the state management agency on industrial property rights);

d) Power of attorney (in case the request is required to be submitted through a representative).

Provisions repealed

Article 20. Handling PCT applications originating from Vietnam submitted via the state management agency on industrial property rights

1. After receiving a PCT application originating from Vietnam, the state management agency on industrial property rights is responsible for carrying out the following procedures:

a) Collect the fee for preliminary formal examination of the application;

b) Determine whether the subject of the protection request of the application is classified as a state secret;

c) Notify the fees in accordance with regulations for the applicant to transfer to the International Bureau and the International Searching Authority in accordance with the PCT;

d) Examine and process the application in accordance with the provisions of the PCT.

d) Forward the application to the International Bureau and the international searching authority in cases where the application meets the preliminary formal requirements, the fee under the national law is paid in full and on time, and the subject matter requested for protection in the application is not a state secret;

e) Do not carry out subsequent work in cases where the subject matter requested for protection in the application is a state secret.

2. After a PCT application originating from Vietnam has been transferred by the state management agency for industrial property to the International Bureau, all transactions related to the application shall be conducted directly by the applicant with the International Bureau or the competent authorities of the member countries of the PCT designated in the application in accordance with the provisions of the PCT.

Provisions repealed

Article 21. Handling PCT applications at the national phase

A PCT application entering the national phase is processed as follows:

1. A request for priority in a PCT application entering the national phase is handled in accordance with the PCT and the Regulations under the PCT. To enjoy priority, the applicant must:

a) Reaffirm the request for priority in the declaration;

b) Pay the fee for examining the request for priority;

c) Submit a Vietnamese translation of the documents submitted to the International Bureau as required by the state management agency on industrial property and the necessary documents according to Rule 17.1(a) of the Regulations under the PCT.

2. The applicant may amend or supplement documents in the application. Amendments and supplements to the documents in the application must comply with the following provisions:

a) Articles 28 and 41 of the PCT, Rules 52.1(b) and 78.1(b) of the Regulations under the PCT, and the provisions of Article 115 of the Intellectual Property Law;

b) The power of attorney document, the document transferring the right to file an application during the international phase (if any) must be submitted within 34 months from the priority date (if the application claims priority) or from the international filing date;

c) Amendments or supplementary documents submitted by the applicant to the state authority in charge of industrial property must be made in Vietnamese.

3. The start date for processing a PCT Application at the national phase is the first day of the thirty-second month from the priority date (if the application claims priority) or from the international filing date. If the applicant submits a written request for early processing of the PCT Application at the national phase, the PCT Application will be processed before the deadline specified in this clause in accordance with the provisions of Article 23.2 of the PCT Treaty.

4. A PCT application entering the national phase is examined for formalities and substance according to the procedures prescribed for a patent application filed in national form and is published within 02 months from the date of acceptance of a valid application.

Section 3. APPLICATIONS AND PROCESSING HAGUE APPLICATIONS

Provisions repealed

Article 22. Hague Application

1. A Hague Application includes a Hague Application designating Vietnam and a Hague Application originating from Vietnam.

2. For a Hague Application originating from Vietnam, the applicant may submit the application through the state management agency on industrial property rights or directly to the International Bureau. Applications submitted to the International Bureau must be made in the language prescribed by the Hague Agreement and must meet the formal and substantive requirements prescribed in the Hague Agreement.

3. Hague Applications submitted through the state management agency for industrial property rights must be made in English, each application must be prepared in 02 copies and must meet the formal and substantive requirements prescribed in the Hague Agreement, and the applicant must pay the international application transmittal fee, fees, and charges in accordance with the Hague Agreement and the laws on fees and charges of the designated member countries.

Provisions repealed

Article 23. Handling Hague Applications originating from Vietnam submitted through the state management agency for industrial property rights

1. In the case where a Hague Application originating from Vietnam is submitted through the state management agency for industrial property rights, the state management agency for industrial property rights is responsible for carrying out the following procedures:

a) Collect the international application transmittal fee;

b) Notify the fee that the applicant needs to pay directly to the International Bureau according to the provisions of the Hague Agreement within 20 days from the date of receiving the application;

c) Conduct a preliminary formality check of the application within 15 days from the date of receiving the application;

d) In case the application is incomplete, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall notify the applicant of the deficiencies of the application and set a deadline of 12 days from the date of notification for the applicant to remedy;

đ) Forward the Hague Application originating from Vietnam to the International Bureau within 01 month from the date of receiving the application.

2. The date on which the state management agency on industrial property rights receives the Hague Application originating from Vietnam shall be considered the date of filing the international industrial design registration if the International Bureau receives the application within 01 month from the date indicated on the receipt of the state management agency on industrial property rights.

3. After a Hague application originating from Vietnam has been submitted to the International Bureau, all transactions related to the application are conducted by the applicant directly with the International Bureau or the competent authorities of the member countries of the Hague Agreement designated in the application in accordance with the provisions of the Hague Agreement.

Provisions repealed

Article 24. Processing Hague Applications Designating Vietnam

After receiving notification from the International Bureau, the state management agency for industrial property handles the Hague application designating Vietnam according to the following provisions:

1. The state management agency on industrial property rights shall examine the content of the application in the same manner as applications for industrial designs filed under the national procedure, except in cases specified in Clauses 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9 of this Article. Within 06 months from the date the International Bureau issues a notification, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall conclude on the protectability of the industrial design in the application.

2. In the case that the industrial design in the application meets the protection conditions according to the provisions of Vietnamese law and the application has no defects, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall perform the following procedures:

a) Before the expiration of the 6-month period mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article, the state management agency for industrial property rights shall issue a decision to accept the protection of the industrial design registered internationally in the application, record it in the National Register of Industrial Property (Internationally Registered Industrial Design section), and send to the International Bureau a declaration of acceptance of protection for the internationally registered industrial design according to the form of the International Bureau;

b) Publish the above decision in the Industrial Property Gazette within 2 months from the date of the decision.

3. In cases where the industrial design does not meet the conditions for protection or the application has deficiencies (lacking photographs/drawings resulting in the set of photographs/drawings not fully disclosing the design features of the industrial design, or an international registration does not meet Vietnam's claims, or there is information that needs verification, etc.), before the expiration of the 06-month period specified in Clause 1 of this Article, the state management agency on intellectual property shall issue a refusal notice in the form prescribed by the International Bureau, clearly stating the content and reasons for the refusal, and send that notice to the International Bureau.

4. In the case where some industrial designs registered do not meet the conditions for protection, or the application still has deficiencies regarding some industrial designs (missing photographs/drawings that cause the set of photographs/drawings not to fully reveal the design features of the industrial design, or international registration does not meet Vietnam's declarations, or there is information that needs to be verified, etc.), before the expiration of the 06-month period specified in Clause 1 of this Article, the state management agency on industrial property shall carry out the following procedures:

a) Issue a refusal notice for an industrial design that does not meet the protection conditions or is still incomplete according to the form of the International Office, clearly stating the content and reasons for the refusal and send that notice to the International Office;

b) Make a decision to grant protection for industrial designs that meet the protection conditions and have no deficiencies, record it in the National Register of Industrial Property (Internationally Registered Industrial Designs Section), and send a declaration of granting protection for internationally registered industrial designs to the International Bureau according to the International Bureau's form, specifying the industrial design for which protection is granted;

c) Publish the decision in the Industrial Property Official Gazette within 02 months from the date of the decision.

5. Within 03 months from the date the state management agency on industrial property issues a refusal notice according to the provisions in Clauses 3 and 4 of this Article, the applicant has the right to correct deficiencies or oppose the refusal opinion of the state management agency on industrial property. The correction of deficiencies or opposition to the refusal opinion stated in the notice shall be carried out according to the procedures applicable to industrial design registration applications submitted in the national form, including the provisions on the method of submission.

In the case that a Single Design Application is likely to be refused for non-compliance with the requirement for unity of the application under the provisions of Article 101 of the Intellectual Property Law, the applicant may remedy the above deficiency by requesting to separate one or several industrial designs in the above international registration into one or more new applications. The state management agency for industrial property rights shall carry out the separation of the application and issue decisions and notifications for the new applications independently of the original application.

6. In the case that the applicant rectifies the deficiency in accordance with the requirements and/or submits a reasonable objection within the 03-month period specified in paragraph 5 of this Article, the state management agency for industrial property rights shall carry out the following procedures:

a) Make a decision to accept the protection of internationally registered industrial designs for industrial designs that meet the protection conditions, record it in the National Register of Industrial Property (Section on Internationally Registered Industrial Designs), and send to the International Bureau a declaration of acceptance of protection of internationally registered industrial designs after refusal, according to the International Bureau's form, specifying which industrial designs are accepted for protection;

b) Publish the above decision in the Industrial Property Gazette within 2 months from the date of the decision.

7. In the case where the 03-month period mentioned in Clause 5 of this Article expires and the applicant does not correct the deficiencies, or corrects them but they do not meet the requirements, does not raise any objections, or raises objections that are not valid regarding the industrial designs notified of refusal, the state management agency on industrial property shall decide to refuse protection of the international registration for those industrial designs.

8. In the case where the 03-month period from the date the International Bureau notifies about the La Hay Application or makes a designation to Vietnam expires and the applicant does not submit the documents proving the priority right, or submits the documents proving the priority right but they are not approved by the state management agency on industrial property, the application shall be considered as not requesting to exercise the priority right.

9. The procedures for filing complaints and resolving complaints regarding the decisions mentioned in Clauses 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 of this Article shall be carried out in the same manner as for industrial design applications filed under the national procedure. In the event that, after the complaint resolution results, some or all industrial designs are refused in the refusal decisions that are accepted for protection, the state authority for industrial property shall send to the International Bureau a declaration of acceptance of protection after refusal according to the International Bureau's form, specifying the industrial designs accepted for protection.

10. In the event that a third party has comments on a La Hay Application designating Vietnam before the decision to accept protection is issued, the third party's opinions shall be considered as a reference source in the process of handling the La Hay Application designating Vietnam.

Section 4. MADRID APPLICATIONS AND PROCESSING

Provisions repealed

Article 25. Madrid Application

1. The Madrid application includes Madrid applications originating from Vietnam and Madrid applications designating Vietnam.

2. For Madrid applications originating from Vietnam, the applicant must submit them through the state management agency for industrial property rights.

3. Madrid applications originating from Vietnam include the following documents:

a) Request form for international trademark registration originating from Vietnam according to Form No. 01 in Vietnamese in Appendix II of this Decree;

b) 02 MM2 forms according to the International Bureau's template in English or French;

c) 02 trademark samples exactly as the trademark in the application already submitted in Vietnam (basic application) or the trademark registration certificate (basic registration);

d) 02 MM18 forms in English (if the application designates the United States);

e) Power of attorney in Vietnamese (in case the application is submitted through a representative);

f) Proof of payment of fees for the procedure of international trademark registration originating from Vietnam;

g) Other relevant documents (if needed).

4. Madrid applications originating from Vietnam must meet the requirements regarding form and content as prescribed. The applicant must fully, accurately, and correctly fill in the information in the application form, consistent with the information stated in the basic application or basic registration.

Provisions repealed

Article 26. Handling Madrid applications originating from Vietnam and related requests

1. After receiving a Madrid application originating from Vietnam, the state management agency on industrial property rights is responsible for examining to determine whether the application meets the requirements prescribed in Clauses 3 and 4 of Article 25 of this Decree and carrying out the following procedures:

a) In case the application has deficiencies, the state agency in charge of industrial property rights shall notify the applicant to correct the deficiencies. If the applicant does not correct the deficiencies within 03 months from the date the state agency in charge of industrial property rights issues the notification, the application shall be deemed withdrawn;

b) In case the application has no deficiencies or has deficiencies but the applicant has corrected them satisfactorily, the state agency in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a notice of the fees and charges the applicant must pay directly to the International Bureau, certify the application, and forward the application to the International Bureau within 15 days from the date of the notice of fees and charges;

c) The date on which the state management agency on industrial property rights receives a Madrid Application originating from Vietnam shall be considered the international registration date of that application in the case where the International Bureau receives the application within 02 months from the date indicated on the receipt stamp of the state management agency on industrial property rights. In the case that the application is not completed to be sent to the International Bureau within the said period, the date the application is received at the International Bureau shall be considered the international registration date.

Amended and supplemented provisions:

Supplementary provisions

2. After a Madrid Application originating from Vietnam is submitted to the International Bureau, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall notify the applicant and continue to handle (in coordination with the applicant if necessary) notices, requests from the International Bureau, or other matters related to the application (if any).

3. The implementation requirements after a Madrid Application originating from Vietnam is granted an international registration number, such as designating (expanding the territory of protection), amending the name, address of the international registration holder, limiting the list of goods and services, renewing the validity of the international registration, appointing a representative, changing a representative, recording the transfer of the international registration, etc., can be carried out directly with the International Bureau or through the national intellectual property administration agency. In case of submission through the national intellectual property administration agency, the applicant needs to submit the following documents:

a) The declaration required according to Form No. 02 in Vietnamese in Appendix II of this Decree;

b) 02 declarations corresponding to the form of the International Office;

c) Power of attorney document in Vietnamese (in case the request is to be submitted through a representative);

d) Receipts for payment of fees for the amendment, transfer, extension, territorial expansion, limitation of goods and services list, termination, cancellation of the validity of an international trademark originating from Vietnam, etc.;

d) Other relevant documents (if necessary).

4. After receiving the requests specified in Clause 3 of this Article, the state management agency on industrial property shall carry out the following procedures:

a) In case the application dossier has deficiencies, the state management agency on industrial property shall notify the applicant to correct the deficiencies. If the applicant does not correct the deficiencies within 03 months from the date the state management agency on industrial property issues the notification, the request shall be considered withdrawn.

b) In cases where the request dossier has no deficiencies or has deficiencies but the applicant has corrected them satisfactorily, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall issue a notification of fees for the applicant to pay directly to the International Bureau, sign the acknowledgment of the request, and forward the request to the International Bureau within 10 days from the date of the fee notification.

5. In the case of submitting an international registration renewal request through the state management agency on industrial property rights, the applicant must submit it no earlier than 6 months and no later than 1 month prior to the expiration date of that international registration. If the request to extend the validity of the international registration is within the grace period, the request dossier must be submitted to the state management agency on industrial property rights no later than 1 month prior to the end of the grace period.

Provisions repealed

Article 27. Processing the Madrid Application designating Vietnam

1. After receiving the notification from the International Bureau regarding a Madrid application designating Vietnam, the state management agency for industrial property shall examine the content of the application as for a trademark application submitted in the national form, except in cases specified in Clauses 3 and 10 of this Article. Within 12 months from the date the International Bureau issues the notification, the state management agency for industrial property shall conclude on the registrability of the trademark.

2. For trademarks that meet the protection requirements under the laws of Vietnam, the state management agency for industrial property shall carry out the following procedures:

a) Before the expiry of the 12-month period mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article, the state management agency on industrial property shall issue a decision to accept the protection of the internationally registered trademark in Vietnam, record it in the National Register of Industrial Property (Internationally Registered Trademark Section), and send the protection declaration to the International Bureau;

b) Publish the above decision in the Industrial Property Gazette within 2 months from the date of the decision.

The scope (extent) of protection is determined according to the content of the request in the international trademark registration that has been recorded by the International Bureau and accepted by the state management agency on industrial property.

3. For trademarks for which a part or all of the goods or services do not meet the conditions for protection, or trademarks that meet the conditions for protection but the international registration still has deficiencies (such as missing regulations on the use of collective marks, certification marks, missing photographs or drawings showing a perspective view of a three-dimensional mark, etc.), before the expiration of the 12-month period specified in Clause 1 of this Article, the state management authority on industrial property shall issue a provisional refusal notice, clearly stating the content and reason for the intended refusal and send that notice to the International Bureau.

4. Within 03 months from the date the state management authority on industrial property sends the provisional refusal notice for part or all of the goods or services, the applicant has the right to correct deficiencies or submit opinions opposing the intended refusal of the state management authority on industrial property.

The correction of deficiencies or opposition to the intended refusal is carried out according to the procedure for a trademark application filed in national form, including provisions on how to submit the application.

5. In cases where the state management agency for industrial property rights intends to refuse part or all of the list of goods and services (as stated in the temporary refusal notification), if within the 03-month period specified in Clause 4 of this Article, the applicant corrects the deficiencies satisfactorily and/or has justified objections to the intention to refuse part or all of those goods and services, the state management agency for industrial property rights shall carry out the following procedures:

a) Make a decision to accept the protection of an internationally registered trademark in Vietnam with the scope (volume) of protection corresponding to goods and services that meet the protection conditions; record it in the National Register of Industrial Property (Internationally Registered Trademark Section); and send the protection declaration to the International Office after the provisional refusal notification;

b) Publish the above decision in the Industrial Property Gazette within 2 months from the date of the decision.

6. In the case where the state management agency on industrial property rights intends to refuse part of the list of goods and services (stated in the temporary refusal notice), if, at the end of the 03-month period mentioned in Clause 4 of this Article, the applicant does not correct the deficiencies or the corrections are inadequate, has no objection, or has an objection but it is not justified against that intended refusal, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall apply similarly the procedures prescribed in Clause 5 of this Article only to the goods and services that meet the protection conditions (goods and services not stated in the temporary refusal notice).

7. In the case where the state management agency on industrial property rights intends to refuse the entire list of goods and services (as stated in the provisional refusal notification), if at the end of the 03-month period mentioned in Clause 4 of this Article, the applicant does not correct the deficiencies or the corrections do not meet the requirements, has no objections, or has objections but they are unfounded regarding the intention to refuse the entire list of goods and services, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall issue a decision to refuse acceptance of protection for the internationally registered trademark in Vietnam and send a notification to the International Bureau confirming the total refusal.

8. The complaint procedure and the resolution of complaints regarding the decisions mentioned in point a, clause 2, clauses 5, 6, and 7 of this Article shall be carried out as for a trademark application filed in national form if there are grounds to believe that this decision was issued not in accordance with the legal provisions on content and issuance procedures. The results of the complaint resolution shall be notified by the state management agency on industrial property rights to the applicant. In cases where, after the complaint resolution results, part or all of the list of goods and services refused in the refusal decisions is accepted for protection or there is a change in the exclusion factors (not protected separately), the state management agency on industrial property rights shall send to the International Bureau the subsequent decision affecting the protection of the trademark according to the International Bureau's form regarding the corresponding contents.

9. From the date the international trademark registration is accepted for protection in Vietnam, upon the request of the trademark owner, the state management agency on industrial property shall issue a certificate that the international registered trademark is protected in Vietnam, provided that the requester pays fees and charges according to regulations.

10. From the date the Madrid Application is published by the International Bureau in the Gazette until before the date of the decision on protection acceptance, or 12 months from the date the International Bureau notifies the application with a designation of Vietnam, whichever comes first, if a third party has an opinion on the Madrid Application designated for Vietnam, this opinion shall be regarded as a reference source in the application processing.

Provisions repealed

Article 28. Conversion of international trademark registration into a national application

1. In the case of an international trademark registration in Vietnam where the trademark owner is an individual or organization belonging to a member of the Madrid Protocol that has lost effect pursuant to the provisions of Article 6 of the Madrid Protocol, that person has the right to file a transformation application with the state management authority on industrial property to register protection for the same trademark for part or all of the goods and services listed in the goods and services list recorded in the international trademark registration but which has lost effect under the provisions of Article 9quinquies of the Madrid Protocol. The transformation trademark application is considered valid if it meets the following conditions:

a) The application is submitted within 03 months from the date recorded in the International Register regarding the corresponding international registration that has become invalid;

b) The international registration has never been the subject of refusal, termination, or complete cancellation in Vietnam;

c) The application shall be made according to Form No. 03 in Appendix II of this Decree (in which the list of goods and services in Vietnamese in the conversion application must be less than or equal to the list of goods and services that have lost effect in the corresponding international registration);

d) The application meets all other formal requirements for a trademark application as prescribed by Vietnamese law;

đ) The applicant submits all fees and charges in full as prescribed for a trademark application filed in national form, except as provided in point b, clause 2 of this Article.

A converted trademark application is recorded with the filing date as the date of international registration or subsequent designation (in the case of subsequent designation to Vietnam). In case the international registration enjoys priority rights under an international treaty, the converted trademark application is granted corresponding priority rights, except in cases where there are grounds for rejection.

2. The state management agency on industrial property rights shall examine the trademark registration application for conversion according to the provisions on conversion conditions mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article and based on the following principles:

a) For the formal elements that have been accepted by the International Bureau in the corresponding international registration, the state management agency for industrial property shall not re-examine, except in cases where the application has deficiencies (lack of regulations on the use of collective marks, regulations on the use of certification marks, missing photographs or drawings showing the three-dimensional mark perspective, etc.). The state management agency for industrial property shall issue a decision to refuse the application if the application does not meet the conditions prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article.

b) For trademark applications converted from international registrations that have been accepted for protection in Vietnam, the state management agency for industrial property does not re-examine the content. In cases where the application meets the conversion conditions specified in Clause 1 of this Article, the state management agency for industrial property shall carry out the procedures for notifying the intention to grant the protection certificate, deciding to grant the protection certificate, recording in the National Register of Industrial Property, and publishing the decision in the Industrial Property Gazette, as with applications submitted in the national form.

c) For a valid trademark application converted that does not fall under the case specified in point b of this clause, the state management agency on industrial property shall carry out procedures for acceptance of a valid application, publication of the application, substantive examination, and subsequent procedures as for a trademark application filed under the national procedure.

Section 5. PROTECTION CERTIFICATE

Article 29. Amend information on the protection certificate, change information in the National Register of Industrial Property

1. The protection certificate records information in accordance with the provisions of Clause 1, Article 92 of the Intellectual Property Law and following the form prescribed in Appendix II of this Decree. The protection certificate is issued in electronic form and in paper form (in case the applicant requests a paper version). The holder of the protection certificate, organization, or individual allowed by the State to exercise the right to register a geographical indication has the right to request the state management agency on industrial property to record changes in information on the protection certificate in the following cases:

a) Changes in the name, address of the holder of the protected work; the organization managing the geographical indication; the name, nationality of the inventor, industrial design, layout design;

b) Changing the holder of the protection certificate (transfer of ownership due to inheritance, succession, merger, division, separation, consolidation, joint venture, affiliation, establishment of a new legal entity by the same owner, change of business form, or according to the decision of the Court or another competent authority);

c) Amending the description of the specific characteristics of the product carrying the geographical indication, the geographical area corresponding to the geographical indication, the regulations on the use of collective marks, or the regulations on the use of certification marks.

The requester recording the change of information on the protection certificate must pay the fee for examining the request to amend the protection certificate, the registration fee, and the fee for publishing the decision to acknowledge the amendment of the protection certificate.

2. The holder of a protection certificate, an organization, or an individual permitted by the State to exercise the right to register a geographical indication has the right to request the state management agency on industrial property rights to record changes regarding the industrial property representative organization of the certificate holder in the National Register of Industrial Property. The person requesting the recording of a change in the industrial property representative organization must submit an authorization document from the certificate holder and the fee for evaluating the recording request, the registration fee, and the fee for publishing the decision to record the change in industrial property representative information as prescribed.

3. The holder of a protection certificate has the right to request the state management agency on industrial property rights to narrow the scope of protection in accordance with clause 3, Article 97 of the Law on Intellectual Property in the following cases:

a) Request to reduce one or several goods, services, or groups of goods and services listed in the goods and services catalog in the Trademark Registration Certificate, or to remove small details that are excluded elements (not separately protected) but do not alter the distinctiveness of the trademark stated in the Trademark Registration Certificate;

b) Request to reduce one or several independent or dependent claims within the scope (request) of protection stated in the Patent Certificate or Utility Solution Certificate;

c) Request to remove one or several industrial design variants, one or several products in the product set in the Industrial Design Certificate.

The requester to narrow the scope of protection must pay the examination fee for the request to narrow the scope of protection, the registration fee, and the publication fee for the decision to amend the protection certificate.

4. Depending on the content that needs to be amended as stipulated in Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of this Article, the application file for amendment includes the following set of documents:

a) Amendment request form made according to Form No. 06 in Appendix II of this Decree, clearly stating the requested changes. One amendment request form can request the amendment of multiple protection titles if they have the same content of amendment, provided that the requester pays the fee according to regulations for each protection title;

b) The original protection title in case the protection title is granted in paper form;

c) Documents confirming the change of name, address (original or certified copy); decision on the change of name, address; business registration license noting the change of name, address; other legal documents proving the change of name, address (original or certified copy) if the content requested for amendment is the name or address;

d) Documents proving the transfer of ownership in accordance with the provisions at point b, clause 1 of this Article (documents proving inheritance, succession, merger, division, separation, consolidation, joint venture, association, establishment of a new legal entity by the same owner, business form conversion, or pursuant to the decision of the Court or other competent authority), if a change of the title holder is requested;

d) Documents providing a detailed explanation of the amendments;

e) 05 sets of photographs or drawings of the industrial design that have been modified (if modification of the industrial design is required); 02 copies of descriptions of the specific characteristics of the product carrying the geographical indication, a map of the geographical area corresponding to the modified geographical indication (if modification of the geographical indication is required); 02 copies of the regulations on the use of the collective mark, 02 copies of the regulations on the use of the certification mark that have been modified (if modification of the collective mark or certification mark is required); 05 samples of the trademark (if modification of the trademark sample is required in accordance with the provisions at point a, clause 3 of this Article);

g) Power of attorney document (in case the request is submitted through a representative);

h) A copy of the receipt for payment of fees and charges (in case of payment of fees and charges via postal service or direct payment into the account of the state management agency on industrial property).

5. Requests to amend the protection certificate, noting changes in the industrial property representative organization in the National Industrial Property Register are handled as follows:

a) Within 02 months from the date of receiving the request, the state management agency on industrial property rights must consider the request to amend the protection certificate according to the provisions at points a and b, Clause 1 of this Article. If the request is deemed valid, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall issue a decision to amend the protection certificate, record it in the protection certificate, register it, and publish the decision to amend the protection certificate in the Industrial Property Gazette within 60 days from the date of the decision. In the case that the request to amend the protection certificate has deficiencies or is invalid, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall issue a notice of intent to refuse the amendment request, specifying the reasons and setting a period of 02 months from the date of the notice for the requester to correct deficiencies or provide objections. If, upon the expiration of the specified deadline, the applicant does not correct the deficiencies or the corrections made are unsatisfactory, has no objections, or raises objections that are not valid, the state management authority for industrial property rights shall issue a decision to refuse the request to amend the protection title;

b) For the requests to amend the protected certificate as prescribed in point c, clause 1 and clause 3 of this Article, the procedure for re-examining the corresponding application shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Article 114 of the Intellectual Property Law and other relevant legal regulations. The re-examination period is not counted in the time limit for processing the request to amend the protected certificate;

c) Within 02 months from the date of receiving the request, the state management agency on industrial property shall consider the request to record the change of the industrial property representative organization in the National Register of Industrial Property in accordance with the provisions in Clause 2 of this Article. If the request dossier is deemed valid, the state management agency on industrial property shall decide to record the change of the industrial property representative organization in the National Register of Industrial Property, register, and publish it in the Industrial Property Gazette within 60 days from the date of the decision. In case the request to record the change of the industrial property representative organization has deficiencies or is invalid, the state management agency on industrial property shall issue a notification of intent to refuse the request to record, clearly stating the reasons, and set a deadline of 02 months from the date of the notification for the requester to correct the deficiencies or provide objections. If, upon the expiry of the prescribed deadline, the requester does not correct the deficiencies or the corrections are unsatisfactory, there are no objections, or the objections are unfounded, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall issue a decision to refuse to record the change of the industrial property representative organization.

6. In case a defect is discovered in the intellectual property protection certificate, the state management agency for industrial property may itself or upon the request of the person who discovered the defect, revoke the defective protection certificate and reissue the protection certificate with the corrected information. The holder of the protection certificate must pay the fee for the examination of the request for amendment of the protection certificate as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 97 of the Intellectual Property Law and the fee for publishing the amended information in cases where the defective protection certificate has been published, if the defect was caused by the fault of the protection certificate holder. If the defect was due to the fault of the state management agency for industrial property, the holder of the protection certificate is not required to pay this fee.

7. The state management agency for industrial property shall issue copies of protection certificates and reissue protection certificates/copies of protection certificates in the following cases:

a) In the case of industrial property rights held jointly, the protection certificate will only be granted to the first person listed among the joint applicants. Other co-owners may request the state management agency for industrial property to issue a duplicate of the protection certificate, provided that the fee for issuing the duplicate is paid;

b) In the case that the protection certificate/duplicate of the protection certificate is lost or damaged, torn, dirty, faded to the point of being unusable, or disassembled so that the seal cannot be kept, the owner of the industrial property right who has been granted the protection certificate/duplicate of the protection certificate may request the state management agency for industrial property to reissue the protection certificate/duplicate of the protection certificate, provided that the corresponding fee is paid;

c) The request for the issuance of a duplicate of the protection certificate, the re-issuance of the protection certificate/duplicate of the protection certificate must be made in writing, except in cases already presented in the industrial property application form. The application dossier includes the following set of documents:

c1) The application for the issuance of a copy of the protection certificate, re-issuance of the protection certificate/copy of the protection certificate shall be made according to Form No. 09 in Appendix II of this Decree;

c2) 02 samples of the trademark, 02 sets of photographs, or 02 sets of industrial design drawings identical to the trademark samples, sets of photographs, or industrial design drawings in the original protection certificate;

c3) Power of attorney (in case the request is to be submitted through a representative);

c4) Copy of the payment receipt for fees and charges (in case the fees and charges are paid via postal service or directly into the account of the state management agency for intellectual property);

d) Processing requests for issuance of a copy of the protection certificate, re-issuance of the protection certificate/copy of the protection certificate:

d1) Within 01 month from the date of receiving the request, the state management agency on industrial property rights must consider the request for the issuance of a copy of the protection title, reissuance of the protection title/copy of the protection title. In the case that the request for the issuance of a copy of the protection title, reissuance of the protection title/copy of the protection title meets the provisions at points a, b, and c of this clause, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall make a decision to issue a copy of the protection title, a decision to reissue the protection title/copy of the protection title and record it in the registration entry of the corresponding protection title in the National Register of Industrial Property.

d2) The content of a copy of the protection certificate must fully reflect the information of the corresponding protection certificate and must be accompanied by the indication “Copy”. The content of a reissued protection certificate/copy of the protection certificate must fully reflect the information of the originally issued protection certificate/copy of the protection certificate and must be accompanied by the indication “Reissued”. The state management agency for intellectual property shall publish the reissuance of the protection certificate/copy of the protection certificate in the Industrial Property Gazette within 60 days from the date of the decision;

d3) In cases where the request for issuance of a duplicate certificate of protection, re-issuance of a certificate of protection/duplicate certificate of protection does not comply with the provisions referred to in point c of this clause, the state management agency for intellectual property shall issue a notice and set a deadline of 2 months from the date of the notice for the requester to correct deficiencies or provide objections. If, at the end of the aforementioned period, the requester does not correct the deficiencies or the corrections are inadequate, does not provide objections, or provides objections that are not valid, the state management agency for intellectual property shall issue a decision to refuse the issuance of the duplicate certificate of protection, a decision to refuse the re-issuance of a certificate of protection/duplicate certificate of protection, clearly stating the reasons.

8. The procedures for issuing a duplicate/re-issuance of a Certificate of Registration of a contract for the transfer of rights to use an intellectual property object shall apply similarly to the procedures specified in clause 7 of this article.

Provisions repealed

Article 30. Maintaining the validity of a patent/utility solution protection certificate

1. The file requesting the maintenance of the validity of a patent/utility solution protection certificate includes the following documents:

a) The declaration form according to Form No. 07 in Appendix II of this Decree;

b) An authorization document (in case the request is submitted through a representative);

c) A copy of the payment receipts for fees and charges (in case the fees and charges are paid via postal service or directly into the account of the state management agency on intellectual property).

2. The request to maintain the validity of the protection certificate and the examination fee for the request to maintain validity, the validity maintenance fee, and the fee for using the protection certificate, registration fee, and publication fee must be paid to the state management agency for industrial property no later than 6 months before the expiration date of the validity period. This request may be submitted after the above deadline, but not more than 6 months from the expiration date of the previous validity period, and the holder of the protection certificate must pay a late fee for each month of delay in accordance with the law on fees and charges.

3. Within 1 month from the date of receiving the file of the request to maintain the validity of the protection certificate and the fees and charges specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, the state management agency for industrial property shall review the request file and carry out the following procedures:

a) In the case of a valid request file, issue a notice on the maintenance of the validity of the protective intellectual property right, record it in the National Register of Industrial Property, and publish it in the Industrial Property Gazette within 60 days from the date of the notice;

b) In the case of an incomplete or invalid file, issue a notice of intended refusal to maintain, clearly stating the reasons and setting a period of 2 months from the date of the notice for the requester to correct the deficiencies or provide objections. If, at the end of the set period, the requester does not correct the deficiencies or the corrections do not meet requirements, or there are no objections, or objections are made but are not justified, the state management agency for industrial property rights shall issue a decision to refuse maintenance of the validity of the protective intellectual property right.

Provisions repealed

Article 31. Extension of the validity of the Industrial Design Patent, the Trademark Registration Certificate

1. An industrial design patent can be renewed up to 2 consecutive times, each time for 5 years. In cases where the protected industrial design has multiple variants, the patent can be renewed for all or some of the variants, provided that it includes the basic variant. A trademark registration certificate can be renewed multiple consecutive times, each time for 10 years, for all or part of the list of goods and services.

2. The dossier requesting the renewal of an industrial design patent or a trademark registration certificate includes the following documents:

a) A renewal request form made according to Form No. 07 in Appendix II of this Decree;

b) The original industrial design patent or trademark registration certificate (in cases where the protected document is issued in paper form and there is a request to record the renewal on the protected document).

c) Authorization document (in case the request is submitted through a representative);

d) Copy of the fee payment receipts (in case the fees are paid via postal service or directly into the account of the state management agency on industrial property rights).

In a file, it is possible to request the extension of validity for one or more protected patents if they have the same type of subject and the same owner.

3. The application for extension and the examination fee for the extension request, the extension fee for the validity of the intellectual property right, the fee for using the intellectual property right, the registration fee, and the fee for publishing the decision to extend the validity of the intellectual property right must be submitted by the owner of the industrial design patent or the trademark registration certificate to the state management authority for intellectual property within 06 months from the expiration date of the industrial design patent or the trademark registration certificate. The extension request can be submitted after the aforementioned deadline but no later than 06 months from the expiration date of the intellectual property right, and the owner of the intellectual property right must pay a late fee for each month of delay according to the provisions of the law on fees and charges.

4. Within 01 month from the date of receiving the application for extension, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall review the application and carry out the following procedures:

a) In the case of a valid application, issue a decision to extend the validity of the protection certificate, record it in the protection certificate (if requested), register, and publish the decision to extend the validity of the Industrial Design Exclusive Rights Certificate or Trademark Registration Certificate in the Industrial Property Gazette within 60 days from the date of the decision;

b) Issue a notice of intent to refuse the extension, clearly stating the reasons and specifying a period of 2 months from the date of the notice for the applicant to rectify deficiencies or submit objections if any of the following cases arise:

b1) The extension request dossier is invalid or submitted incorrectly according to the prescribed procedures;

b2) The applicant for extension is not the owner of the corresponding Industrial Design Exclusive Rights Certificate or Trademark Registration Certificate.

If, at the expiration of the prescribed period, the applicant does not correct the deficiencies or the corrections do not meet the requirements, and there are no objections or the objections are not valid, the state management agency for industrial property rights shall issue a decision to refuse the extension of the validity of the Industrial Design Patent or Trademark Registration Certificate.

c) After the extension procedure is completed, in the case where the owner of the Industrial Design Patent or Trademark Registration Certificate requests the state management agency for industrial property rights to record the decision to extend the validity in the protection document, the owner of the protection document must carry out the procedure to amend the protection document and pay the fees and charges as prescribed.

Provisions repealed

Article 32. Termination and cancellation of the validity of the protection document

1. Organizations and individuals requesting the termination or invalidation of the protection grant in accordance with Clause 4, Article 95, and Clause 4, Article 96 of the Intellectual Property Law must pay the request fee, the examination fee for the request to terminate or invalidate the protection grant, the registration fee, and the fee for publishing the decision to terminate or invalidate the protection grant.

2. The application for termination or invalidation of a protection grant must comply with the following provisions:

a) A single application may request the termination or invalidation of one or more protection grants if there is the same rationale, provided that the applicant pays the fees in accordance with the regulations for each protection grant;

b) The application for termination or invalidation of a protection grant includes the following set of documents:

b1) Declaration for request to terminate or invalidate the protection grant according to Form No. 08 in Appendix II of this Decree;

b2) Evidence (if any);

b3) Power of attorney document (in case the request is submitted through a representative);

b4) Statement of reasons for the request (clearly stating the patent numbers, reasons, legal basis, and content requested for termination, partial or full cancellation of the patent protection) and related documents;

b5) Copies of fee payment receipts (in case fees are paid through postal services or directly into the account of the state agency managing intellectual property rights).

3. Requests for termination or cancellation of the patent protection are handled as follows:

a) The request to terminate or revoke the validity of a protection certificate shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of Article 95, Article 96, Clause 3 of Article 220 of the Intellectual Property Law and the provisions of this Article. For the request to revoke the validity of the protection certificate, the state management agency on industrial property shall reexamine the contents of the corresponding application in accordance with the provisions of Article 114 of the Intellectual Property Law and relevant legal regulations;

b) In the case that a third party requests the termination or cancellation of the validity of a protective certificate, within 01 month from the date of receiving the request, the state management agency on industrial property shall notify in writing the opinion of the third party to the holder of the protective certificate, specifying a period of 02 months from the date of the notification for the holder of the protective certificate to give their opinion. The state management agency on industrial property may organize a direct exchange of opinions between the third party and the holder of the relevant protective certificate;

c) Based on the consideration of the opinions of the parties, the state management agency on industrial property shall decide to terminate/cancel part or all of the validity of the protective certificate or notify a refusal to terminate/cancel part or all of the validity of the protective certificate in accordance with the provisions of Clause 5, Article 95 and Clause 5, Article 96 of the Intellectual Property Law;

The period for making a decision and notification mentioned in this point is 03 months from the end of the 02-month period specified in point b of this clause or the end of the 03-month period stipulated in point a of clause 4, point a of clause 5 of this Article if the holder of the protection title has no opinion or from the date of receiving the opinion of the holder of the protection title. This period can be extended for a maximum of 03 months if the holder of the protection title has a different opinion from the person requesting the termination or invalidation of the protection title.

In the case where the holder of the protection title declares the abandonment of industrial property rights pursuant to clause 3, Article 95 of the Intellectual Property Law, the above-mentioned period is 15 days from the date of receiving the request.

The time taken to carry out other necessary procedures to resolve the request for termination or cancellation of the validity of the protection certificate is not included in the above-mentioned period.

d) If they do not agree with the content of the decision or the notice on handling the request to terminate or cancel the validity of the protection title issued by the state management agency on industrial property rights as mentioned in point c of this clause, the requester or the organization, individual specified in point b of this clause has the right to file a complaint against that decision or notice in accordance with the law on complaints related to procedures on industrial property;

d) The decision to terminate or cancel the validity of a protection title shall be recorded in the National Register of Industrial Property and published in the Industrial Property Gazette within 60 days from the date of the decision.

4. Applications requesting the termination or cancellation of the validity of international trademark registration are processed as follows:

a) For applications requesting the termination or cancellation of the validity of international trademark registration under the Madrid Agreement or the Madrid Protocol submitted by a third party, the state management agency for industrial property rights shall notify the trademark owner of the content of the request to terminate or cancel the validity of the international trademark registration through the International Bureau, specifying a period of 03 months from the date of notification for the trademark owner to provide opinions;

b) International trademark registration may be terminated or canceled in respect of a part or the entirety of the list of goods and services;

c) In the case where the state management agency on industrial property rights issues a decision to terminate or cancel the validity of an international trademark registration for part or all of the list of goods and services, and this decision is no longer subject to complaint or administrative litigation, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall issue a notice of termination or cancellation of the validity of the international trademark registration according to the form of the International Bureau, specifying the list of goods and services whose validity is terminated or canceled, and send this notice to the International Bureau;

d) Other related provisions on handling requests to terminate or cancel the validity of a trademark protection certificate based on a trademark application filed in national form shall be applied to the handling of requests to terminate or cancel the validity of an international trademark registration.

5. Requests to terminate or cancel the validity of an international industrial design registration shall be handled as follows:

a) For a request to terminate or cancel the effect of an international industrial design registration under the Hague Agreement submitted by a third party, the state management agency for intellectual property shall notify the content of the request to terminate or cancel the effect of the international industrial design registration to the industrial design owner through the International Bureau, specifying a period of 03 months from the date of the notification for the industrial design owner to provide opinions;

b) An international industrial design registration may be canceled for some or all of the industrial designs in that registration;

c) In the case where the state management agency on industrial property rights issues a decision to cancel the effect of international registration of some or all industrial designs and this decision is no longer subject to complaint or administrative lawsuit, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall issue a notice of cancellation of the effect of international industrial design registration according to the model of the International Bureau, clearly specifying the industrial designs whose validity is canceled and send this notice to the International Bureau;

d) Other relevant provisions regarding the handling of requests for termination or cancellation of the effect of industrial design protection certificates granted on the basis of industrial design applications submitted in national form shall apply to requests for termination or cancellation of the effect of international industrial design registration.

Chapter II. SUBJECTS, CONTENT, LIMITATIONS

INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

Article 33. Subjects of industrial property rights

1. Subjects of industrial property rights include organizations and individuals owning industrial property objects specified in Article 121 of the Intellectual Property Law or organizations and individuals to whom the owner has transferred industrial property rights.

2. In the case where a protection certificate for an invention, industrial design, layout design, or trademark is granted jointly to multiple organizations or individuals in accordance with Clause 2, Article 86, Clause 5, Article 87, and Clause 3, Article 90 of the Law on Intellectual Property, the industrial property rights shall belong to the joint ownership of those organizations or individuals. The co-owners shall exercise ownership rights in accordance with the provisions of civil law.

Article 34. Scope of industrial property rights

1. The scope of industrial property rights for inventions, industrial designs, layout designs, trademarks, and geographical indications is determined according to the scope of protection recorded in the National Register of Industrial Property, International Register of Trademarks, and International Register of Industrial Designs, or in the protection certificate, international trademark registration confirmation, and the decision to accept the protection of the international industrial design registration.

2. The scope of rights to a trade name is determined according to the scope of protection of the trade name, including the trade name, business sector, and business territory in which the holder of the trade name legally uses the trade name. The registration of the name of an organization or business individual in business procedures is not considered as using that name, but only a condition for the use of that name to be considered legal.

3. The scope of rights to trade secrets is determined according to the scope of protection of trade secrets, including a collection of information that constitutes trade secrets, arranged in an exact and complete order to the extent that it can be exploited.

4. Subjects of industrial property rights enjoy rights and fulfill obligations according to the scope of protection under the conditions prescribed in Articles 132, 133, 133a, 134, 135, 136, 136a, and 137 of the Intellectual Property Law.

Article 35. Rights of authors of inventions, industrial designs, and layout designs

1. The moral rights of the author as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 122 of the Intellectual Property Law shall be protected indefinitely.

2. The right to receive remuneration of the author as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 122 of the Intellectual Property Law shall be protected throughout the term of protection of the invention, industrial design, or layout design.

3. If there is no other agreement between the owner and the author, the payment of remuneration must be made no later than 30 days from the date the owner receives the payment for the transfer of the right to use, or no later than 90 days from the end of the financial year if the payment to the author is calculated in accordance with Point a, Clause 1, Article 135 of the Intellectual Property Law.

Article 36. State management responsibilities regarding indication of geographical origin

1. The People's Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall take the lead, in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, to identify the types of specialties, product characteristics, and production processes of specialties with geographical indications under the management scope of ministries, sectors, and localities based on local planning.

2. The People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities shall allow the use of place names and other signs indicating the geographical origin of local specialties for registering collective trademarks and certification marks; directly or by delegating or authorizing the People's Committees of districts, towns, provincial cities, centrally-run cities, or specialized agencies under the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities to submit applications for geographical indications used for local specialties.

3. The Minister of Science and Technology shall guide the criteria for determining place names and other signs indicating the geographical origin of products.

Article 37. Exercising ownership rights over geographical indications

1. For geographical indications of Vietnam, the agencies or organizations entitled to manage geographical indications (hereinafter referred to as geographical indication management organizations) stipulated in Clause 4, Article 121 of the Intellectual Property Law include:

a) The People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city where the geographical area corresponding to the geographical indication is located in case the geographical indication belongs to one locality;

b) The People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city acting as an authorized representative of other People's Committees of provinces or centrally-run cities where the geographical area corresponding to the geographical indication is located in case the geographical indication belongs to multiple localities;

c) The People's Committee of the district, urban district, town, or provincial city, or specialized agency under the People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city that is delegated or authorized by the People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city to manage the geographical indication.

d) Agencies or organizations granted the authority to manage geographical indications by the People's Committees of provinces or centrally-run cities, provided that such agencies or organizations represent the interests of all organizations and individuals authorized to use the geographical indications as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 121 of the Intellectual Property Law.

2. Agencies or organizations with the right to manage geographical indications as specified in point d, Clause 1 of this Article are allowed to exercise the rights of the owner regarding geographical indications as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 123 and Article 198 of the Intellectual Property Law.

3. For foreign geographical indications, the owner, organization authorized to exercise the owner's rights over the geographical indications and the organization managing the geographical indications are determined according to the laws of the country of origin of those geographical indications.

Article 38. Exercising the management rights of geographical indications by the geographical indication management organization

1. The organization managing the geographical indication as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 37 of this Decree is responsible for:

a) Developing and promulgating regulations on the management of geographical indications;

b) Managing geographical indications according to the regulations it has issued;

c) Compiling and publicizing the list of organizations and individuals using the geographical indication based on notifications from those organizations and individuals. The list of organizations and individuals using the geographical indication must be updated whenever there is any change;

d) Organizing the implementation of measures to manage the use of geographical indications by organizations and individuals producing products bearing the geographical indication in order to ensure that the products meet standards regarding specific characteristics, quality, reputation suitable with the description of the specific characteristics of products bearing the geographical indication;

d) Monitor and implement measures to prevent and prohibit acts of infringement of rights related to geographical indications; request competent authorities to handle according to the provisions of law;

e) Report to the state management agency on industrial property about the management situation of geographical indications every two years.

2. The regulations on geographical indication management according to the provision at point a, clause 1 of this Article must meet the following conditions:

a) The regulations on geographical indication management include the following main contents:

a1) Products with geographical indications: product name, description of the product (properties, specific quality of the product, production process, production area, etc.) corresponding to the content in the description of the product's specific characteristics;

a2) Recognition of organizations and individuals using geographical indications: the dossier requesting recognition of organizations and individuals using geographical indications includes the recognition request, documents proving that the organization or individual is engaged in the production of products bearing the geographical indication in the geographical area corresponding to the geographical indication, and other documents, if necessary; the consideration of the dossier, inspection, and evaluation of the authenticity of the documents, including compliance with the product specification (if necessary) and recording the information of the organization or individual in the list of organizations and individuals using the geographical indication;

a3) Mechanism for inspection and control of the use of geographical indications: content of inspection and control (geographical origin, characteristics, specific quality of the product, production process, etc.); inspection and control plan; tools and methods for inspection and control; the agencies and organizations performing inspection and control, etc.

a4) Rights and responsibilities of organizations and individuals using geographical indications: ensuring the maintenance of the distinctive characteristics, quality, and reputation of products bearing geographical indications; notifying the geographical indication management organization to be recorded in the list of organizations and individuals using geographical indications before using the geographical indication; reporting to the geographical indication management organization on the use of geographical indications on an annual basis, etc.;

a5) Rights and responsibilities of the geographical indication management organization in managing geographical indications;

a6) Funding for geographical indication management activities;

a7) Measures to handle violations of the Regulations.

b) The geographical indication management regulations must be consulted with organizations and individuals producing products bearing geographical indications before being promulgated.

c) The regulations on the management of geographical indications do not include content that unreasonably restricts the legal use of geographical indications by organizations or individuals producing products with geographical indications.

Article 39. Protection of agricultural chemical test data

1. Agricultural chemicals are chemical products used in the field of agriculture and rural development.

2. Agricultural chemical test data shall be kept confidential if such data meet the conditions stipulated in Clause 1, Article 128 of the Intellectual Property Law and if the applicant requests confidentiality when submitting the application for marketing authorization of agricultural chemicals.

3. The competent authority granting marketing authorization for agricultural chemicals shall maintain confidentiality for the test data referred to in Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 40. Use of industrial property objects

1. Activities of circulating products as stipulated in Point d, Clause 1; Point b, Clause 2; and Point b, Clause 7 of Article 124 of the Intellectual Property Law include acts of selling, displaying for sale, and transporting products.

2. The use of a trademark specimen in practice that differs from the trademark specimen protected by the trademark owner or with the permission of the trademark owner is also considered as trademark use under Clause 5, Article 124 of the Intellectual Property Law if the difference is minor and does not change the distinctiveness of the trademark.

Article 41. Use of invention in the name of the State

1. The use of inventions in the name of the State for the purpose of serving public, non-commercial interests, serving national defense, security, disease prevention, treatment, nutrition for the people, or meeting other urgent social needs as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 133 of the Intellectual Property Law, carried out by ministries, ministerial-level agencies or designated to other organizations or individuals to implement on the basis of issuing a compulsory license decision for the transfer of invention-use rights as stipulated in Point a, Clause 1, Article 145 and Paragraph 2, Clause 1, Article 147 of the Intellectual Property Law. In the case of imported products, products manufactured by the party receiving the transfer of patent usage rights under a production contract that meet the needs of national defense, security, disease prevention, treatment, nutrition for the people, or other urgent social needs, the party holding the exclusive right to use the patent is considered to have fulfilled the obligation to use it as stipulated in Article 136 of the Intellectual Property Law.

2. The procedure for issuing a decision to compulsorily transfer the right to use an invention in the case of using the invention in the name of the State is carried out in accordance with the provisions of Articles 55 and 56 of this Decree.

Article 42. Compensation to the invention owner for delays in granting pharmaceutical circulation licenses

1. In the case where the initial pharmaceutical marketing authorization procedure is delayed in accordance with the provisions of Article 131a of the Intellectual Property Law, after the pharmaceutical product is granted marketing authorization, within 02 months from the date the applicant submits a written request using Form No. 02 in Appendix I of this Decree, the competent authority granting pharmaceutical marketing authorization shall issue a confirmation regarding the delay in the pharmaceutical marketing authorization procedure, specifying the period of the delay.

2. In the case where the holder of a patent requests in writing using Form No. 03 in Appendix I of this Decree, accompanied by certification documents from the competent authority regarding the marketing authorization procedure for pharmaceuticals produced according to that patent being delayed as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, the state management agency for industrial property shall notify the patent holder of the compensation plan and carry out the following procedures:

a) No patent usage fee shall be charged for the period during which the marketing authorization procedure for pharmaceuticals produced according to that patent is delayed in the process of handling the request to maintain validity;

b) In the case the patent usage fee for that period has already been paid, the amount already paid shall be deducted in the process of handling the request to maintain validity in the next period;

c) In the event that the holder of the patent does not continue to maintain its validity or the patent expires, the usage fee shall be refunded to the patent holder within 03 months from the date of receipt of a complete application as prescribed.

3. For pharmaceuticals produced under multiple different patents, the usage fees for all related patents shall be exempted.

Chapter III. INVENTIONS, INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS, LAYOUT DESIGNS

THAT ARE THE RESULT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TASKS

FUNDED BY THE STATE BUDGET

Provisions repealed

Article 43. The right to register inventions, industrial designs, layout designs that are the result of science and technology tasks funded by the state budget

1. Automatically assigning the right to register inventions, industrial designs, and layout designs that are results of science and technology tasks using the state budget as prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 of Article 86a of the Intellectual Property Law means that the organizing agency in charge has the right to register inventions, industrial designs, and layout designs when these subjects are created in the process of implementing science and technology tasks without going through the procedure of assigning the registration rights from the state owner's representative.

2. The right to register inventions, industrial designs, and layout designs that are results of science and technology tasks invested by multiple sources of capital, including a portion of the state budget as prescribed in Clause 2 and Point b, Clause 3 of Article 86a of the Intellectual Property Law, is determined as follows:

a) The organization in charge of the task has the right to register inventions, industrial designs, and layout designs corresponding to the portion of state budget investment. In case the inventions, industrial designs, and layout designs are results of science and technology tasks in the field of national defense and security, the registration rights belong to the State and are carried out by the representative of the state owner as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article;

b) Other organizations and individuals have the right to register inventions, industrial designs, and layout designs corresponding to their investment contribution.

3. The representative of the state owner specified in Point c, Clause 3, Article 86a of the Intellectual Property Law is:

a) The Minister of Science and Technology for national-level science and technology tasks, except for national-level science and technology tasks specified in Point b of this Clause;

b) The Minister, the head of a ministerial-level agency, an agency under the Government, another central agency, or the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee in relation to: national-level science and technology tasks assigned for management; science and technology tasks approved by themselves;

c) The head of an agency or organization in relation to science and technology tasks approved by themselves.

Provisions repealed

Article 44. Obligation to notify and register inventions, industrial designs, and layout designs that are results of science and technology tasks using state budget

1. The date of an invention, industrial design, or layout design created according to the provisions in Clause 1, Article 136a of the Intellectual Property Law is the date the hosting organization receives a written report from the author or becomes aware that the invention, industrial design, or layout design was created from the science and technology task, whichever is earlier.

2. Within 01 month from the date the invention, industrial design, or layout design is created as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, the leading organization shall notify the representative of the state owner in writing, specifying information about the invention, industrial design, layout design, the need to carry out registration, and the countries intended to file the registration (if any). In case the procedure for establishing rights for the aforementioned objects is not carried out, the leading organization is responsible for notifying the representative of the state owner in writing within 10 days before the expiration of the time limit prescribed in Clause 2, Article 136a of the Intellectual Property Law.

3. The inventor, industrial design author, layout designer, and the leading organization are obligated to keep confidential information about the invention, industrial design, and layout design until the patent, industrial design, or layout design application is filed or until the representative of the state owner publicly discloses the content of the invention, industrial design, or layout design in accordance with Clause 2, Article 133a of the Intellectual Property Law.

4. Patent, industrial design, or layout design applications that are the result of science and technology tasks funded by the state budget may only be transferred to organizations established under Vietnamese law or individuals who are Vietnamese citizens and permanently reside in Vietnam. Organizations and individuals receiving the transfer of patent, industrial design, or layout design applications must fulfill the corresponding obligations of the leading organization as prescribed by the Intellectual Property Law and this Decree.

5. In the process of carrying out the procedures for establishing industrial property rights in accordance with the provisions of intellectual property law for inventions, industrial designs, and layout designs that are the result of scientific and technological tasks using the state budget, the leading organization has the following obligations:

a) Notify in writing the agency managing science and technology tasks about the results of the processing of the patent application, industrial design, layout design within 07 working days from the date the state management agency on industrial property rights issues the decision, notification on the results of processing that application;

b) Within 07 working days from the date of expiration of the period prescribed in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of Article 113 of the Intellectual Property Law, notify in writing the science and technology task management agency about the patent application being deemed withdrawn as prescribed in Clause 3 of Article 113 of the Intellectual Property Law and state the reason.

c) Notify the science and technology task management agency to carry out the procedure for transferring the patent, industrial design, or layout-design registration rights that are the results of science and technology tasks funded by the state budget to other organizations or individuals as prescribed in Article 45 of this Decree in the following cases:

c1) Patent, industrial design, or layout design applications are refused acceptance of a valid application, except in the case where the application is refused acceptance of a valid application because the subject matter referred to in the application is not subject to protection as a patent, industrial design, or layout design under the provisions of Articles 59, 64, and 69 of the Intellectual Property Law;

c2) Patent applications, industrial design applications, layout designs that are withdrawn before the application is published according to regulations.

Provisions repealed

Article 45. Assignment of the right to register patents, industrial designs, and layout designs that are the result of science and technology tasks funded by the state budget to other organizations or individuals.

1. The representative of the state owner shall authorize the management agency of the science and technology task to publicly announce on its electronic information page or electronic portal so that organizations and individuals in need can submit dossiers requesting the assignment of the right to register patents, industrial designs, and layout designs in cases specified in Clause 1, Article 133a of the Intellectual Property Law and cases mentioned in Point c, Clause 5, Article 44 of this Decree.

2. The information disclosed in accordance with the provisions of Clause 1 of this Article includes the name, technical field of the invention, industrial design, layout design resulting from scientific and technological tasks; the method of transfer; access to information.

3. Organizations and individuals in need as mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article may access detailed information about inventions, industrial designs, layout designs resulting from scientific and technological tasks in accordance with the provisions of Clause 2 of this Article if they submit a written request to the management agency of the scientific and technological task and commit to confidentiality, not using the information for commercial purposes.

4. Organizations and individuals in need as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article shall submit an application to request the assignment of patent registration rights, industrial designs, layout designs using Form No. 01 in Appendix III to the management agency of the scientific and technological task.

5. The management agency of science and technology tasks is responsible for handling requests for granting registration rights according to the following regulations:

a) Verify the validity of the application. In case the application is invalid, within a maximum of 5 working days from the date of receiving the application, the management agency of science and technology tasks must notify the organization or individual in writing and set a deadline of 10 days from the date of the notice for the organization or individual to correct the deficiencies;

b) Within 7 working days from the end of the public announcement period as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 133a of the Intellectual Property Law, the management agency of science and technology tasks shall report to the representative of the state owner to issue a decision granting registration rights for inventions, industrial designs, and layout designs to organizations or individuals eligible to be granted.

c) In cases where multiple organizations or individuals request the assignment of the right to register a invention, industrial design, or layout design and all have valid applications, the representative of the state owner shall notify the intent to assign these organizations or individuals to jointly exercise the registration rights and jointly be listed as applicants for the invention, industrial design, or layout design registration, and shall set a deadline of 07 working days from the date of the notice for these organizations or individuals to provide feedback on the content of the notice. If, at the end of the aforementioned deadline, an organization or individual requesting the assignment of rights does not provide written feedback agreeing to jointly be listed as applicants or does not provide any written feedback, then within 05 working days from the end of the aforementioned deadline, the representative of the state owner shall issue a decision to assign the right to register the invention, industrial design, or layout design to the organization or individual who has provided written agreement to the notice of intended assignment.

6. Organizations and individuals receiving the delegation of registration rights are obliged to submit an application to establish the rights to patents, industrial designs, or layout designs within 06 months from the date of receiving the delegation decision stipulated in Clause 5 of this Article and to fulfill other corresponding obligations of the lead organization in accordance with the provisions of the Intellectual Property Law and this Decree.

7. If the 90-day period from the date of the announcement under Clause 1 of this Article expires without the registration rights being transferred to any organization or individual with a demand, the representative of the state owner shall authorize the science and technology management agency to publicly post on the electronic information page or electronic portal the content of the patent, industrial design, or layout design that is the result of the science and technology task for organizations and individuals to exploit and use in accordance with the law.

Provisions repealed

Article 46. Exercising industrial property rights and protective measures for inventions, industrial designs, and layout designs that are results of science and technology tasks using the state budget

1. In order to ensure the exercise of industrial property rights and the efficient exploitation of inventions, industrial designs, and layout designs that are results of science and technology tasks using the state budget, the leading organization granted protection certificates for these subjects is responsible for:

a) Applying appropriate measures to protect industrial property rights over these subjects, including carrying out necessary procedures to maintain and extend the validity of the protection certificates for these subjects;

b) Identifying and implementing appropriate commercial exploitation measures.

2. Annually, the leading organization granted patents, industrial designs, and layout designs that are the results of science and technology tasks funded by the state budget is obliged to submit a report to the science and technology task management agency with the following contents:

a) The situation of commercial exploitation, assessment of the effectiveness of exploiting patents, industrial designs, and layout designs;

b) The total amount of money, profits that the leading organization has received from the use, transfer of usage rights, assignment of rights, contribution of capital through patents, industrial designs, layout designs and the payment of remuneration to authors, profit distribution, accompanied by the independently audited financial report of the leading organization;

c) Measures to protect rights currently being implemented.

Provisions repealed

Article 47. Procedures for allowing other organizations and individuals to use inventions, industrial designs, and layout designs that are results of scientific and technological tasks funded by the state budget

1. A reasonable period as prescribed in point a, Clause 3, Article 133a of the Intellectual Property Law is determined to be 04 years from the date of filing a patent application or 03 years from the date of grant of the patent; 03 years from the date of filing an industrial design or layout design application, or 02 years from the date of grant of the industrial design patent, the semiconductor integrated circuit layout design registration certificate, depending on which period ends later.

2. The competent authority approving science and technology tasks under the provisions of the law on science and technology, either proactively or at the request of other organizations or individuals, shall issue a decision permitting the use of inventions, industrial designs, or layout designs that are the results of science and technology tasks funded by the state budget when cases specified in Clause 3, Article 133a of the Intellectual Property Law occur, based on the consultation of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

3. The decision specified in Clause 2 of this Article must clearly state the scope and conditions under which other organizations or individuals are allowed to use, including:

a) The right to use inventions, industrial designs, or layout designs may be exclusive or non-exclusive;

b) The right to use may only be exercised within the scope and time limit sufficient to meet the objective of the usage permission;

c) Organizations and individuals permitted by the competent authority to use it shall not transfer that right to others.

The decision to permit use, approved by the competent authority, of a science and technology task shall be sent to the person allowed to use the invention, industrial design, layout design, the person holding exclusive usage rights, and the state management agency for industrial property rights.

4. Organizations and individuals requesting permission to use inventions, industrial designs, or layout designs that are results of science and technology tasks using the state budget as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article shall submit a dossier to the competent authority approving the science and technology task, including the following documents:

a) An application for permission to use the invention, industrial design, or layout design that is the result of a science and technology task using the state budget, made according to Form No. 02 in Appendix III of this Decree;

b) The documents proving the request to allow the use of inventions, industrial designs, and layout designs are the results of science and technology tasks using the state budget are well-founded.

5. The competent agency approving the science and technology task is responsible for processing the dossier according to the following regulations:

a) Checking the validity of the dossier: In case the dossier is invalid, within no later than 5 working days from the date of receipt of the dossier, the competent agency approving the science and technology task must notify the organization or individual in writing and set a deadline of 20 days from the date of the notice for the organization or individual to correct the deficiencies.

b) Within 07 working days from the date of receiving a valid dossier, the competent authority approving the science and technology task shall notify the request for permission to use the invention, industrial design, or layout design to the exclusive user and set a maximum period of 01 month from the date of the notification for the exclusive user to respond in writing, except for requests falling under the case specified in point b, clause 3, Article 133a of the Intellectual Property Law, in which case the competent authority approving the science and technology task is not required to notify the exclusive user.

c) After the aforementioned period, the competent authority approving the science and technology task shall handle the request for permission to use and the opinions of the exclusive user based on the dossier and opinions provided by the parties. In case the request for permission to use an invention, industrial design, or layout design has no valid basis according to the provisions of Clause 3, Article 133a of the Intellectual Property Law, the competent authority approving the science and technology task shall issue a decision to refuse and clearly state the reasons for the refusal. If it is considered that the request for permission to use an invention, industrial design, or layout design has a valid basis, the competent authority approving the science and technology task shall issue a decision granting permission to use.

6. The exclusive rights holder has the right to request the termination of the authorization to use when the basis for granting the authorization specified in Clause 3, Article 133a of the Law on Intellectual Property no longer exists and cannot reoccur. The request for termination of the authorization to use must be made in writing and sent to the competent authority approving the scientific and technological task, accompanied by supporting documents.

Chapter IV. SECRET INVENTIONS

Article 48. Application for a secret invention

1. The application for a secret invention must be submitted in paper form to the state management agency on industrial property in accordance with the provisions of Clauses 1 and 2, Article 89 of the Law on Intellectual Property.

2. The application for a secret invention includes the following documents:

a) Documents as prescribed in Article 100 of the Law on Intellectual Property stamped as secret in accordance with the law on state secret protection (excluding fee and charge payment documents);

b) The document confirming that the subject registered in the application is a state secret according to the provisions of the law on the protection of state secrets.

3. A secret patent application is accepted if it contains the minimum information and documents as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 108 of the Intellectual Property Law and the documents prescribed at point b, Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 49. Procedures related to secret patents

1. The procedures for handling secret patent applications and granting secret patent protection certificates, maintaining, amending, terminating, and revoking the validity of secret patent protection certificates are carried out in accordance with the corresponding provisions of the Intellectual Property Law and guiding documents for implementation for patent applications, except for cases provided in Clauses 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this Article.

Amended and supplemented provisions:

2. A classified patent application shall have its substantive examination conducted within no more than 18 months from the date the application is validly accepted if the request for substantive examination is filed before the date the application is validly accepted, or from the date of receipt of the request for substantive examination if the request is filed after the date the application is validly accepted.

3. Documents containing the opinions of a third party or opposing opinions are considered sources of information for the processing of secret patent applications. In cases where the information cannot be determined or whether the disclosure of information in documents under this clause complies with regulations on state secrets protection, the state management agency for industrial property shall coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security to determine the compliance of the disclosure of information in documents under this clause with the law on state secrets protection.

4. The complaint procedure under Article 119a of the Intellectual Property Law does not apply to decisions or notifications regarding secret patent applications and other types of applications related to secret patents.

5. Secret patent applications and secret patent protection certificates are not published in the Industrial Property Gazette.

Article 50. Handling of applications for secret inventions and patents granted for secret inventions being declassified

1. Applications for secret inventions and patents granted for secret inventions are declassified in accordance with the provisions of Article 22 of the Law on Protection of State Secrets.

2. In cases where there is clear basis to believe that the invention in the application for a secret invention or the invention protected by a patent for a secret invention does not comply with the provision in Clause 1, Article 2 of the Law on Protection of State Secrets, the state management agency on intellectual property shall issue a notice requesting the applicant to determine whether the invention is a state secret according to the provisions of the law on state secret protection, and set a deadline of 03 months from the date of the notice for the applicant to respond to this matter.

3. For cases of declassification in accordance with the provisions of clause 1 of this Article, the competent agency or organization to declassify according to the provisions of the law on state secret protection shall notify the state management agency on industrial property and the applicant, the owner of the patent, about the declassification.

4. A patent application that is declassified under the provisions of clause 1 of this Article or is determined by the applicant not to be a state secret in accordance with clause 2 of this Article shall have the filing date as the date of filing the secret patent application and shall continue to be processed in accordance with the provisions of the Intellectual Property Law regarding patent applications.

5. A patent certificate for a secret invention that is declassified in accordance with the provisions of Clause 1 of this Article or is determined by the applicant not to be state secret in accordance with the provisions of Clause 2 of this Article shall have the issue date as the issue date of the secret invention patent certificate, and related procedures shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Intellectual Property Law regarding patent certificates.

6. In the case of declassification, the secret invention application and the secret patent/secret utility solution patent that have been declassified shall be published in the Industrial Property Gazette within 03 months from the date of declassification.

Article 51. Registration of secret inventions abroad

The submission of secret invention applications abroad shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the law on state secret protection.

Article 52. Management of the use of secret inventions

The use of an invention that is a confidential invention protected under the provisions of Article 123 of the Law on Intellectual Property must comply with the provisions of the law on the protection of state secrets.

Chapter V. TRANSFER OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

Article 53. Compensation for the use right of an invention transferred under a compulsory decision

1. Compensation for the use right of an invention transferred under a compulsory decision specified in point d, clause 1, Article 146 of the Intellectual Property Law shall be determined according to the economic value of the use right being transferred, based on the consideration of the following factors:

a) Transfer price of the use right of the invention according to the contract;

b) Investment costs to create the invention, including consideration of the portion of funding supported by the state budget (if any);

c) Profit obtained from using the invention;

d) Remaining validity period of the protection certificate;

e) Necessity level of transferring the use right of the invention;

f) Scope and duration of the transfer;

g) Other factors directly determining the economic value of the transferred use right.

2. Compensation for the right to use a patent transferred under a compulsory decision, in cases where the transferee of the patent use and the patent monopolist cannot reach an agreement, shall not exceed 5% of the net selling price of the products produced according to the patent, provided that the principle stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article is ensured.

3. If deemed necessary, the competent authority issuing the compulsory patent use transfer decision may establish a council to determine the compensation in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Article 54. The right to request the issuance of a compulsory decision for the transfer of the right to use a patent

Organizations and individuals who are capable, have the duty, or have the need to use inventions as specified in points a, b, c, and d, or are hindered in competition as specified in point d, clause 1, Article 145 of the Intellectual Property Law, have the right to request the competent authority specified in clause 1, Article 147 of the Intellectual Property Law to make a decision to compulsorily grant the right to use the invention to themselves in accordance with the specific provisions in Articles 55 and 56 of this Decree.

Article 55. Dossier for requesting a decision on compulsory transfer of the right to use an invention

1. The dossier for requesting a decision on compulsory transfer of the right to use an invention includes the following documents:

Amended and supplemented provisions:

a) The application for compulsory transfer of the right to use an invention, prepared according to Form No. 04 in Appendix I of this Decree;

b) Documents proving that the request for a decision to compel the transfer of patent use rights is well-founded according to the provisions of law as specifically stipulated in Clauses 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of this Article;

c) Authorization document (in case the request is submitted through a representative);

d) Copies of fee and charge payment receipts (in case of payment of fees and charges via postal service or directly into the account of the competent authority handling this procedure).

2. In the case of requesting a decision to compel the transfer of the right to use a patent based on the provisions at point a, clause 1, Article 145 of the Intellectual Property Law, the file must include documents proving that at the time of filing the application, there is actually a need to use the patent for public, non-commercial purposes, to serve national defense and security, or for disease prevention, treatment, and nutrition for the people, or to meet other urgent social needs, but the holder of the exclusive patent has not used the patent, and the non-use of the patent will affect the achievement of those purposes.

3. In the case of requesting a decision to compel the transfer of the right to use a invention based on the provisions at point b, clause 1, Article 145 of the Intellectual Property Law, the dossier must include documents proving that the holder of the exclusive right to the invention has not fulfilled the obligation to use the invention as prescribed in clause 1, Article 136 and clause 5, Article 142 of the Intellectual Property Law, and at the time of filing the dossier, the 4-year period from the date of filing the invention application and the 3-year period from the date the invention was granted the exclusivity certificate have expired.

4. In cases requesting a decision to compel the transfer of patent rights based on the provisions at point c, clause 1, Article 145 of the Intellectual Property Law, the dossier must include documents proving that the person in need of using the patent has failed to reach an agreement with the patent rights holder on signing a patent usage contract, despite having attempted to negotiate within a reasonable period with an appropriate price and commercial terms. These documents must specify the need for using the patent, the period during which negotiations were conducted, the price, and the specific commercial terms proposed by the person in need of using the patent.

5. In cases requesting a decision to compulsorily transfer the right to use a patent based on the provisions at point d, clause 1, Article 145 of the Intellectual Property Law, the dossier must include documents proving that the person holding the exclusive right to use the patent has committed acts considered as competition-restricting conduct prohibited under the competition law.

6. In cases requesting a decision to compulsorily transfer the right to use a patent in the field of semiconductor technology based on the provisions at points a and d, clause 1, Article 145 and point b, clause 1, Article 146 of the Intellectual Property Law, the dossier must include documents proving that the use of that patent is solely for public, non-commercial purposes, or present documents proving that the person holding the exclusive right to use the patent has committed acts considered as competition-restricting conduct prohibited under the competition law.

7. In cases requesting a decision to compulsory transfer of the right to use a patent based on the provisions of point d, clause 1, Article 145 of the Law on Intellectual Property, the dossier must include documents proving that the use of the patent to meet the pharmaceutical needs for disease prevention and treatment in another country meets the import conditions under the provisions of Article 31bis of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.

Article 56. Procedures for handling dossiers requesting a decision to compulsory transfer of the right to use a patent

1. The dossier requesting a decision to compulsory transfer of the right to use a patent shall be submitted according to the following regulations:

a) The dossier in cases specified in points b, c, and d, clause 1, Article 145 of the Law on Intellectual Property shall be submitted to the Ministry of Science and Technology;

b) Dossiers falling under the cases specified in point a and paragraph 2, Clause 1, Article 145 of the Intellectual Property Law shall be submitted to the ministries and ministerial-level agencies managing the field of inventions;

c) The Ministry of Science and Technology, and other ministries and ministerial-level agencies shall appoint an agency to receive and examine dossiers falling under the cases specified in this clause (hereinafter referred to as the “dossier examination agency”).

2. Dossiers requesting a decision to mandate the transfer of invention-use rights shall be examined as follows:

Within 02 months from the date of receiving the dossier, the dossier evaluation agency shall review the dossier according to the following regulations:

a) In the case of a valid dossier, within 20 days from the date of receipt of the dossier, the dossier appraisal agency must issue a notice regarding the requirement to transfer the right to use the patent under a compulsory decision to the patent holder and request that the person provide written opinions within 01 month from the date of issuance of the notice; request the concerned parties to renegotiate in order to resolve disagreements to sign a patent license agreement, if deemed necessary; in case an agreement between the parties is not reached and if it is considered unreasonable for the holder to refuse to sign the patent license agreement, report the results of the dossier appraisal and propose that the Minister of Science and Technology or the Minister, Head of a ministerial-level agency issue a compulsory decision to transfer the right to use the patent.

If the request falls under the case specified at point a, clause 1, Article 145 of the Intellectual Property Law and the use of the invention is for public, non-commercial purposes, ministries and ministerial-level agencies have the right to issue a decision to compulsorily transfer the right to use the invention without requiring the opinion of the person holding the exclusive right to use the invention and without requiring the parties to negotiate.

b) In the case where the request to issue a decision to transfer the right to use the invention has no valid basis in accordance with Article 145 of the Intellectual Property Law, the dossier appraisal authority shall report the results of the dossier examination and propose that the Minister of Science and Technology or the Minister, Head of a ministerial-level agency issue a notice of intended refusal, clearly stating the reasons for refusal and setting a deadline of 01 month from the date of the notice for the applicant to give their opinion on the intended refusal.

The time spent by the applicant correcting deficiencies in the dossier or submitting objections is not counted towards the dossier review period.

c) For dossiers falling under the cases specified in points a and d, Clause 1, Article 145 of the Intellectual Property Law, the dossier appraisal agency of the ministries or ministerial-level agencies shall send the dossier to obtain the opinion of the Ministry of Science and Technology (through the dossier appraisal agency of the Ministry of Science and Technology) before submitting it to the Minister or the head of the ministerial-level agency to make a decision in accordance with points a and b of this Clause. Within 20 days from the date of receiving the dossier, the dossier appraisal agency of the Ministry of Science and Technology shall review the dossier and report to the Minister of Science and Technology in order to provide written opinions requesting the Minister or the head of the ministerial-level agency to issue a decision mandating the transfer of the right to use the invention or to issue a notice of refusal.

3. Within 20 days from the date of receiving the report on the examination of the application dossier from the application assessment agency of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Minister of Science and Technology shall review and issue a decision to enforce the transfer of patent rights, or send a notification to the applicant refusing to enforce the transfer of patent rights, stating the reasons for refusal.

Within 20 days from the date of receiving the written request from the Minister of Science and Technology, the Minister, or the head of a ministerial-level agency, shall review and make a decision to compulsory transfer the right to use the patent, or send a notice to the applicant refusing to compel the transfer of the patent use rights, stating clearly the reason for the refusal.

In case of disagreement with the request of the Minister of Science and Technology, the Minister, or the head of a ministerial-level agency shall notify in writing, clearly stating the reason.

4. The decision to compulsory transfer the patent use rights shall be sent by the Minister, or the head of a ministerial-level agency to the recipient of the patent use rights, the exclusive patent holder, and the patent appraisal agency of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The dossier evaluation agency of the Ministry of Science and Technology must record the decision in the National Register of Industrial Property within 01 month and publish it in the Industrial Property Gazette within 02 months from the date of the decision.

Article 57. Request for termination of patent use rights according to a compulsory decision

1. The termination of patent use rights according to a compulsory decision must be decided by the Minister, head of a ministerial-level agency, or the person who issued the compulsory transfer decision.

2. The request for termination of patent use rights according to a compulsory decision includes the following documents:

a) Written request for termination of patent use rights according to a compulsory decision;

b) Documents proving the basis leading to the transfer of the right to use the invention under a compulsory decision no longer exist and cannot reappear, and at the same time, the termination of the use of the invention does not cause damage to the person receiving the right to use the invention under the compulsory decision;

c) Authorization document (in case the request is submitted through a representative);

d) A copy of the fee and charge payment receipts (in case of payment via postal service or direct payment into the account of the application examination authority of the Ministry of Science and Technology).

3. The procedures for receiving and processing the request to terminate the right to use the invention under mandatory regulations and issuing the termination decision are carried out as the procedures for receiving and processing the request file for the transfer of the right to use the invention under a compulsory decision as stipulated in Article 55 of this Decree.

Article 58. File for registration of an industrial property rights transfer contract

1. The registration dossier for a contract transferring industrial property rights includes the following set of documents:

a) Registration form for the contract transferring industrial property rights, made according to Form No. 01 in Appendix IV of this Decree;

b) 01 copy of the contract (original or certified copy as prescribed); if the contract is made in a language other than Vietnamese, it must be accompanied by a Vietnamese translation of the contract; if the contract has multiple pages, each page must be signed by the parties or stamped across pages;

c) The original protection certificate in case the protection certificate is issued in paper form;

d) Written consent of co-owners regarding the transfer of industrial property rights, if the corresponding industrial property right is jointly owned;

đ) Power of attorney (in case the submission is required to be made through a representative);

e) A copy of the receipt for payment of fees and charges (in case of payment of fees and charges via postal service or payment directly into the account of the state management agency on industrial property rights);

g) For the application dossier for registration of a collective trademark assignment contract or a certification trademark assignment contract, in addition to the above-mentioned documents, the following documents are also required:

g1) Regulations on the use of the collective trademark, regulations on the use of the certification trademark of the transferee in accordance with Article 105 of the Intellectual Property Law;

g2) Documents proving the transferee's right to file an application for the certification trademark or collective trademark in accordance with Clauses 3 and 4, Article 87 of the Intellectual Property Law.

In this case, the state management agency for industrial property shall re-examine the right to file the application and the regulations on trademark use. The applicant must pay the examination fee in addition to other fees for the application dossier for the registration of an industrial property rights assignment contract as prescribed.

2. The dossier for registration of a contract for the transfer of the right to use an industrial property object must include the following documents:

a) Registration form for the transfer of rights to use industrial property objects, made according to Form No. 02 in Appendix IV of this Decree;

b) 02 copies of the contract (original or a copy attached with the original for comparison, except in cases where the copy has been notarized as prescribed); if the contract is made in a language other than Vietnamese, it must be accompanied by a Vietnamese translation of the contract; if the contract has multiple pages, each page must be signed by the parties or sealed across the pages;

c) Written consent from co-owners regarding the transfer of the right to use the industrial property object if the corresponding industrial property right is jointly owned;

d) Authorization document (in cases where submission via a representative is requested);

e) Copy of the receipt for payment of fees and charges (in case fees and charges are paid via postal service or directly into the account of the management agency for industrial property rights).

3. Each application for registration of an industrial property transfer contract shall only be recorded for one transfer step. In the case where an industrial property object is transferred in multiple steps, each transfer step must submit a separate application for registration of an industrial property transfer contract.

Article 59. Procedures for processing applications for registration of industrial property transfer contracts

1. In the case that the application for registration of an industrial property transfer contract does not have the defects mentioned in Clause 3 of this Article, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall perform the following tasks:

a) Issue a decision to recognize the transfer of industrial property rights (for industrial property rights assignment contracts) and a decision to grant a Certificate of registration of a contract for transferring the right to use an industrial property object (for contracts transferring the right to use an industrial property object);

b) For contracts transferring industrial property rights: Record the new owner in the protection certificate; in the case of transferring a part of the list of goods and services bearing the protected trademark, issue a Trademark Registration Certificate to the transferee and specify the limits of the list of goods and services in the original protection certificate for the transferred part;

c) For contracts transferring the right to use industrial property objects: Issue the Certificate of Registration of the contract transferring the right to use industrial property objects to the applicant; stamp the registration on 02 copies of the contract and give 01 copy to the applicant, keep 01 copy for record;

d) Record the transfer of industrial property rights in the National Register of Industrial Property;

e) Announce the decision recognizing the transfer of industrial property rights and the decision to issue the Certificate of Registration of the contract transferring the right to use industrial property objects in the Industrial Property Gazette within 02 months from the date of the decision.

2. In case the application for registration of a contract transferring industrial property rights is incomplete as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall carry out the following procedures:

a) Issue a notice of intention to refuse contract registration, specifying the deficiencies in the dossier, and setting a deadline of 02 months from the date of signing the notice for the applicant to correct the deficiencies or to provide objections to the intention to refuse contract registration;

b) Issue a decision to refuse contract registration if the applicant does not correct the deficiencies, or corrects the deficiencies but does not meet the requirements, has no objections, or has objections that are not valid regarding the intention to refuse contract registration within the specified deadline.

3. A dossier for the registration of a contract on the transfer of industrial property rights is considered deficient if it falls under one of the following cases:

a) The declaration is not valid;

b) Missing any of the documents in the required document list;

c) The authorization document is not valid;

d) The copy of the contract is not duly certified.

d) The name and address of the transferring party in the contract do not match the corresponding information in the protected document or in the contract that is the basis for the transfer right, authorization document, or declaration; the name and address of the transferee in the contract do not match the name and address recorded in the authorization document or declaration;

e) The contract does not have all the signatures (and seals, if any) of the transferring party and the transferee;

g) The assignor is not the owner of the protected document;

h) The relevant industrial property object is no longer within the protection period or is under dispute;

i) The transfer contract lacks the contents required in accordance with Article 140 or Clause 1, Article 144 of the Intellectual Property Law;

k) The contract contains content that is not in accordance with the regulations on conditions restricting the transfer of industrial property rights under Article 139 of the Law on Intellectual Property or contains unreasonable provisions restricting the rights of the party receiving the transfer of the right to use the industrial property object as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 144 of the Law on Intellectual Property;

l) There is a basis to assert that the transfer of industrial property rights infringes upon the industrial property rights of a third party.

4. The processing time for the industrial property rights transfer registration dossier is 02 months. The time allotted for the applicant to correct deficiencies is not counted in the dossier processing time.

5. After the registration file for the contract transferring industrial property rights is submitted to the state management agency on industrial property rights, if the parties have disputes related to the contract, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall temporarily suspend the examination of the file until the parties resolve the dispute and submit documents proving that the dispute has been resolved, and then the state management agency on industrial property rights shall continue to examine the file in accordance with regulations.

6. Before the state management agency on industrial property rights issues a decision to recognize or refuse to recognize the registration of an industrial property transfer contract, if one of the parties wishes to withdraw the application for registration of the industrial property transfer contract, there must be a mutual agreement of both parties regarding the withdrawal of the submitted application for registration of the industrial property transfer contract, except in cases of withdrawal due to the inability to remedy deficiencies as required by the state management agency on industrial property rights.

Article 60. Conditions restricting the transfer of rights to trademarks

1. The transfer of rights to a trademark as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 139 of the Intellectual Property Law is considered to cause confusion about the characteristics or origin of goods or services bearing the trademark in the following cases:

a) The trademark being transferred is identical or similar to the extent of causing confusion with another trademark that is currently protected under a Trademark Registration Certificate or an international trademark registration owned by the transferor;

b) A portion of goods or services bearing the transferred trademark is similar to the remaining goods or services in the category owned by the transferor, and the use of the trademark together with that portion of goods or services by the transferee is likely to cause confusion about the commercial origin of the goods or services (in the case where the transfer scope is a part of the goods or services category);

c) The trademark being transferred contains elements that may cause consumers to be confused or misunderstand the origin, quality, value, etc., of the goods or services within the scope of the transfer.

2. The rights to a collective trademark or a certification trademark can only be transferred to organizations that meet the conditions for organizations entitled to register such collective or certification trademarks.

Article 61. Recording the amendment of content, extension, or early termination of the validity of a contract for the transfer of the right to use industrial property objects

1. Any amendment of content, extension, or early termination of the validity of a registered contract for the transfer of the right to use industrial property objects must be recorded at the state authority managing industrial property rights in accordance with the provisions of this Article.

2. The dossier requesting the recording of amendments of content, extension, or early termination of the contract validity shall be carried out as follows:

a) The dossier requested to record the amendment of content, extension, or early termination of the validity of the contract for the transfer of industrial property rights must be made in writing and include the following documents:

a1) A declaration of request for recording the modification of the contents, extension or premature termination of the contract for licensing of the industrial property object, made according to Form No. 03 in Appendix IV of this Decree;

a2) The original certificate of registration of the contract for licensing the industrial property object (in case of registration of amendment or extension of the contract's validity);

a3) Documents proving the modification of the names and addresses of the contractual parties;

a4) Agreements and documents noting specific terms that need to be amended or supplemented in the contract, including the extension or termination of the contract before the expiration date;

a5) A written authorization (in case the request is filed through a representative);

a6) A copy of the charge and fee payment voucher (in case of payment of charges and fees by post or directly into the account of the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights).

b) The application for contract extension must be submitted within 01 month from the expiration date of the contract term stated in the Certificate of Registration of the contract for the transfer of industrial property rights.

3. Within 01 month from the date of receiving the dossier requesting recognition of amendments to the content, extension, or early termination of the contract, the state agency responsible for industrial property rights shall be responsible for reviewing the dossier according to the following regulations:

a) In the case of a valid dossier, the state management agency on industrial property shall issue a decision to record the amendment of contents, extension, or early termination of the contract on the transfer of the right to use an industrial property object; record the amended contents and extension of the validity of the contract on the transfer of the right to use an industrial property object in the Certificate of Registration of the contract on the transfer of the right to use an industrial property object; record the amended contents, extension, or early termination of the contract on the transfer of the right to use an industrial property object in the National Register of Industrial Property; publish the decisions recording the amendment of contents, extension, or early termination of the contract on the transfer of the right to use an industrial property object in the Industrial Property Gazette within 02 months from the date of the decision;

b) In the case that the dossier has deficiencies, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall issue a notice of intent to refuse recognition of the amendment of content, extension, or early termination of the contract for the transfer of the use of industrial property objects, clearly stating the deficiencies of the dossier and setting a period of 02 months from the date of the notice of intent to refuse, for the applicant to correct the deficiencies or submit objections to the intended refusal to register the contract.

If the applicant fails to correct the deficiencies, or the corrections do not meet the requirements, or there are no objections, or the objections are not justified within the prescribed period, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall issue a decision to refuse recognition of the amendment of content, extension, or early termination of the contract for the transfer of the use of industrial property objects.

Chapter VI. REPRESENTATION OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY

Article 62. Legal training program on industrial property

1. The training program on industrial property law must ensure that learners acquire the knowledge and skills to apply industrial property law necessary to solve specific issues related to the protection of industrial property rights, with a minimum duration of 20 study units or 18 credits (of which at least 40% of the training time is for practical training, professional practice, or internship).

2. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall develop a framework training program on industrial property law according to the criteria specified in clause 1 of this Article.

3. The industrial property law training course specified in point d, clause 2 and clause 2a, Article 155 of the Intellectual Property Law, when taught according to the framework program specified in clause 2 of this Article, shall be recognized by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

4. An individual is considered to have graduated from the legal training course on industrial property as prescribed in Point d, Clause 2, and Clause 2a, Article 155 of the Intellectual Property Law if they graduate from an industrial property training course that meets the requirements specified in Clause 2 of this Article and is recognized by the Ministry of Science and Technology according to Clause 3 of this Article.

Article 63. Examination of industrial property representation skills

1. The examination of industrial property representation skills is conducted to assess the ability to apply industrial property law to resolve specific issues related to the establishment and protection of industrial property rights.

2. The state management agency for industrial property rights organizes a professional examination for industrial property representatives every 2 years. The plan for organizing the professional examination for industrial property representatives must be published on the electronic information portal of the state management agency for industrial property rights.

3. The examination results are notified by the state management agency for industrial property rights to the examinee. The examinee has the right to request the state management agency for industrial property rights to review the examination results.

4. The examination results of an individual that meet the provisions at point e, clause 2, Article 155 of the Intellectual Property Law are valid for 5 years (from the date of notification of the examination results) for the purpose of requesting the state management agency for industrial property rights to issue a License for practicing as an industrial property service representative.

5. The professional examination council for intellectual property representatives, established by the state management agency on intellectual property rights, is responsible for organizing the professional examination for intellectual property representatives according to the Professional Examination Regulations for Intellectual Property Representatives issued by that agency.

6. Individuals who meet the conditions specified in points a to đ, Clause 2, Article 155 of the Intellectual Property Law are eligible to register for the professional examination for intellectual property representatives according to the provisions of Clause 7 of this Article.

7. The registration dossier for the examination must be submitted to the state management agency on intellectual property rights and must include the following set of documents:

a) The examination registration form, made according to Form No. 01 in Appendix V of this Decree;

b) A copy of the bachelor's degree or an equivalent qualification as specified in point c, Clause 2, Article 155 of the Intellectual Property Law (the original must be presented for comparison, except in the case of a notarized copy);

c) A copy of the graduation certificate of the legal training course on industrial property recognized by the Ministry of Science and Technology as prescribed in Article 62 of this Decree (present the original for comparison, except in cases where the copy has been certified); or a copy of the recruitment decision or employment contract and other documents (certified by the agency or organization where the person works) proving at least 5 years of direct work in examining industrial property registration applications at a national or international industrial property office or legal work on industrial property as prescribed in point d, clause 2, Article 155 of the Intellectual Property Law, including work in inspection, supervision, prosecution, adjudication, legal affairs, legal consultancy, and state management of industrial property. scientific research (holding the title of researcher) and teaching about industrial property (present the original for verification, except in cases where the copy has been certified);

d) 02 photos sized 3 x 4 cm;

e) Copy of the receipt for payment of fees and charges (in case fees and charges are paid via postal service or directly into the account of the management agency for industrial property rights).

8. The registration file for the examination will be processed by the state management agency on industrial property rights within 20 days from the date of receipt of the file according to the following procedures:

a) In the case of a valid file, the state management agency on industrial property rights will notify the applicant about the eligibility to participate in the examination, and simultaneously inform about the expected time, location, and schedule of the examination;

b) In the case of an invalid file, the state management agency on industrial property rights will notify the deficiencies in the file and set a period of 01 month from the date of notification for the applicant to correct the deficiencies;

c) In the case the applicant does not correct the deficiencies or the corrections are inadequate, the state management agency on industrial property rights will issue a decision to refuse the acceptance of the examination registration application, stating clearly the reasons for refusal.

Article 64. Issuance, re-issuance, and revocation of the Industrial Property Representative Service Practice Certificate

1. The issuance of the Industrial Property Representative Service Practice Certificate is carried out as follows:

a) The Industrial Property Representative Service Practice Certificate shall be issued by the state management agency on intellectual property rights to individuals meeting the conditions specified in Clauses 2 and 2a of Article 155 of the Intellectual Property Law, if requested and upon payment of fees and charges as prescribed by law;

b) The dossier requesting the issuance of the Industrial Property Representative Service Practice Certificate includes one set of the following documents:

b1) Declaration form requesting the issuance of the Industrial Property Representative Service Practice Certificate, made according to Form No. 02 in Appendix V of this Decree;

b2) A copy of the graduation certificate from the training course on intellectual property law and a copy of the Lawyer's Card in the case of requesting the issuance of a practice certificate as prescribed in Clause 2a, Article 155 of the Intellectual Property Law (the original must be presented for comparison, except for cases where the copy has been notarized);

b3) 02 photos sized 3 x 4 cm;

b4) A copy of the Identity Card (the original must be presented for comparison, except for cases where the copy has been notarized), except in cases where the application for the issuance of an industrial property representative service practice certificate already contains information about the Citizen Identification number;

b5) Copies of fee payment receipts (in case fees are paid through postal services or directly into the account of the state agency managing intellectual property rights).

c) The application for granting a Certificate of practice in industrial property representation services is processed by the state management agency on industrial property rights within 01 month from the date of receipt of the application according to the following procedure:

c1) In the case of a valid application, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall decide to grant a Certificate of Industrial Property Representation Practice, which clearly records the full name, date of birth, permanent address, identity card/citizen identification number, certificate number, and field of practice of the person being granted the certificate; the issuance of the Certificate of Industrial Property Representation Practice shall be recorded in the National Register of Industrial Property Representatives and published in the Industrial Property Gazette and on the electronic portal of that agency within 02 months from the date of the decision;

c2) In cases where the application file is invalid, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall notify the deficiencies of the file and set a deadline of 01 month from the date of the notification for the applicant to correct the deficiencies;

c3) In cases where the applicant does not correct the deficiencies or the corrections are unsatisfactory, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall issue a decision to refuse the issuance of the Industrial Property Representative Service Practice Certificate, stating the reasons for the refusal;

d) The Industrial Property Representative Service Practice Certificate shall be made according to Form No. 03 in Appendix V of this Decree.

2. The reissuance of the Industrial Property Representative Service Practice Certificate shall be carried out as follows:

a) In the following cases, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall reissue the Certificate of Practice in Industrial Property Representation if the industrial property representative requests it and pays the fees and charges according to regulations:

a1) The information in the Certificate of Practice in Industrial Property Representation specified in point c1, clause 1 of this Article has changed;

a2) The Certificate of Practice in Industrial Property Representation is lost, defective, or damaged (torn, dirty, faded, etc.) to the extent that it cannot be used;

a3) The conditions for being granted the Certificate of Practice in Industrial Property Representation have been fully restored in the case where the certificate was revoked due to no longer meeting the conditions specified in clauses 2 and 2a, Article 155 of the Intellectual Property Law.

b) The dossier for requesting the re-issuance of the Industrial Property Representation Service Practice Certificate is submitted to the state management agency for industrial property and includes 01 set of documents as follows:

b1) The application for re-issuance of the Industrial Property Representation Service Practice Certificate, done according to Form No. 04 in Appendix V of this Decree;

b2) 02 photos sized 3 x 4 (cm);

b3) A copy of the Identity Card (present the original for verification, except for cases where the copy has been certified), except in the case the application for re-issuance of the Industrial Property Representation Service Practice Certificate already contains the Citizen Identification Number information, in the cases specified in point a1 of this clause;

b4) Documents proving that the conditions for being granted the Industrial Property Representation Service Practice Certificate have been fully restored, in the cases specified in point a3 of this clause;

b5) Copies of fee payment receipts (in case fees are paid through postal services or directly into the account of the state agency managing intellectual property rights).

c) The dossier requesting the reissuance of the Industrial Property Representation Practice Certificate shall be processed by the state management agency on industrial property within 20 days from the date of receipt of the dossier, following the procedure for issuing the Industrial Property Representation Practice Certificate as stipulated in point c, clause 1 of this Article.

d) In case the Industrial Property Representation Practice Certificate is faulty due to the error of the state management agency on industrial property, that agency is responsible for reissuing the Industrial Property Representation Practice Certificate within 05 working days from the date of receipt of the request from the certificate holder, without collecting any fee for the reissuance.

3. The revocation of the industrial property representation practice certificate is carried out as follows:

a) The professional practice certificate for industrial property representation is revoked by the state management agency on industrial property in the following cases:

a1) The holder of the professional practice certificate for industrial property representation no longer meets the conditions specified in Clause 2 and 2a, Article 155 of the Intellectual Property Law;

a2) The holder of the professional practice certificate for industrial property representation has their certificate revoked by a decision of the competent state authority as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 156 of the Intellectual Property Law;

b) The state management agency on industrial property may proactively or at the request of an organization or individual revoke the professional practice certificate for industrial property representation if there is evidence confirming that the certificate holder falls under one of the cases specified in point a of this clause;

c) Organizations or individuals requesting the revocation of the industrial property representation service practice certificate must submit 01 set of the following documents:

c1) Application for the revocation of the Certificate of Practice for Industrial Property Representation Services;

c2) Documents proving the grounds for revoking the Certificate of Practice for Industrial Property Representative Services.

d) The procedure for revoking the Certificate of Practice for Industrial Property Representative Services is carried out as follows:

d1) In the case where an organization or individual requests the revocation of the Industrial Property Representative Practice Certificate under the provisions of point c of this clause, within 01 month from the date of receiving the request, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall notify in writing about this request to the certificate holder and set a period of 01 month from the date of the notification for the person to provide their opinion. Based on the consideration of the parties' opinions, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall issue a decision to revoke the Practice Certificate or a decision to refuse the revocation of the Practice Certificate and send it to the parties;

d2) In the case where there is a basis to confirm that the person granted the Certificate of Practice in Industrial Property Representation no longer meets the conditions stipulated in Clause 2 and 2a of Article 155 of the Intellectual Property Law, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall notify in writing the intention to revoke the Certificate of Practice in Industrial Property Representation to the person granted the Certificate and set a period of 01 month from the date of the notice for the person to provide opinions. Based on the consideration of the opinions of the person granted the Certificate of Practice in Industrial Property Representation, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall make a decision to revoke the Certificate of Practice in Industrial Property Representation or notify the person that the Certificate will not be revoked.

d3) In the case where there is a decision to revoke the Industrial Property Representative Service Practice Certificate by a competent state authority, within 01 month from the date of receipt of such a decision, the state management agency on industrial property shall issue a decision to revoke the Industrial Property Representative Service Practice Certificate;

d4) The decision to revoke the Industrial Property Representative Service Practice Certificate shall be recorded by the state management agency on industrial property in the National Register of Industrial Property Representatives and published in the Industrial Property Official Gazette within 02 months from the date of the decision.

Article 65. Recording and removing industrial property representatives

1. The recording of organizations meeting the conditions for conducting industrial property representative services shall be carried out as follows:

a) Organizations that meet the conditions prescribed in Article 154 of the Intellectual Property Law are recognized by the state management agency on industrial property rights as organizations providing industrial property representation services in the National Register of Industrial Property Representatives and are published in the Industrial Property Gazette if requested and have paid fees and charges in accordance with the provisions of law.

Branches and other subordinate units of organizations that meet the conditions prescribed in Article 154 of the Intellectual Property Law are only allowed to provide industrial property representation services under the name of the organization to which they belong.

b) The dossier requesting the recognition of an intellectual property representation service organization to be entered in the National Register of Intellectual Property Representatives shall be submitted to the state management agency on intellectual property by an organization that meets the conditions stipulated in Article 154 of the Intellectual Property Law, consisting of 01 set of documents as follows:

b1) The declaration form requesting the recognition of an intellectual property representation service organization, made according to Form No. 05 in Appendix V of this Decree, fully providing information about the organization and information about the intellectual property representative authorized by the organization;

b2) A copy of the recruitment decision or labor contract of the organization for the person with a Certificate of Practice in intellectual property representation service (the original must be presented for verification, except in cases where the copy has been notarized);

b3) A copy of the payment voucher for fees and charges (in case of paying fees and charges via postal service or directly into the account of the state management agency on industrial property rights).

c) Within 20 days from the date of receiving the application to recognize the industrial property representative service organization, the state management agency for industrial property will review the dossier following the procedure as for the issuance of the Industrial Property Representative Practice Certificate stipulated in point c, clause 1, Article 64 of this Decree.

2. The recognition of an industrial property representative is carried out as follows:

a) An individual who meets the conditions to practice industrial property representative services may request the state management agency for industrial property to recognize them as an industrial property representative in the National Register of Industrial Property Representatives and publish it in the Industrial Property Gazette as prescribed in clause 1, Article 156 of the Intellectual Property Law, this clause, and must pay fees and charges as prescribed.

b) The file requesting the recognition of an industrial property representative in the National Register of Industrial Property Representatives is submitted to the state management agency on industrial property by an individual meeting the conditions specified in Article 155 of the Intellectual Property Law, including 01 set of documents as follows:

b1) Request form for recognizing an industrial property representative, made according to Form No. 06 in Appendix V of this Decree, fully filling in information about the individual and the industrial property organization where the individual practices;

b2) A copy of the appointment decision or labor contract of the industrial property service organization for the individual (present the original for comparison, except in cases where the copy has been certified);

b3) A copy of the payment voucher for fees and charges (in case of paying fees and charges via postal service or directly into the account of the state management agency on industrial property rights).

c) Within 20 days from the date of receiving the application for the recognition of an industrial property representative, the state management agency for industrial property rights shall examine the application in the same order as for the procedure of granting a Certificate of Industrial Property Representation Service Practice stipulated in point c, Clause 1, Article 64 of this Decree.

3. The recognition of changes to the information of an industrial property representation service organization shall be carried out as follows:

a) Industrial property service organizations may request the state management agency on industrial property rights to record changes related to information already registered in the National Register of Industrial Property Representatives (including full name, trade name, abbreviation, address of the organization, field of industrial property representative services, full name and certificate number of the industrial property representative practicing in the organization) in accordance with the provisions of this clause and must pay fees and charges as prescribed.

b) The dossier requesting the recording of information changes of an industrial property service organization submitted to the state management agency on industrial property rights includes the following documents:

b1) Declaration requesting the recording of information changes of the industrial property service organization made according to Form No. 07 in Appendix V of this Decree;

b2) A copy of the business registration certificate or the amended certificate of registration of operations of the intellectual property representative service organization in case of a change of name or address (present the original for comparison, except in the case where the copy has been notarized), except in cases where the Enterprise Code has already been declared in the Declaration requesting the recording of changes regarding the intellectual property representative service organization;

b3) A copy of the payment voucher for fees and charges (in case of paying fees and charges via postal service or directly into the account of the state management agency on industrial property rights).

c) Within 20 days from the date of receiving the application for recognizing changes in the information of the industrial property representation service organization, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall consider the application in the order as for the procedure for granting a Practice Certificate for industrial property representation service as prescribed in point c, clause 1, Article 64 of this Decree.

4. The removal of the name of an industrial property representation service organization shall be carried out as follows:

a) The industrial property representation service organization must complete the procedure for removing its name in the National Register of Industrial Property Representation at the state management agency on industrial property rights in the following cases:

a1) The industrial property representation service organization gives up or terminates industrial property representation services;

a2) The industrial property representation service organization no longer meets all the conditions prescribed in Article 154 of the Intellectual Property Law;

b) The dossier requesting the deletion of the name of the industrial property representative service organization submitted to the state management agency for industrial property rights includes the following documents:

b1) Declaration requesting the deletion of the name of the industrial property representative service organization made according to Form No. 08 in Appendix V of this Decree;

b2) Documents proving that the organization no longer meets the conditions to conduct industrial property representative services;

b3) A copy of the payment voucher for fees and charges (in case of paying fees and charges via postal service or directly into the account of the state management agency on industrial property rights).

c) Within 20 days from the date of receipt of the dossier requesting the deletion of the name of the industrial property representative service organization, the state management agency for industrial property rights shall examine the dossier according to the procedure as for the issuance of the Industrial Property Representative Service Practice Certificate specified in point c, clause 1, Article 64 of this Decree.

5. The deletion of the name of the industrial property representative is carried out as follows:

a) An industrial property representative must complete the procedure to remove their name from the National Register of Industrial Property Representatives at the state authority for industrial property rights when they no longer meet the practice conditions as stipulated in point b, clause 1, Article 155 of the Law on Intellectual Property.

b) The dossier for requesting the removal of an industrial property representative's name submitted to the state authority for industrial property rights includes the following documents:

b1) The application for removal of the industrial property representative's name made according to Form No. 09 in Appendix V of this Decree;

b2) Documents proving that the holder of a Certificate of Industrial Property Service Practice does not meet the conditions for practicing industrial property services according to the provisions at point b, clause 1, Article 155 of the Law on Intellectual Property (decision to terminate the employment contract or other documents);

b3) Copy of the receipt of payment of fees (in case of paying fees via postal service or directly into the account of the state management agency on industrial property);

c) Within 20 days from the date of receiving the request for deletion of the industrial property representative's name, the state management agency on industrial property shall review the file following the procedure as for the issuance of the Certificate of Practitioner of Industrial Property Representation Services specified at point c, clause 1, Article 64 of this Decree.

Chapter VII. MEASURES TO PROMOTE INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY ACTIVITIES

Article 66. Training and fostering human resources for industrial property activities

1. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall prescribe in detail the content, curriculum, and training on industrial property.

2. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors to organize training on industrial property for those engaged in state management, appraisal, examination, handling violations, and infringements of industrial property.

Article 67. Ensuring industrial property information

1. The industrial property information system includes a collection of information related to all industrial property objects protected in Vietnam, selective information according to purpose or topic regarding foreign industrial property objects, which is classified, arranged appropriately, and convenient for searching, distribution, and use.

2. The Ministry of Science and Technology is responsible for organizing the development and management of industrial property information databases, creating classification tools, search tools, and guidelines on how to search and use industrial property information both domestically and internationally; organizing the provision of information that is complete, timely, and accurate, ensuring access to the information databases for individuals who need information to support activities related to establishing and protecting industrial property rights, research, development, and business; managing and organizing the sharing, connecting, exploitation, international cooperation, and other activities related to the national industrial property database.

Article 68. Expanding the scope of use of inventions, industrial designs, and layout designs of the State

1. For inventions, industrial designs, and layout designs owned by the State, and in cases where the possibility of use by the holder of the protection certificate does not meet the needs of society, other State organizations have the right to request the holder of the protection certificate to transfer the rights to use those inventions, industrial designs, and layout designs under the following conditions:

a) The right to use inventions, industrial designs, and layout designs that are transferred is non-exclusive and cannot be transferred to others;

b) The scope of use of the invention, industrial design, and layout design by the transferee does not affect the use of the invention, industrial design, and layout design until the end of the validity of the protection certificate;

c) In the case of inventions, industrial designs, or layout designs used not for commercial purposes, the transfer price of the right to use the invention, industrial design, or layout design that the beneficiary must pay to the holder of the protection certificate shall be 50% of the amount that a non-state organization would have to pay to obtain the right to use that invention, industrial design, or layout design under equivalent conditions.

2. The transfer of the right to use inventions, industrial designs, or layout designs from the State to state organizations as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article does not affect the rights of the holder of the protection certificate in transferring the use rights of those objects to other non-state organizations.

Article 69. Encouraging social organizations and socio-professional organizations to engage in industrial property activities

Social organizations and socio-professional organizations operating in the field of industrial property are facilitated to perform advisory and social criticism functions regarding industrial property and to promote non-governmental social service activities in order to fully leverage their supportive role for the activities of state agencies and support the subjects of industrial property rights.

Article 70. Other measures to encourage creative activities

The State encourages and sponsors technological creative activities by the following measures:

1. Sponsoring technical creative competitions.

2. Rewarding, disseminating experiences, creative methods, and exemplary models of creative labor.

3. Supporting the establishment and protection of industrial property rights for creative achievements.

Part Four

PROTECTION OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS,

RIGHTS TO PLANT VARIETIES

Chapter I. DETERMINATION OF ACTS, NATURE, AND DEGREE OF INFRINGEMENT,

DETERMINATION OF DAMAGES

Section 1. BASIS FOR DETERMINING BEHAVIOR, NATURE

AND LEVEL OF INTRUSION

Article 71. Applying civil, administrative, and criminal measures to protect industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties

Depending on the nature and severity, an infringement act may be dealt with by civil, administrative, or criminal measures in accordance with the provisions in Part Five (Protection of Intellectual Property Rights) of the Intellectual Property Law and the following regulations:

1. Civil measures are applied to handle acts of infringement at the request of the subject of industrial property rights, plant variety rights, or of organizations and individuals who suffer damages due to the infringement, including when such acts have been or are being handled by administrative or criminal measures.

The procedure for requesting the application of civil measures, jurisdiction, order, and procedure for applying civil measures shall comply with the provisions of civil procedure law.

2. Administrative measures are applied to handle acts of infringement in cases specified in Article 211 of the Intellectual Property Law, at the request of the holder of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties, organizations or individuals suffering damage due to the infringement, organizations or individuals detecting the infringement, or as proactively discovered by the competent authority.

The form, level of penalty, authority, administrative procedures for handling infringement acts, and remedial measures follow the provisions of the Intellectual Property Law and the laws on administrative sanctions in the field of industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties.

3. Criminal measures are applied to handle acts of infringement in cases where the act contains all the elements constituting a crime as prescribed in the Penal Code.

The authority, order, and procedures for applying criminal measures follow the provisions of the law on criminal procedure.

Article 72. Determination of Infringing Acts

An act is considered an act of infringement of industrial property rights or plant variety rights as prescribed in Articles 126, 127, 129, and 188 of the Intellectual Property Law when the following grounds are met:

1. The subject under consideration belongs to the scope of subjects currently protected;

2. There is an element of infringement in the subject under consideration;

3. The person performing the act under consideration is not regarded as the subject of industrial property rights, the rights to plant varieties, and is not a person authorized by law or by competent authorities according to the provisions in Clause 2 and Clause 3 of Article 125, Article 133, Clause 3 of Article 133a, Article 134, Clause 2 of Article 137, Articles 145, 190, and 195 of the Intellectual Property Law;

4. The act under consideration occurs in Vietnam. The act is also considered to occur in Vietnam if it takes place on the Internet and is performed on an electronic information page under a Vietnamese domain name or has the Vietnamese language displayed or is directed at consumers or users in Vietnam.

Article 73. Basis for determining objects of protection

1. The determination of objects of protection is carried out by examining documents and evidence proving the basis for the emergence and establishment of rights according to the provisions of Article 6 of the Intellectual Property Law.

2. For types of industrial property rights that have been registered with the competent authority, the objects of protection are determined according to the registration certificate, the protection title, and the documents attached to that registration certificate or protection title.

3. For trade names, the objects of protection are determined based on the process of use, the field, and the territory where that trade name is used.

4. For trade secrets, the objects of protection are determined based on documents showing the content and nature of the trade secret and explanations, descriptions of the corresponding confidentiality measures.

5. For well-known trademarks, the objects of protection are determined based on documents and evidence of widespread use to achieve the trademark's fame according to the criteria prescribed in Article 75 of the Intellectual Property Law.

6. For geographical indications protected under international treaties, the protected subject is determined according to the international treaty or the National Register of Industrial Property.

7. Rights to plant varieties are determined according to the Plant Variety Protection Certificate issued by the competent state authority.

Article 74. Elements of infringement of ownership rights for inventions

1. Elements of infringement of rights for an invention may take one of the following forms:

a) A product or a component (part) of a product that is identical or equivalent to the product or component (part) of the product within the scope of the invention's protection;

b) A process that is identical or equivalent to the process within the scope of the invention's protection;

c) A product or a component (part) of a product produced by a process that is identical or equivalent to the process within the scope of the invention's protection.

2. The basis for determining the element of infringement of rights regarding an invention is the scope of protection of the invention as defined by the Patent, the Utility Solution Patent, or the extract from the National Register of Industrial Property.

Article 75. Elements of right infringement regarding layout designs

1. Elements of right infringement regarding layout designs may belong to one of the following types:

a) Layout designs created by illegally copying protected layout designs;

b) Semiconductor integrated circuits illegally created according to protected layout designs;

c) Products or parts (components) of products containing semiconductor integrated circuits as specified in point b of this clause.

2. Basis for determining the element of infringement of rights in layout designs is the scope of protection of the layout design as determined by the Certificate of Registration of Integrated Circuit Layout Design or an extract from the National Register of Industrial Property.

Article 76. Element of infringement of rights in industrial designs

1. The element of infringement of rights in an industrial design is a product or a component to assemble into a composite product whose external appearance is not significantly different from the protected industrial design.

2. The basis for determining the element of infringement of rights in an industrial design is the scope of protection of the industrial design as determined by the Industrial Design Patent, the decision to accept the protection of an internationally registered industrial design, or an extract from the National Register of Industrial Property.

3. A product or part to be assembled into a complex product is considered not significantly different in appearance from a protected industrial design if it falls under one of the following cases:

a) The product or part to be assembled into a complex product under consideration, including cases where an Industrial Design Patent has already been granted, has an external shape that is a combination of shaping features forming a whole that is a copy or, in essence, a copy (almost indistinguishable) of another person's protected industrial design;

b) The product or part to be assembled into a complex product under consideration has an external shape that is a combination of shaping features forming a whole that is a copy or, in essence, a copy of the industrial design of at least one product in another person's protected product set.

Article 77. Elements of infringement of trademark rights

1. The factor of infringement of trademark rights is a sign attached to goods, packaging of goods, service means, transaction documents, signage, advertising means, and other business means, which is identical or similar to a degree that causes confusion with the protected trademark.

2. The basis for considering the factor of infringement of trademark rights is the scope of trademark protection, including the trademark sample and the list of goods and services specified in the Trademark Registration Certificate or the Internationally Registered Trademark Confirmation Certificate protected in Vietnam, or the extract from the National Register of Industrial Property, or through the evaluation of evidence proving the famous trademark in accordance with the provisions of Article 75 of the Law on Intellectual Property.

3. To determine whether a suspected sign constitutes an infringement of a trademark, it is necessary to compare the sign with the trademark, and at the same time compare the goods and services bearing the sign with the goods and services within the scope of protection. An infringement can only be confirmed when both of the following conditions are met:

a) A sign suspected of being identical or similar to the extent of causing confusion with a trademark under protection; in which a sign is considered identical to a trademark under protection if it has the same structure and form of presentation; a sign is considered similar to the extent of causing confusion with a trademark under protection if it has certain components that are entirely identical or similar to the extent that they are not easily distinguishable from each other in terms of structure, pronunciation, transcription, meaning, presentation, color for visible signs, melody, tone for sound signs, and the use of the sign is likely to cause confusion for consumers regarding the goods or services associated with the trademark;

b) Goods and services bearing a sign suspected of being identical or similar in nature or in function and use, and having the same distribution channels as the goods and services covered by protection; or being related to each other in terms of nature, function, or method of implementation.

4. For famous trademarks, a suspected sign is considered an infringing element if:

a) The suspected sign meets the conditions specified in point a, clause 3 of this Article;

b) Goods and services bearing the suspected sign meet the conditions specified in point b, clause 3 of this Article, or goods and services that are not identical, not similar, and not related to the goods and services bearing the famous trademark but have the potential to cause consumer confusion about the origin of the goods and services or create a misleading impression about the relationship between the producer, business of those products or services and the owner of the famous trademark.

Article 78. Elements of Infringement on the Rights to Geographical Indications

1. The elements of infringement on the rights to geographical indications are manifested in the form of signs attached to goods, packaging of goods, service means, transaction documents, signboards, advertising methods, and other business methods, identical or similar to the extent of causing confusion with the protected geographical indication.

2. The basis for considering the elements of infringement on the rights to geographical indications is the scope of protection of the geographical indication as determined in the Geographical Indication Registration Certificate or an international treaty containing provisions on recognition and protection of geographical indications, or the extract from the National Industrial Property Register.

3. To determine whether a suspected sign constitutes an infringement of a protected geographical indication, it is necessary to compare that sign with the geographical indication and to compare the product bearing the suspected sign with the product bearing the protected geographical indication based on the following grounds:

a) A sign suspected of being identical or similar to the extent of causing confusion with a geographical indication, in which a sign is considered identical to a geographical indication if it is identical to the protected geographical indication in terms of word structure, including pronunciation, transcription of letters, meaning, or in terms of images or symbols within the scope of protection of the geographical indication; a sign is considered similar to the extent of causing confusion with a geographical indication if it is similar to the protected geographical indication in terms of word structure, including pronunciation, transcription of letters, meaning, or in terms of images or symbols within the scope of protection of the geographical indication and causes consumers to be misled into believing that products bearing that sign originate from the protected geographical area;

b) Products bearing signs suspected of being identical or similar to products with protected geographical indications, where a product is considered identical or similar if it is the same or similar in nature, function, usage, and distribution channels;

c) For wine and spirits, in addition to the provisions in points a and b of this clause, signs identical to protected geographical indications, including when expressed in the form of translations, transliterations, or accompanied by types, styles, forms, adaptations, or similar words used for products not originating from the geographical area associated with the protected geographical indication, are also considered to infringe on the rights related to geographical indications.

Article 79. Factors infringing on the rights to trade names

1. The factor of infringement of rights over a trade name is manifested in the form of commercial indications affixed to goods, packaging of goods, service means, transaction documents, signboards, advertising means, and other business means, which are identical or similar to the protected trade name to an extent causing confusion.

2. The basis for considering the factor of infringement of rights over a trade name is the scope of protection of the trade name determined on the basis of evidence showing the use of that trade name legally provided by the trade name owner, specifically identifying the business entity, business establishment, business activities, business sector, business area, and the process of using the trade name.

3. To determine whether a suspected sign constitutes an infringing factor on a protected trade name, it is necessary to compare that sign with the protected trade name, compare the business entities, business establishments, and business activities related to the suspected sign, compare the goods and services bearing that sign with the goods and services of the protected trade name, based on the following grounds:

a) A sign suspected of being identical or similar to the protected trade name to the extent of causing confusion; in which a sign is considered identical to the protected trade name if it is similar in wording structure, including pronunciation and transliteration of the trade name; a sign is considered similar to the protected trade name if it is similar in structure, pronunciation, or transliteration of the trade name, causing confusion for consumers regarding the business entity, business establishment, or business activities under the protected trade name;

b) Goods or services carrying a sign suspected of being identical or similar are considered identical or similar to goods or services carrying the protected trade name if they are identical or similar in nature or function, utility, and share the same distribution channel; or are related in nature, function, or method of implementation.

Article 80. Elements of infringement of plant variety rights

1. Factors infringing rights to plant varieties are considered constitutive acts of infringement as follows:

a) Propagating material, intact seedlings, harvested products, or any material capable of developing into a complete plant of a protected plant variety;

b) The name of the plant variety or characters similar enough to cause confusion displayed on goods, packaging of goods, service means, transaction documents, signage, advertising means, and other business methods, identical or similar enough to cause confusion with a protected plant variety name;

c) Machinery, equipment, warehouses for storage and preservation, means of transportation, or other equipment serving the purpose of processing, storing seeds, propagating materials, or harvested materials for use as plant variety seed.

2. The basis for determining the elements of infringement of rights to a plant variety is the scope of the Plant Variety Protection Certificate still in effect.

Article 81. Basis for determining the nature and level of infringement of industrial property rights, rights to plant varieties.

1. The nature of infringement as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 199 of the Intellectual Property Law is determined based on the following grounds:

a) Circumstances and motives of infringement: inadvertent infringement, intentional infringement, infringement due to being controlled or dependent, first-time infringement, repeated infringement;

b) Methods of committing the infringement: individual infringement, organized infringement, committing the infringement oneself, bribing, deceiving, coercing others to commit the infringement.

2. The level of infringement specified in Clause 1, Article 199 of the Intellectual Property Law is determined based on the following grounds:

a) Territorial scope, time, quantity, and scale of the infringement;

b) Impact and consequences of the infringement.

Section 2. DETERMINATION OF DAMAGES

Article 82. Principles for determining damages for industrial property rights and plant variety rights

1. Damage due to infringement of industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties stipulated in Article 204 of the Intellectual Property Law is the actual material and spiritual loss caused directly to the rights holder by the infringing act.

2. It is considered to be an actual loss if the following grounds are sufficient:

a) The material or spiritual benefit is real and belongs to the injured party;

b) The injured party has the ability to obtain the benefit specified in point a of this clause;

c) There is a reduction or loss of the injured party's benefit after the infringement occurs compared to the ability to obtain that benefit without the infringing act, and the infringement is the direct cause of such reduction or loss of benefit.

3. The level of damage is determined in accordance with the factor of infringement of rights regarding industrial property objects and plant variety rights. The determination of the level of damage is based on evidence of damage provided by the parties, including the results of expert assessments and damage declarations, clarifying the grounds for determining and calculating the level of damage.

Article 83. Property loss

1. Property loss is determined based on the extent of reduction or loss in the monetary value of protected industrial property objects and plant variety rights.

2. The monetary value of industrial property objects and plant variety rights specified in paragraph 1 of this Article is determined based on one or more of the following grounds:

a) The transfer price of ownership or the transfer price of the right to use the industrial property object or plant variety rights;

b) The value of contributed business capital in the form of industrial property rights, rights to plant varieties;

c) The value of industrial property rights and plant variety rights in the total assets of the enterprise;

d) The investment value for creating and developing objects of industrial property rights and plant variety rights, including marketing, research, advertising, labor, taxes, and other expenses.

Article 84. Moral damages

Moral damages include losses of honor, dignity, reputation, fame, and other mental damages caused to the author of an invention, industrial design, layout design, or plant variety author according to the provisions of the Intellectual Property Law arising from the violation of the personal rights of these subjects, leading to the author suffering damage to honor, dignity, reduced or lost credibility (reputation), fame, and trust due to misunderstandings.

Article 85. Reduction in income and profit

1. Income and profit as prescribed in Point a, Clause 1, Article 204 of the Intellectual Property Law include:

a) Income and profits obtained from directly using or exploiting industrial property objects or plant variety rights;

b) Income and profits obtained from leasing industrial property objects or plant variety rights;

c) Income and profits obtained from transferring the right to use industrial property objects or plant variety rights.

2. The decline in income and profits is determined based on one or more of the following grounds:

a) Directly comparing the actual income and profits before and after the infringing act, corresponding to each type of income specified in clause 1 of this Article;

b) Comparing the output, quantity of products, goods, or services actually consumed or supplied before and after the infringing act;

c) Comparing the actual market selling prices of products, goods, or services before and after the infringing act.

Article 86. Loss of business opportunities

1. Business opportunities as prescribed in point a, clause 1, Article 204 of the Law on Intellectual Property include:

a) The actual ability to use and directly exploit industrial property rights or plant variety rights in business;

b) The actual ability to lease industrial property rights or plant variety rights to others;

c) The actual ability to transfer the right to use industrial property rights or plant variety rights, or to assign industrial property rights or plant variety rights to others;

d) Other business opportunities lost due to direct infringement acts.

2. Loss of business opportunity is the damage in terms of the money value of the income that the injured party could have earned when implementing the possibilities specified in Clause 1 of this Article but in reality did not receive that income due to the infringing act.

Article 87. Reasonable costs to prevent and remedy damage

Reasonable costs to prevent and remedy damage specified in Point a, Clause 1, Article 204 of the Intellectual Property Law include costs for temporary seizure, preservation, storage, and warehousing of infringing goods, costs for implementing temporary emergency measures, reasonable costs to hire lawyers, appraisal services, prevent and remedy the infringing acts, and costs for making announcements and corrections in the mass media related to the infringing acts.

Chapter II. REQUESTS AND HANDLING OF INFRINGEMENT BEHAVIOR REQUESTS

Article 88. Exercising the right to self-protection

1. Organizations and individuals exercise the right to self-protection in accordance with the provisions of Article 198 of the Intellectual Property Law and the detailed provisions of this Article.

2. Technological measures prescribed in point a, clause 1, Article 198 of the Intellectual Property Law include:

a) Placing information indicating the basis of origin, protective certificate, owner, scope, duration of protection, and other information on industrial property rights, plant variety rights on products, service means (hereinafter collectively referred to in this Article as products) to notify that the product is subject to protected industrial property rights or plant variety rights and to advise others not to infringe;

b) Using means or technical measures to mark, identify, distinguish, and protect protected products.

3. The request to cease acts of infringement as prescribed in point b, clause 1, Article 198 of the Intellectual Property Law, by the subject of industrial property rights or plant variety rights, is carried out by notifying the infringer in writing. The written notice must contain information indicating the basis of origin, the protected document, the scope and duration of protection, and must set a reasonable time limit for the infringer to cease the infringing act.

4. The request for the competent state agency to handle acts of infringement as prescribed in point c, clause 1, Article 198 of the Intellectual Property Law must be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Articles 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, and 94 of this Decree.

Article 89. Application for handling infringement

1. The application for handling infringement must include the following main contents:

a) Date, month, year of making the application;

b) Name, address of the person requesting the handling of the infringement; full name of the representative, if the request is made through a representative;

c) Name of the authority receiving the request;

d) Name, address of the infringer; name, address of the person suspected of being the infringer in case of a request to suspend customs procedures for suspected infringing exported or imported goods;

đ) Name, address of the organization or individual with related rights or interests (if any);

e) Name, address of the witness (if any);

g) Summary information about the industrial property right, plant variety right being infringed: type of right, basis of right acquisition, summary of the subject matter of the right;

h) Summary information about the act of infringement: date, month, year, and place of the infringement, brief description of the infringing product, act of infringement, and other information (if any);

i) Content of the request to apply measures to handle the infringement;

k) List of documents and evidence attached to the application;

l) Signature of the applicant and seal (if any).

2. The request for handling infringement must have attached documents and evidence to prove that request. The proving documents and evidence must comply with the provisions of Article 90 of this Decree.

Article 90. Documents and evidence attached to the request for handling infringement

1. The person requesting the handling of infringement must submit the following documents and evidence along with the request for handling infringement to prove their request:

a) Evidence proving being the rights holder if the requester is the owner or a person who has been transferred, inherited, or succeeded the industrial property rights, or rights to plant varieties;

b) Evidence proving that the act of infringement has occurred; evidence raising suspicion that exported or imported goods infringe upon industrial property rights or plant variety rights in the application to temporarily suspend customs procedures;

c) Other documents and evidence to prove your claim.

2. In the case where a request for handling an infringement is made through an authorized representative, it must be accompanied by a notarized or certified power of attorney; if through a legal representative, it must be accompanied by documents proving the legal representative's status.

Article 91. Evidence proving the rights holder

1. For inventions, industrial designs, layout designs, trademarks, and plant varieties, evidence proving the rights holder is one of the following types of documents:

a) A copy of the Patent Certificate, Utility Solution Certificate, Industrial Design Certificate, Certificate of Registration of Semiconductor Integrated Circuit Layout, Certificate of Trademark Registration, Plant Variety Protection Certificate submitted along with the original for comparison, except in cases where the copy has been notarized as prescribed;

b) An extract from the National Register of Industrial Property; An extract from the National Register of Protected Plant Varieties issued by the competent authority that registers those objects.

2. For internationally registered trademarks under the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol designating Vietnam, evidence proving the rights holder is the certificate of the internationally registered trademark protected in Vietnam issued by the state management agency of industrial property or a certified copy as prescribed or an extract from the National Register of Industrial Property (Internationally Registered Trademark Section).

3. For industrial designs registered internationally under the Hague Agreement designating Vietnam, evidence proving the rights holder is a copy of the decision accepting protection of the internationally registered industrial design issued by the state management agency of industrial property, submitted along with the original for comparison, or a certified copy as prescribed, or an extract from the National Register of Industrial Property (Internationally Registered Industrial Design Section).

4. For geographical indications, evidence proving the rights holder is one of the following documents:

a) Certificate of registration of a geographical indication or Extract from the National Register of Industrial Property;

b) List of organizations and individuals using the geographical indication in accordance with point c, clause 1, Article 38 of this Decree; or other documents proving the rights holder according to the laws of the country of origin in the case of a foreign geographical indication protected in Vietnam.

5. For other industrial property objects, evidence proving the status of the rights holder are documents, objects, information on the basis of establishing the corresponding rights according to points a, b, c, clause 3, Article 6 of the Intellectual Property Law, as specifically regulated as follows:

a) For trade secrets: a description of the content, form of storage, protection methods, and the manner in which the trade secret was obtained;

b) For the trade name: documents proving the legal use of the trade name, the business sector and area where the trade name is used, and the process of using the trade name;

c) For well-known trademarks: documents showing the criteria for assessing well-known trademarks in accordance with the provisions of Article 75 of the Intellectual Property Law and explanations about the process of use for the trademark to become well-known;

d) For geographical indications protected under international treaties: documents, information in international treaties regarding the recognition and protection of geographical indications or extracts from the National Register of Industrial Property;

đ) For plant varieties: valid plant variety protection certificate, Decision granting or re-granting the plant variety protection certificate; or extracts from the National Register of protected plant varieties and evidence collected from sources as prescribed in Article 94 of the Civil Procedure Code.

6. In the case where the party requesting the handling of an infringement is the person who has been transferred ownership of an industrial property object, plant variety, transferred the right to use an industrial property object, plant variety, inherited or succeeded an industrial property object, plant variety, in addition to the documents specified in clauses 1, 2, and 3 of this Article, they must also present the original or a legally certified copy of the contract transferring ownership of the industrial property object, plant variety, the contract for using the industrial property object, plant variety, or a document confirming the right of inheritance or succession of the industrial property object, plant variety. In the case where the transfer has been recorded in the protection certificate or the Certificate of Registration of the contract for the transfer of ownership of an industrial property object, plant variety, Certificate of Registration of the contract for the use of an industrial property object, plant variety, the above documents are also regarded as evidence proving the subject's entitlement.

Article 92. Evidence proving infringement

1. The following documents and materials are considered as evidence proving infringement:

a) The original or a legally certified copy of the documents describing, samples, or artifacts related to the protected object;

b) Related samples, artifacts, photographs, or video recordings of the product under review;

c) A written explanation, comparison between the product under review and the protected object;

d) Minutes, testimonies, and other documents aimed at proving infringement.

2. The documents and artifacts specified in Clause 1 of this Article must be listed in a catalog, with the signature of the person requesting the handling of the infringement.

Article 93. Responsibility of the person requesting the handling of infringement

The person requesting the handling of infringement must ensure and is responsible for the truthfulness of the information, documents, and evidence they provide.

Article 94. Submission and resolution of the request for handling infringement

1. The request for handling infringement shall be submitted to the competent authority for handling infringement as stipulated in Article 200 of the Intellectual Property Law (hereinafter referred to as the infringement handling authority).

2. Upon receiving a request for handling an infringement, if it is found that the request falls under the jurisdiction of another agency, the receiving agency shall guide the applicant to submit the request to the competent agency or forward the request to the competent agency for resolution within 10 days from the date of receipt of the request.

3. In the case where the request for handling infringement lacks the necessary documents, evidence, or materials, the infringement handling agency shall request the applicant to supplement the documents and evidence, and set a reasonable deadline, but not exceeding thirty days, for the applicant to provide the necessary documents and evidence.

4. In the following cases, the infringement handling agency shall refuse the request for handling infringement, clearly stating the reasons for refusal:

a) When the deadline specified in Clause 3 of this Article has passed and the applicant has not complied with the request of the infringement handling agency to supplement the relevant documents, evidence, or materials;

b) When the statute of limitations for handling infringement has expired as prescribed by law;

c) When the verification results of the infringement handling agency show that there is no infringement as described in the request for handling infringement;

d) When there is a document from a competent authority stating that there is insufficient basis to handle the infringement.

5. In the case of disputes or complaints regarding the subject of rights, the possibility of protection, the scope of industrial property rights, or rights to plant varieties, the agency that received the request for handling infringements shall guide the applicant to carry out procedures to request dispute resolution or file a complaint with the competent authority within 10 days from the date the dispute arises.

Chapter III. HANDLING GOODS INFRINGING INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND RIGHTS TO PLANT VARIETIES

Article 95. Determining the value of infringing goods

1. Infringing goods are defined as follows:

a) Infringing goods are components or parts (hereinafter referred to as parts) of a product that contain infringing elements and can circulate as an independent product;

b) In cases where it is not possible to separate the infringing element into a part of the product that can circulate independently as prescribed in point a of this clause, the infringing goods are considered the entire product containing the infringing element.

2. The value of infringing goods as determined by the infringement handling agency is at the time the infringement occurs and is based on the following prioritized grounds:

a) The listed price of the infringing goods;

Supplementary provisions

b) The actual selling price of the infringing goods;

Supplementary provisions

c) The cost of the infringing goods, if they have not yet been circulated;

d) The purchasing price of the infringing goods.

Supplementary provisions

Supplementary provisions

3. The value of the infringing goods is calculated based on the part (component, detail) of the infringing product specified in point a, clause 1 of this Article, or based on the value of the entire infringing product specified in point b, clause 1 of this Article.

Supplementary provisions

4. In the case that applying the grounds as specified in clause 2 of this Article is not appropriate, or if the infringement handling agency and the financial agency at the same level do not agree on the determination of the value of the infringing goods, the valuation shall be decided by the Council for Determining the Value of Infringing Goods.

The establishment, composition, and working principles of the council for determining the value of infringing goods are carried out in accordance with the provisions of law on handling administrative and civil violations.

Article 96. Handling of infringing goods

Supplementary provisions

Supplementary provisions

1. For goods that counterfeit trademarks, goods that counterfeit geographical indications, raw materials, materials, and means mainly used to produce or trade such goods, the competent authority for handling infringements shall apply one of the following measures:

a) Distribution or use without commercial purposes as prescribed in Article 97 of this Decree;

b) Destruction as prescribed in Article 98 of this Decree;

c) Require the consignor, carrier, or possessor to remove the infringing elements and take them out of the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the case of transit goods that are counterfeit trademarks, re-export in the case of imported goods that are counterfeit trademarks, raw materials, materials, or means of import primarily used for the production or business of goods with counterfeit trademarks; if the infringing elements cannot be removed from these goods, raw materials, materials, or means primarily used for the production or business of such goods, appropriate measures stipulated in Clause 4 of this Article shall be applied.

For imported goods, raw materials, materials, or means primarily used for the production or business of goods infringing geographical indications, depending on the specific case, the authority handling the infringement shall apply measures to remove the infringing elements and the appropriate measures stipulated in Clause 4 of this Article.

2. For goods that infringe upon industrial property rights or plant variety rights, which are not counterfeit trademark goods, goods infringing geographical indications, or raw materials, materials, means primarily used to produce or trade such goods, the authority handling infringements shall apply measures to require the owner, transporter, or holder of the goods to remove the infringing elements from the goods and apply appropriate measures as prescribed in Clause 4 of this Article.

For imported goods that infringe upon industrial property rights or plant variety rights, which are not counterfeit trademark goods, goods infringing geographical indications, or raw materials, materials, means primarily used to produce or trade such goods, the authority handling infringements shall apply the appropriate measures prescribed in Point c, Clause 1 of this Article.

3. Ingredients, materials, and means that have the sole function of producing or commercially exploiting counterfeit trademarked goods, goods that counterfeit geographical indications, or goods infringing on industrial property rights, rights to plant varieties, or that in practice are used solely for that purpose, are considered ingredients, materials, and means primarily used for the production and business of counterfeit trademarked goods, goods that counterfeit geographical indications, or goods infringing on industrial property rights, rights to plant varieties.

4. Depending on the specific case, the authority handling the infringement shall decide to apply the measures specified in point a, point b, clause 1 of this Article or, at the request of the rights holder, require organizations or individuals producing infringing goods to recall infringing goods that have been distributed through the channels of those organizations or individuals in order to apply the measures specified in point a, point b, clause 1 of this Article or other measures if deemed appropriate. During the process of making a decision on infringement handling, the authority may consider proposals from relevant parties regarding the handling of the infringement.

Article 97. Compulsory distribution or use not for commercial purposes

1. The compulsory distribution or compulsory use not for commercial purposes of counterfeit trademark goods, goods counterfeit of geographical indications, goods infringing industrial property rights, and rights in plant varieties must meet the following conditions:

a) Goods that have practical value, do not harm human health, animals, plants, and the environment, and are not cultural products with harmful content;

b) Infringing factors have been removed from the goods;

c) Distribution and use are not intended for profit and do not unreasonably affect the normal exploitation of the rights of industrial property owners or plant variety rights, prioritizing humanitarian, charitable purposes, or serving social interests;

d) The person receiving or being distributed the goods for use is not a potential customer of the industrial property rights holder or plant variety rights holder.

2. The provisions in Clause 1 of this Article also apply to raw materials, materials, and means primarily used to produce or trade counterfeit trademarked goods, goods that counterfeit geographical indications, or goods infringing industrial property rights or plant variety rights.

Article 98. Mandatory Destruction

The measure of mandatory destruction of goods that counterfeit trademarks, goods that counterfeit geographical indications, goods infringing on industrial property rights, rights over plant varieties, materials, substances, or means primarily used for the production or business of such goods is applied in cases where the conditions to apply the measures of forced distribution or non-commercial use as prescribed in Article 97 of this Decree are not met.

Chapter IV. CONTROL OF EXPORTED AND IMPORTED GOODS

RELATED TO INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS,

RIGHTS TO PLANT VARIETIES

Article 99. The right to request inspection of exported and imported goods related to industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties

Owners of industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties have the right, either directly or through a legal representative, to submit an application for inspection and supervision to detect exported or imported goods that show signs of infringing industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties, or to submit an application requesting the suspension of customs procedures for exported or imported goods suspected of infringing industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties.

Article 100. Authority to receive applications

The customs authority has the authority to receive applications for inspection and supervision or applications requesting the suspension of customs procedures as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 75 of the Customs Law.

Article 101. Procedure for handling applications

1. Within 20 days from the date of receiving a complete set of documents requesting inspection and supervision of exported or imported goods, or within 02 working hours from the time of receiving a complete set of documents requesting a temporary suspension of customs procedures, the customs authority is responsible for reviewing and issuing a notice of acceptance of the application if the applicant has fulfilled the obligations specified in points a, b, c of Clause 1 and Clause 2 of Article 217 of the Intellectual Property Law. In case of refusal, the customs authority must respond in writing to the applicant and clearly state the reasons.

Amended and supplemented provisions:

2. After accepting the application for inspection and supervision of exported and imported goods, the General Department of Customs shall notify the acceptance of the application to the provincial and municipal Customs Departments, and the agencies designated by the General Department of Customs to implement the inspection and supervision. Based on the notice from the General Department of Customs mentioned in this clause, the provincial and municipal Customs Departments, and the agencies designated by the General Department of Customs shall look up data in the system to organize implementation within their management jurisdiction.

3. The Customs Sub-department is responsible for inspecting and supervising to detect goods that show signs of infringement or deciding to temporarily suspend customs procedures based on the request for temporary suspension of customs procedures.

Article 102. Procedure and process for handling goods suspected of infringement

1. In the case of detecting goods with signs of infringement, at the request of the holder of industrial property rights, plant variety rights, or to exercise administrative sanction authority, the customs authority shall issue a decision to temporarily suspend customs procedures, notify the holder of industrial property rights, plant variety rights, and the owner of the shipment about the suspension of customs procedures for the shipment, specifying the name, address, fax number, and contact phone number of the parties, the reason, and the duration of the temporary suspension of customs procedures.

2. The customs authority shall continue to carry out customs procedures for the shipment whose customs procedures have been temporarily suspended in accordance with the provisions of Clause 3, Article 218 of the Intellectual Property Law and in the following cases:

a) The decision to temporarily suspend customs procedures is suspended or revoked according to a decision resolving the complaint or denunciation;

b) The applicant requesting the temporary suspension of customs procedures withdraws the application.

Article 103. Authority, procedure, and process for proactively suspending customs procedures

1. During the process of inspection, supervision, and control, if clear grounds are found to suspect that the exported or imported goods are counterfeit trademark goods or goods that counterfeit geographical indications, the Customs Sub-Department shall proactively decide to suspend customs procedures for those goods.

2. The Customs Sub-Department must immediately notify the rights holder of the trademark or geographical indication, if contact information is available, and inform the importer or exporter about this suspension.

3. The duration of suspension of customs procedures is 10 days from the date the Customs Sub-Department notifies the rights holder as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article.

Amended and supplemented provisions:

4. During the suspension of customs procedures, the Customs Sub-Department that made the decision to suspend is responsible for performing the following tasks:

a) Require the importer, exporter, or the rights holder of the trademark or geographical indication (if contact information is available) to provide documents related to the goods (catalog, inspection conclusions, documents from abroad, results of processing similar cases, etc.);

b) Take samples or allow relevant organizations or individuals to take samples for inspection or supplementary inspection, re-inspection at specialized customs professional organizations or other inspection organizations as prescribed (if necessary);

c) Coordinate and exchange information with state management agencies on industrial property when disputes or complaints arise regarding the rights holder, the possibility of protection, the scope of protection of ownership rights for trademarks or geographical indications, and the authority to handle acts of infringement;

Amended and supplemented provisions:

d) Report to the Provincial/City Customs Department and the General Department of Customs for guidance in timely resolution of complex cases.

5. Upon the expiration of the temporary suspension of customs procedures:

a) In cases where the customs authority determines that the goods temporarily suspended are counterfeit trademark goods or goods counterfeit of geographical indications and the violation falls under the authority of customs, the customs authority shall handle administrative violations regarding infringement of trademark and geographical indication rights, counterfeit trademark goods, counterfeit geographical indication goods in accordance with the law. If it is determined that the violation does not fall under the authority of customs, the customs authority shall hand over the case to other intellectual property protection agencies for handling;

b) In cases where the applicant files a civil lawsuit, the customs authority shall follow the Court's opinion;

c) In the case of receiving a document from the state management agency on industrial property rights notifying about disputes or complaints regarding the right holder, protectability, or scope of protection of industrial property rights relating to a trademark or geographical indication, the customs authority shall continue the customs procedures for the shipment, except in cases where the customs authority has already decided to accept the case under administrative violation handling procedures;

d) In the case of determining that the violation shows signs of a crime under the provisions of the Penal Code, the customs authority shall transfer the case to the competent authority to investigate and prosecute according to the law;

dd) In the case where the customs authority decides that the temporarily suspended goods are not counterfeit goods of a trademark or counterfeit goods of a geographical indication, the customs authority shall continue the customs procedures for the shipment and notify the relevant parties.

Amended and supplemented provisions:

Supplementary provisions

6. In cases where customs authorities actively suspend customs procedures improperly, causing damage to the consignee, the customs sub-department must compensate the consignee for the losses and pay the arising costs according to regulations.

Article 104. Procedures for controlling export and import goods related to industrial property rights and plant variety rights

Procedures for controlling export and import goods related to industrial property rights and plant variety rights shall comply with the provisions of this Decree and relevant legal regulations on customs.

Chapter V. INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY APPRAISAL,

RIGHTS TO PLANT VARIETIES

Section 1. INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY APPRAISERS, PLANT VARIETY RIGHTS, ORGANIZATIONS FOR INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY APPRAISAL, PLANT VARIETY RIGHTS

Article 105. Forms of appraisal activities of industrial property appraisers and plant variety rights

1. Industrial property and plant variety rights examiners may work in an industrial property and plant variety rights examination organization under the name of that organization or operate independently.

2. The form of activity of the examiners is recorded in the List of Industrial Property Examiners and the List of Plant Variety Rights Examiners as stipulated in Articles 109 and 112 of this Decree.

3. In the case where an examiner operates under the name of an industrial property or plant variety examination organization, the information about the examiner must be recorded in the list of examiners belonging to the organization according to the procedure for issuing a Certificate of the examination organization.

Article 106. Rights and obligations of industrial property and plant variety examiners

1. Industrial property and plant variety examiners have the following rights:

a) Refuse to conduct an examination in cases where the related documents are insufficient or not valuable enough to draw an examination conclusion, or do not fall within the examination specialty recorded on the Examiner Card;

b) Refuse to receive specimens for examination in cases where there is a risk to health or the specimen is too bulky, and there is insufficient infrastructure to store it;

c) Use the results of appraisals or professional conclusions and expert opinions to serve the examination.

d) Independent industrial property and plant variety examiners have the right to request agencies, organizations, and individuals to provide information and documents related to the object of examination in order to carry out the examination, except in cases where the law provides otherwise;

d) Other rights as prescribed by law.

2. Industrial property and plant variety examiners have the following obligations:

a) Act according to the examination specialization stated in the Examiner Card;

b) Conduct examinations according to the principles specified in Clause 4, Article 201 of the Intellectual Property Law;

c) Prepare examination dossiers; explain examination conclusions upon request of the requester, organizations, individuals with rights and interests involved, or competent authorities;

d) Preserve and store documents and samples related to the examination case in accordance with the provisions of the law;

d) Independently draw expert conclusions and be responsible for their expert conclusions; if intentionally providing incorrect expert conclusions causes damage to related individuals or organizations, compensation must be made;

e) Refuse to conduct an assessment in cases where the expert has related rights or interests in the object of assessment, the case needing assessment, or has other reasons affecting the objectivity of the expert conclusion, or in cases where other laws stipulate mandatory refusal to conduct an assessment;

g) Keep confidential information and documents as requested by the agency, organization, or individual requesting the assessment and must compensate for damages in the event of divulging confidential information causing harm to the involved agency, organization, or individual;

h) Be legally responsible for exploiting the status of an expert and expert activities for personal gain or deliberately providing false expert conclusions;

i) Implement the information and reporting regime on the activities of appraisal on a 6-month and annual basis in writing to the specialized state management agency on industrial property and plant variety rights;

k) Other obligations as prescribed by law.

Article 107. Rights and obligations of organizations appraising industrial property and plant variety rights

1. Organizations appraising industrial property and plant variety rights have the following rights:

a) Hire industrial property and plant variety rights appraisers to carry out appraisals in cases;

b) Request agencies, organizations, or individuals to provide information and documents related to the subject of appraisal to carry out the appraisal, except in cases where the law provides otherwise;

c) Other rights as prescribed by law.

2. The organization for the appraisal of industrial property and rights to plant varieties has the following obligations:

a) Operate in accordance with the field of inspection specified in the Certification of Inspection Organization;

b) Conduct examinations according to the principles specified in Clause 4, Article 201 of the Intellectual Property Law;

c) Preserve and store documents and specimens related to the expert examination case in accordance with legal regulations;

d) Keep information and documents confidential as requested by the agency, organization, or individual requesting the expert examination and must compensate for damages in case of disclosure of confidential information causing harm to the related agency, organization, or individual;

đ) Refuse to conduct the expert examination in cases where other laws stipulate mandatory refusal of expert examination;

e) Be responsible before the law for exploiting the status of appraisal and appraisal activities for personal gain or intentionally providing false appraisal conclusions;

g) Implement the regime of information and reporting on appraisal activities on a semi-annual and annual basis in writing to be sent to the state management agency on industrial property rights and plant variety rights;

h) Other obligations according to legal regulations.

Section 2. CONTENT OF STATE MANAGEMENT

ON INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY APPRAISAL

Article 108. Inspection of industrial property appraisal professional work

1. The inspection of industrial property appraisal professional work is conducted to assess the ability to use knowledge and professional skills to evaluate and conclude on issues related to industrial property rights.

2. The organization of industrial property appraisal professional work inspections is carried out as follows:

a) The state management agency for industrial property rights is the agency authorized to organize the inspection of industrial property appraisal operations;

b) The state management agency for industrial property rights shall announce on the agency's electronic information portal, specifying the conditions for participating in the inspection, the procedure for submitting dossiers, the content of the inspection, and the expected time and place of the inspection;

c) The inspection must be organized within 03 months from the date when at least 05 people have registered to participate in the inspection with accepted registration dossiers according to the provisions of clause 4 of this Article;

d) The inspection results shall be announced by the state management agency for industrial property rights to the participants. Participants have the right to request the state management agency for industrial property rights to review these results;

d) The test results are valid for 5 years for the purpose of applying to the state management agency for intellectual property to issue an Industrial Property Appraiser Card.

3. The professional examination council for industrial property appraisal is established by the state management agency for intellectual property, with the task of organizing the professional examination for industrial property appraisal according to the Regulations on Professional Examination for Industrial Property Appraisal issued by that agency.

4. Registration for the industrial property appraisal professional examination is carried out as follows:

a) Individuals meeting the following conditions are eligible to register for the examination according to the provisions of this Article:

a1) Being a Vietnamese citizen, having full civil act capacity;

a2) Having permanent residence in Vietnam;

a3) Have good moral qualities;

a4) Have a university degree or higher in a major suitable for the field registered for the examination;

a5) Have at least 5 years of practical professional experience in the field registered for the examination.

b) The application dossier for registration for industrial property appraisal examination is submitted to the state management authority on industrial property rights and includes the following set of documents:

b1) Registration form for industrial property appraisal examination, made according to Form No. 01 prescribed in Appendix VI of this Decree;

b2) A copy of the university or postgraduate diploma (present the original for comparison, except in cases where the copy has been certified);

b3) A copy of the recruitment decision or labor contract and other documents proving practical professional experience (present the original for comparison, except in cases where the copy has been certified);

b4) Two 3 x 4 cm photos;

b5) Copies of fee payment receipts (in case fees are paid through postal services or directly into the account of the state agency managing intellectual property rights).

c) Within 20 days from the date of receiving the application, the state management agency on industrial property rights is responsible for processing the application according to the following regulations:

c1) In the case of a valid application, the state management agency for industrial property rights issues a notification of acceptance of the application, which clearly states whether the scheduled examination plan has been set or has not been set due to an insufficient number of registrants for the examination as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article;

c2) In cases where the application file has deficiencies, the state management agency for industrial property rights shall issue a notice of intent to refuse acceptance of the application, clearly stating the reasons and setting a deadline of 01 month from the date of issuance of the notice for the applicant to verify and correct the deficiencies or to submit objections. If the set deadline expires and the applicant does not correct the deficiencies, or the corrections do not meet the requirements, or there are no objections, or the objections are not valid, the state management agency for industrial property rights shall issue a decision to refuse acceptance of the application, clearly stating the reasons for the refusal.

Article 109. Issuance, reissuance, and revocation of the Industrial Property Appraiser Card

1. The state management agency on industrial property has the authority to issue, re-issue, and revoke the Industrial Property Expert Card, compile and publish the List of Industrial Property Experts according to the procedures specified in Clauses 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this Article.

2. The issuance of the Industrial Property Expert Card is carried out as follows:

a) Individuals who meet the conditions specified in Clause 3, Article 201 of the Law on Intellectual Property shall be granted an Industrial Property Expert Card by the state management agency on industrial property upon request and payment of fees and charges as prescribed. The conditions for being granted an Industrial Property Expert Card specified in Clause 3, Article 201 of the Law on Intellectual Property are understood as follows:

a1) The condition of "permanent residence in Vietnam" is understood as having a place of permanent residence in Vietnam according to the provisions of the law on residence;

a2) The condition “Having good moral character” is understood as not being subject to administrative penalties for violations of laws on industrial property or professional ethics violations, and not being subject to criminal liability or having been convicted but not yet expunged;

a3) The condition "Having a university degree or higher in a major relevant to the field requesting the issuance of a Patent Examiner Card" is understood as having a university or postgraduate degree in natural sciences or technical sciences for the major of patent and layout design examination; having a university or postgraduate degree in any field for other examination majors;

a4) The condition “Having practical professional experience in the field for which the Appraisal Card is requested for 5 years or more” is understood as having directly worked in resolving disputes, complaints, inspection, supervision, legal affairs, providing legal advice on intellectual property, conducting scientific research with the title of researcher, teaching intellectual property with the title of lecturer for 5 years or more, or those who have directly carried out work in explaining, guiding the implementation of legal regulations, developing regulations, directly performing or evaluating the results of patent application examinations (including utility solutions), or industrial design applications, or trademark applications, or geographical indication applications (including the names of goods’ origin) at national or international intellectual property agencies for 5 years or more, or those who have practiced intellectual property representation services for 5 years or more. up.

b) The dossier requesting the issuance of a Patent Examiner Card must be submitted to the state management agency for industrial property and includes 01 set of the following documents:

b1) Application for the issuance of a Patent Examiner Card, made according to Form No. 02 in Appendix VI of this Decree;

b2) A copy of the Identity Card (present the original for comparison, except in cases where the copy has been notarized), except in cases where the application for the Patent Examiner Card already includes information about the Citizen Identification Number;

b3) 02 photos sized 3 x 4 cm;

b4) A copy of the payment receipt for fees and charges (in case of paying fees and charges via postal service or directly into the account of the state management agency for industrial property rights).

c) Within 01 month from the date of receipt of the dossier, the state management agency for industrial property rights shall consider the dossier according to the following regulations:

c1) In the case that the dossier is valid, the state management agency for industrial property rights shall issue a Decision to grant the Expert Card, clearly stating the full name, date of birth, permanent address, ID card/Citizen Identification number, Expert Card number, and the expert field of the person being granted the Card; record the issuance of the Card in the National Register of Industrial Property Experts and announce it in the Industrial Property Gazette, the electronic portal of that agency within 02 months from the date of the decision;

c2) In the case that the dossier is invalid, the state management agency for industrial property shall issue a notice of intended refusal to accept the dossier, clearly stating the reasons and setting a deadline of 01 month from the date of the notice for the applicant requesting the issuance of the Expert Appraiser Card to correct deficiencies or provide objections. If the set deadline expires and the applicant does not correct the deficiencies, or the corrections are not satisfactory, or does not provide objections, or provides objections that are not valid, the state management agency for industrial property shall issue a decision to refuse the issuance of the Expert Appraiser Card, clearly stating the reasons for the refusal;

c3) The expert examiner card shall be made according to Form No. 04 in Appendix VI of this Decree.

3. The reissuance of the industrial property expert examiner card shall be carried out as follows:

a) In the following cases, the state management agency for industrial property shall issue a decision to reissue the industrial property expert examiner card if the examiner makes a request and pays the fees and charges as prescribed:

a1) The industrial property expert examiner card is lost, defective, or damaged (torn, dirty, faded, etc.) to the extent that it cannot be used;

a2) The information recorded on the industrial property expert examiner card according to point c1, clause 2 of this Article has changed.

b) The examiner is obliged to request the state management agency for industrial property to reissue the industrial property expert examiner card to reflect the changes mentioned in point a2 of this clause;

c) The dossier required to request reissuance of the Industrial Property Appraiser Card shall be submitted to the state management agency on industrial property rights, including the following set of documents:

c1) The application form for reissuance of the Appraiser Card, made according to Form No. 03 in Appendix VI of this Decree;

c2) A copy of the Identity Card (present the original for verification, except for copies that have been certified), except in cases where the reissuance application form already contains information about the citizen identification number for the case specified in point a2 of this clause;

c3) Two 3 x 4 cm photos;

c4) A copy of the receipt for payment of the fee(s) (in case the fee is paid through postal services or directly into the account of the state management agency on industrial property rights).

d) The processing of the application dossier for reissuance of the Industrial Property Appraiser Card shall be carried out as follows:

d1) Within 20 days from the date of receiving the application for reissuance of the Industrial Property Appraiser Card, the state management agency on industrial property shall examine the application in the same procedure as for the issuance of the Industrial Property Appraiser Card as prescribed in point c clause 2 of this Article.

d2) In case the Industrial Property Appraiser Card is defective due to the state management agency on industrial property, the agency shall be responsible for reissuing the Industrial Property Appraiser Card within 05 working days from the date of receiving the request from the cardholder, without charging a fee for reissuing the Card.

4. The revocation of the Industrial Property Appraiser Card shall be carried out as follows:

a) The Industrial Property Appraiser Card shall be revoked in the following cases:

a1) There is evidence confirming that the Expert Certificate was issued in violation of legal regulations;

a2) The holder of the Expert Certificate no longer meets the conditions stipulated in Clause 3, Article 201 of the Intellectual Property Law;

a3) The holder of the Expert Certificate abandons expert activities;

a4) The holder of the Expert Certificate is sanctioned by revocation of the Expert Certificate according to the decision of the competent authority.

b) The state management agency for industrial property shall proactively or upon request of organizations or individuals revoke the certificate if there is evidence confirming that the holder of the industrial property Expert Certificate falls into one of the cases specified in point a of this clause.

c) The dossier requesting the revocation of the Industrial Property Appraiser Card is submitted to the state management agency for industrial property and includes the following set of documents:

c1) Request form for revocation of the Industrial Property Appraiser Card;

c2) Evidence proving the grounds for requesting the revocation of the Industrial Property Appraiser Card.

d) The procedure for revoking the Industrial Property Appraiser Card is carried out as follows:

d1) In the case that an organization or individual requests the revocation of an Industrial Property Appraiser Card as prescribed in point c of this clause, within 01 month from the date of receipt of the request, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall notify in writing this request to the holder of the Industrial Property Appraiser Card and set a period of 01 month from the date of the notification for that person to provide their opinion. Based on the consideration of the parties' opinions, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall issue a decision to revoke the Industrial Property Appraiser Card or a decision to refuse the revocation of the Industrial Property Appraiser Card for the parties;

d2) In the case where there is a basis to affirm that a person granted an Industrial Property Appraiser Card no longer meets the conditions prescribed in clause 2, Article 201 of the Intellectual Property Law, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall notify in writing the intention to revoke the Industrial Property Appraiser Card to the person granted the card and set a deadline of 01 month from the date of the notice for that person to provide opinions. Based on the consideration of the opinions of the person granted the Industrial Property Appraiser Card, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall make a decision to revoke the Industrial Property Appraiser Card or notify that the Industrial Property Appraiser Card will not be revoked for the person granted the card;

d3) In the case where there is a decision to revoke the Industrial Property Examiner Card by a competent state agency, within 01 month from the date of receipt of such decision, the state management agency on industrial property rights shall issue a decision to revoke the Industrial Property Examiner Card;

d4) The decision to revoke the Industrial Property Examiner Card shall be recorded by the state management agency on industrial property rights in the National Register of Industrial Property Examiners and announced in the Industrial Property Gazette, on the electronic information portal of that agency within 02 months from the date of the decision.

5. The preparation and posting of the list of industrial property examiners shall be carried out as follows:

a) The state management agency on industrial property shall compile the List of industrial property appraisers including information recorded according to the decisions on issuance, re-issuance, and revocation of the Industrial Property Appraiser Card and publish, update it on the electronic information portal of the state management agency on industrial property annually;

b) The state management agency on industrial property rights shall notify the local state management agency on industrial property of information regarding changes related to the Appraiser Card of appraisers operating for the local industrial property appraisal organization, in order to serve the issuance, re-issuance, and revocation of the Certificate of Appraisal Organization at the local level within 02 months from the date of the decision.

Article 110. Issuance, re-issuance, and revocation of the Certificate of Industrial Property Appraisal Organization

1. The authority to issue, re-issue, and revoke the Certificate of Industrial Property Appraisal Organization is as follows:

a) The state management agency on industrial property rights has the authority to grant, reissue, and revoke the Certificate of Industrial Property Appraisal Organization as prescribed in clauses 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this Article for public service units that are science and technology organizations registered for scientific and technological activities at the Ministry of Science and Technology;

b) The local state management agency on industrial property has the authority to grant, reissue, and revoke the Certificate of Appraisal Organization as prescribed in clauses 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this Article for organizations specified in clause 2, Article 201 of the Intellectual Property Law that are registered for business or activity registration with the competent local state agency.

2. The granting of the Certificate of Industrial Property Appraisal Organization is carried out as follows:

a) An organization that meets the conditions stipulated in Clause 2, Article 201 of the Intellectual Property Law shall be granted a Certificate of Industrial Property Appraisal Organization by the state management agency on industrial property rights or the local state management agency on industrial property upon request and payment of fees and charges as prescribed;

b) The application dossier for the Certificate of Industrial Property Appraisal Organization shall be submitted to the state management agency on industrial property rights or the local state management agency on industrial property and include one set of the following documents:

b1) Application form for the Certificate of Industrial Property Appraisal Organization, made according to Form No. 05 in Appendix VI of this Decree;

b2) A copy of the recruitment decision or labor contract between the organization and the industrial property appraiser working for the organization (the original must be presented for comparison, except for a certified copy).

b3) Copy of the fee payment receipt (in case of paying fees via postal service or directly into the account of the authority competent to handle this procedure).

c) Within 01 month from the date of receiving the application, the state management agency on industrial property, and the local state management agency on industrial property shall review the application according to the following provisions:

c1) In the case of a valid application, the state management agency for industrial property rights, and the local state management agency for industrial property, shall issue a Decision to grant a Certificate of Accreditation to the appraisal organization, which clearly states the full name, trade name, address, code of the organization, and the appraisal specialty of the organization corresponding to the appraisal specialties of the appraisers belonging to the organization, the list of industrial property appraisers who are members of the organization; record it in the National Register of Industrial Property Appraisal and publish it in the Industrial Property Gazette and on the electronic portal of the state management agency for industrial property rights within 02 months from the date of the decision;

c2) In cases where the application file is incomplete, the state management agency on industrial property rights, and the local state management agency on industrial property shall issue a notice of intention to refuse acceptance of the file, clearly stating the reasons and setting a deadline of 01 month from the date of the notice for the organization to submit the file to correct the deficiencies or provide objections. If the deadline passes and the organization does not correct the deficiencies, or the corrections do not meet the requirements, or there are no objections, or the objections are unjustified, the state management agency on industrial property rights, and the local state management agency on industrial property shall issue a decision to refuse to grant the Certificate of Industrial Property Assessment Organization, clearly stating the reasons for refusal;

c3) The certificate of industrial property evaluation organization is made according to Form No. 07 in Appendix VI of this Decree.

3. The reissuance of the Certificate of Industrial Property Appraisal Organization is carried out as follows:

a) In the following cases, the state management agency for industrial property rights, or the local state management agency for industrial property, shall issue a decision to reissue the Certificate of Industrial Property Appraisal Organization if the industrial property appraisal organization requests it and pays the prescribed fees:

a1) The Certificate of Industrial Property Appraisal Organization is lost, defective, or damaged (torn, dirty, faded, etc.) to the extent that it cannot be used;

a2) There are changes related to the information already recorded in the Certificate of Industrial Property Appraisal Organization in accordance with point c1, clause 2 of this Article.

b) The industrial property appraisal organization has the obligation to carry out procedures to request the authority that issued the Certificate to reissue the Certificate in order to record the changes specified in point c1, clause 2 of this Article;

c) The dossier requesting the reissuance of the industrial property appraisal organization Certificate is submitted to the state management agency for industrial property, the local state management agency for industrial property, and includes the following set of documents:

c1) Application form for reissuance of the industrial property appraisal organization Certificate, made according to Form No. 06 in Appendix VI of this Decree;

c2) A copy of the Business Registration Certificate or the amended Certificate of Registration of Activity of the industrial property appraisal organization in case of changes in the organization's information (present the original for comparison, except in the case where the copy has been notarized), except in cases where the application for reissuance of the industrial property appraisal organization's certificate already contains the Enterprise Code information;

c3) A copy of the Recruitment Decision, labor contract, or decision to terminate the labor contract between the organization and the industrial property appraiser working for the organization in case of changes in the industrial property appraiser (present the original for comparison, except in the case where the copy has been notarized);

c4) A copy of the payment receipt for fees and charges (in case the fees and charges are paid via postal service or directly into the account of the competent authority handling this procedure).

d) The processing of the application for re-issuance of the Certificate of Industrial Property Appraisal Organization is carried out as follows:

d1) Within 20 days from the date of receipt of the application for re-issuance of the Certificate of Industrial Property Appraisal Organization, the state management agency on industrial property rights, or the local state management agency on industrial property rights, shall review the application in the same order as the procedure for granting the Certificate of Industrial Property Appraisal Organization specified at point c, clause 2 of this Article;

d2) In the case where the Certificate of an intellectual property appraisal organization is defective due to the state management agency of intellectual property, the local state management agency of intellectual property that issued the Certificate shall be responsible for reissuing the Certificate within 05 working days from the date of receiving the request from the intellectual property appraisal organization, without charging a fee for reissuing the Certificate.

4. The revocation of the Certificate of an intellectual property appraisal organization is conducted as follows:

a) The Certificate of an intellectual property appraisal organization shall be revoked in the following cases:

a1) There is evidence confirming that the Certificate of the intellectual property appraisal organization was issued in violation of the law;

a2) The organization no longer meets the conditions prescribed in Clause 2, Article 201 of the Law on Intellectual Property;

a3) Industrial property appraisal organizations cease appraisal activities;

a4) Industrial property appraisal organizations that violate legal regulations are requested by competent state authorities to be handled in the form of revocation of the Industrial Property Appraisal Organization Certificate.

b) State management agencies on industrial property rights and local state management agencies on industrial property proactively or at the request of organizations or individuals revoke the Industrial Property Appraisal Organization Certificate if there is a basis to confirm that the industrial property appraisal organization falls under one of the cases specified in point a of this clause;

c) The dossier requesting the revocation of the Industrial Property Appraisal Organization Certificate is submitted to the agency that issued the Industrial Property Appraisal Organization Certificate and includes 01 set of the following documents:

c1) Request for revocation of the Industrial Property Appraisal Organization Certificate;

c2) Evidence proving the basis for the proposal to revoke the Certificate of Industrial Property Appraisal Organization;

d) The procedure for revoking the Certificate of Industrial Property Appraisal Organization is carried out as follows:

d1) In the case that an organization or individual requests the revocation of the Certificate of Industrial Property Appraisal Organization according to the provisions in point c of this clause, within 01 month from the date of receiving the request, the authority that issued the Certificate shall notify in writing about this request to the organization that was granted the Certificate and set a deadline of 01 month from the date of notification for that organization to provide comments. Based on the consideration of the parties' opinions, the authority that issued the Certificate shall make a decision to revoke the Certificate of Industrial Property Appraisal Organization or a decision to refuse the revocation of the Certificate of Industrial Property Appraisal Organization and send it to the parties;

d2) In the case where there is a basis to confirm that the organization granted the Certificate of Industrial Property Assessment Organization no longer meets the conditions specified in Clause 2, Article 201 of the Intellectual Property Law, the authority that issued the Certificate shall notify in writing its intention to revoke the Certificate to the organization that was granted the Certificate and set a deadline of 01 month from the date of the notification for that organization to submit its comments. Based on the consideration of the opinions of the organization granted the Certificate, the authority that issued the Certificate shall make a decision to revoke the Certificate or notify the organization that the Certificate will not be revoked;

d3) In the case of a decision to revoke the Certificate of Industrial Property Assessment Organization by a competent state agency, within 01 month from the date of receiving the aforementioned decision, the authority that issued the Certificate shall make a decision to revoke the Certificate;

d4) Decision on the revocation of the Certificate of Industrial Property Appraisal Organization shall be recorded by the state management agency on industrial property rights in the National Register of Industrial Property Appraisal Organizations and published in the Industrial Property Gazette, on the electronic portal of the state management agency on industrial property rights within 2 months from the date of the decision.

5. The compilation and posting of the list of industrial property appraisal organizations shall be done as follows:

a) The state management agency on industrial property rights shall compile a list of industrial property appraisal organizations including information recorded according to the decision on granting, re-granting, or revoking the Certificate of Industrial Property Appraisal Organization and post and update it on the electronic portal of the state management agency on industrial property rights annually;

b) The local state management agency for industrial property shall notify the state management agency for industrial property rights of all information regarding the issuance, reissuance, or revocation of the Certificate of Industrial Property Appraisal Organizations within 01 month from the date of the decision to serve the preparation of the List of Industrial Property Appraisal Organizations in this clause.

Section 3. CONTENT OF STATE MANAGEMENT OF RIGHTS APPRAISAL

FOR PLANT VARIETIES

Article 111. Professional inspection of rights appraisal for plant varieties

1. The inspection of professional expertise in plant variety rights is conducted to assess the ability to use knowledge and professional skills to evaluate and conclude on issues related to plant variety rights.

2. The organization of the professional inspection of plant variety rights is carried out as follows:

a) The state management agency for plant variety rights is the competent authority to organize the inspection of professional expertise in plant variety rights;

b) The state management agency for plant variety rights announces on its electronic information portal, specifying the conditions for participating in the inspection, the procedure for submitting dossiers, the content of the inspection, and the expected time and location of the inspection;

c) The examination must be organized within 03 months from the date on which at least 05 people have registered for the examination with accepted registration records according to the provisions in Clause 3 of this Article;

d) The inspection results are notified to the person attending the inspection by the state management agency on plant variety rights. The person attending the inspection has the right to request the state management agency on plant variety rights to review these results;

d) The inspection results are valid for 5 years for the purpose of proposing to the provincial or centrally-run city People's Committee to issue a Plant Variety Appraiser Card.

3. The Council for Professional Inspection of Plant Variety Rights, established by the state management agency for plant variety rights, is responsible for organizing the professional inspection examination of plant variety rights according to the Regulations on Professional Inspection of Plant Variety Rights issued by the state management agency for plant variety rights.

The registration for participation in the professional inspection of plant variety rights is carried out as follows:

a) Individuals meeting the following conditions are eligible to register for the examination according to the provisions of this Article:

a1) Being a Vietnamese citizen, having full civil act capacity;

a2) Having permanent residence in Vietnam;

a3) Have good moral qualities;

a4) Having a university degree or higher in a major appropriate to the field of the examination;

a5) Having at least 5 years of practical professional experience in that field.

b) The registration dossier for participation in the professional inspection of plant variety rights is submitted to the state management agency for plant variety rights and includes the following set of documents:

b1) Application form for registration to take the professional examination for plant variety rights according to Form No. 08 in Appendix VI of this Decree;

b2) Certified copy of a university or postgraduate diploma;

b3) Certified copy of the recruitment decision or labor contract and other documents proving actual professional activity;

b4) Two 3 x 4 cm photos;

b5) Proof of payment of fees (in case of paying fees via postal service or directly into the account of the competent authority handling this procedure).

c) Within 15 days from the date of receiving the application, the state management agency for plant variety rights is responsible for processing the application according to the following regulations:

c1) In the case of a valid application, the state authority managing the rights to plant varieties shall issue a notification of acceptance of the application, specifying whether the inspection plan has been scheduled or not scheduled due to an insufficient number of people registered to participate in the inspection as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article;

c2) In cases where the application file has deficiencies, the state management agency for plant variety rights shall issue a notice of intent to refuse acceptance of the application, stating the reasons clearly and setting a deadline of 01 month from the date of the notice for the applicant to inspect, correct the deficiencies, or raise objections. If the applicant does not correct the deficiencies or the corrections do not meet the requirements, does not raise objections, or raises objections that are not valid within the specified deadline, the state management agency for plant variety rights shall issue a decision to refuse acceptance of the application, clearly stating the reasons for the refusal.

Article 112. Issuance, re-issuance, and revocation of the Plant Variety Rights Appraiser Card

1. The People's Committee of a province or centrally-run city has the authority to issue, re-issue, and revoke the Plant Variety Rights Appraiser Card in accordance with the procedures prescribed in Clauses 2, 3, and 4 of this Article.

2. The issuance of Plant Variety Rights Examiner Cards is carried out as follows:

a) A person who meets the conditions prescribed in Clause 3, Article 201 of the Intellectual Property Law shall be granted a Plant Variety Rights Appraiser Card by the People's Committee of a province or centrally-run city upon request and upon payment of fees and charges as prescribed. The conditions for being granted a Plant Variety Rights Appraiser Card as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 201 of the Intellectual Property Law are understood as follows:

a1) The condition of "permanent residence in Vietnam" is understood as having a place of permanent residence in Vietnam according to the provisions of the law on residence;

a2) The condition “Having good moral character” is understood as not being subject to administrative penalties for violations of laws on plant varieties or professional ethical violations, and not being subject to criminal liability or having been convicted but not yet expunged;

a3) The condition "Having a university degree or higher in a major suitable for the field requesting the issuance of a Plant Variety Appraiser Card" is understood as having a bachelor's or postgraduate degree in crop production, agronomy, plant science, or a related field in plant varieties;

a4) The condition "Having practical experience in the professional field requesting the issuance of a Plant Variety Appraiser Card for 5 years or more" is understood as having directly carried out drafting and guiding the implementation of legal documents on plant varieties, resolving disputes, complaints, denunciations, inspecting plant varieties at state management agencies for plant variety protection, conducting research, teaching on plant variety protection at legally established research or training organizations, or providing legal consultancy on plant variety protection under the title of a representative of rights for plant varieties.

b) The dossier required for requesting a Plant Variety Rights Appraiser Card consists of the following set of documents:

b1) Request form for issuing the Appraiser Card according to Form No. 09 in Appendix VI of this Decree;

b2) Original or certified copy of the Certificate of passing the professional competency test on plant variety rights appraisal;

b3) Copy of university or postgraduate degree in agronomy, horticulture, or a related field of plant varieties;

b4) Documents certified by a competent authority proving that the applicant has directly worked in the professional field of plant varieties for 5 years or more;

b5) 02 photos sized 3 x 4 cm;

b6) Receipts of fee and charge payments (in case of paying fees and charges via postal service or directly into the account of the agency authorized to handle this procedure);

c) Within 01 month from the date of receiving the dossier, the Provincial People's Committee or the centrally-run city shall examine the dossier according to the following regulations:

c1) In case the dossier is valid, the Provincial People's Committee or the centrally-run city shall issue a decision to grant the Expert Card, clearly stating the full name, permanent address, ID card/Citizen Identification number, and the expertise field of the person being granted the Card;

c2) In the case where the dossier is not valid, the People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall issue a notice of intended refusal to accept the dossier, clearly stating the reasons and setting a deadline of 01 month from the date of the notice for the applicant for the Expert Appraiser Card to correct deficiencies or provide objections. When the set deadline expires and the applicant for the Expert Appraiser Card has not corrected the deficiencies or the corrections are unsatisfactory, has no objections, or has objections but they are not justified, the People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall issue a decision to refuse the issuance of the Expert Appraiser Card, clearly stating the reasons for the refusal;

c3) The plant variety examiner's card is made according to Form No. 10 in Appendix VI of this Decree.

3. The reissuance of the Plant Variety Appraiser Card is carried out as follows:

a) In the following cases, the People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall decide to reissue the Plant Variety Appraiser Card if the appraiser requests and pays the fees as prescribed:

a1) The Plant Variety Appraiser Card is lost, erroneous, or damaged (torn, dirty, faded, etc.) to the point of being unusable;

a2) The information recorded on the Plant Variety Appraiser Card, as prescribed in point c1, clause 2 of this Article, has changed;

b) The appraiser is obliged to request the People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city to reissue the Plant Variety Appraiser Card to record the changes mentioned in point a2 of this clause;

c) The dossier requesting the reissuance of the Plant Variety Appraiser Card shall be submitted to the People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city and includes one set of the following documents:

c1) The application form for reissuing the Plant Variety Inspector Card, made according to Form No. 09 in Appendix VI of this Decree;

c2) 02 photos sized 3 x 4 (cm);

c3) Proof of fee payment (in case of paying fees via postal service or directly into the account of the competent authority handling this procedure).

d) The handling of the application for reissuing the Plant Variety Inspector Card concerning plant variety rights is carried out as follows:

d1) Within 15 days from the date of receiving the application for reissuance of the Plant Variety Inspector Card concerning plant variety rights, the People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall review the application in the same order as the procedure for issuing the Plant Variety Inspector Card concerning plant variety rights as prescribed in Point c, Clause 2 of this Article;

d2) In the case that the Plant Variety Rights Appraiser Card is faulty due to the fault of the People's Committee of a province or centrally-run city, the People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city is responsible for reissuing the Plant Variety Rights Appraiser Card within 5 working days from the date of receiving the request from the cardholder, without charging a fee for reissuance.

4. The revocation of the Plant Variety Rights Appraiser Card is carried out as follows:

a) The Plant Variety Rights Appraiser Card is revoked in the following cases:

a1) There is evidence confirming that the Expert Certificate was issued in violation of legal regulations;

a2) The holder of the Expert Certificate no longer meets the conditions stipulated in Clause 3, Article 201 of the Intellectual Property Law;

a3) The holder of the Expert Certificate abandons expert activities;

a4) The holder of the Expert Certificate is sanctioned by revocation of the Expert Certificate according to the decision of the competent authority.

b) The People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall proactively or at the request of an organization or individual revoke the card if there is evidence confirming that the cardholder falls into one of the cases specified in point a of this clause.

c) The dossier requesting the withdrawal of the Plant Variety Appraiser Card includes the following set of documents:

c1) Request form for the withdrawal of the Plant Variety Appraiser Card;

c2) Evidence proving the grounds for proposing the withdrawal of the Plant Variety Appraiser Card.

d) The procedure for withdrawing the Plant Variety Appraiser Card is carried out as follows:

d1) In the case where an organization or individual requests the revocation of the Plant Variety Rights Appraiser Card as prescribed in point c of this clause, within 01 month from the date of receiving the request, the People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall notify in writing about this request to the holder of the Plant Variety Rights Appraiser Card and set a deadline of 01 month from the date of the notice for that person to give their opinion. Based on the consideration of the opinions of the parties, the People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall make a decision to revoke the Plant Variety Rights Appraiser Card or a decision to refuse to revoke the Plant Variety Rights Appraiser Card for the parties.

d2) In cases where there is a basis to confirm that the person granted the Plant Variety Rights Appraiser Card no longer meets the conditions specified in Clause 2, Article 201 of the Intellectual Property Law, the People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall notify in writing the intention to revoke the Plant Variety Rights Appraiser Card to the person granted the card and set a deadline of 01 month from the date of notification for the person to provide feedback. Based on the consideration of the feedback from the person granted the Plant Variety Rights Appraiser Card, the People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall make a decision to revoke the Plant Variety Rights Appraiser Card or notify the person that the card will not be revoked.

d3) In cases where there is a decision to revoke the Plant Variety Rights Appraiser Card by a competent state agency, within 01 month from the date of receipt of the aforementioned decision, the People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall issue a decision to revoke the Plant Variety Rights Appraiser Card.

5. The compilation and publication of the list of Plant Variety Rights Appraisers, as well as the notification of changes related to the Appraiser Card, shall be carried out as follows:

a) The People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall compile a List of Inspectors for plant variety rights according to the decisions on granting or reissuing the Inspector Card for plant variety rights and publish it on the electronic information portal of the People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city within 02 months from the date of the decision;

b) The People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall notify the state management agency for plant variety rights about the List of Inspectors and any changes related to the Inspector Cards of inspectors operating for the local plant variety rights inspection organization to serve the work of monitoring the granting, reissuing, and revocation of the Certificate of Inspection Organization at the locality.

Article 113. Granting, reissuing, and revoking the Certificate of Plant Variety Rights Inspection Organization

1. The People's Committee of provinces and centrally-run cities has the authority to grant, reissue, and revoke the Certificate of Plant Variety Rights Testing Organization, as well as compile and publicize the List of Plant Variety Rights Testing Organizations in accordance with the provisions in Clauses 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this Article.

2. The issuance of the Certificate of Plant Variety Rights Testing Organization is carried out as follows:

a) An organization that meets the conditions specified in Clause 2, Article 201 of the Law on Intellectual Property shall be granted the Certificate of Plant Variety Rights Testing Organization by the People's Committee of provinces and centrally-run cities upon request and payment of fees in accordance with regulations;

b) The dossier requesting the issuance of the Certificate of Plant Variety Rights Testing Organization includes one set of the following documents:

b1) The application form requesting the issuance of a Certificate of Organization for Plant Variety Rights Examination, made according to Form No. 11 in Appendix VI of this Decree;

b2) A certified copy of the Recruitment Decision or labor contract between the organization and the examiner concerning plant variety rights operating for the organization;

b3) Evidence of fee payment (in case of paying fees via postal service or directly into the account of the competent authority handling this procedure).

c) Within 01 month from the date of receiving the dossier, the Provincial People's Committee or the centrally-run city shall examine the dossier according to the following regulations:

c1) In the case of a valid application, the People's Committee of the province or centrally governed city shall issue a decision to grant the Certification of the Inspection Organization, specifying the full name, trade name, address of the organization, the list of inspectors authorized for plant varieties who are members of the organization; record it in the List of Inspection Organizations and announce it on the electronic information portal of the People's Committee of the province or centrally governed city within 5 working days from the date of the decision;

c2) In cases where the dossier is incomplete, the People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall issue a notice of intent to refuse acceptance of the dossier, clearly stating the reasons and setting a deadline of 01 month from the date of the notice for the organization to submit the dossier with corrections for deficiencies or to provide objections. When the set deadline expires and the organization has not corrected the deficiencies in the dossier or the corrections are unsatisfactory, has not provided objections, or has provided objections that are not valid, the People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall issue a decision to refuse the issuance of the Certificate of Plant Variety Rights Testing Organization, clearly stating the reasons for refusal;

c3) The certificate of plant variety rights testing organization shall be made according to Form No. 12 in Appendix VI of this Decree.

3. The reissuance of the certificate of plant variety rights testing organization shall be carried out as follows:

a) In the following cases, the People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall decide to reissue the certificate of plant variety rights testing organization if the organization requests it and pays the fees and charges prescribed:

a1) The certificate of plant variety rights testing organization is lost, defective, or damaged (torn, dirty, faded, etc.) to the point that it cannot be used;

a2) There are changes related to the information that has been recorded in the certificate of plant variety rights testing organization as prescribed in point c1, clause 2 of this Article.

b) Organizations assessing rights to plant varieties are obligated to complete the procedures to request the agency that issued the Certificate to reissue the Certificate of organization assessing rights to plant varieties if they still wish to continue assessment activities;

c) The dossier requesting the reissuance of the Certificate of organization assessing rights to plant varieties includes one set of the following documents:

c1) The application form for reissuing the Certificate of organization assessing rights to plant varieties, made according to Form No. 11 in Appendix VI of this Decree;

c2) A notarized copy of the Business Registration Certificate or amended Activity Registration Certificate of the organization assessing rights to plant varieties in case of changes in the organization’s information, except in cases where the application form for reissuing the Certificate of organization assessing rights to plant varieties already contains the Enterprise Code information;

c3) A notarized copy of the Decision on recruitment, labor contract, or decision to terminate the labor contract between the organization and the plant variety rights assessor working for the organization in case of a change of the plant variety rights assessor;

c4) Proof of payment of fees and charges (in case of paying fees and charges via postal service or directly into the account of the competent authority handling this procedure).

d) The handling of the application for reissuance of the Certificate of Plant Variety Rights Organization is carried out as follows:

d1) Within 15 days from the date of receipt of the application for reissuance of the Certificate of Plant Variety Rights Testing Organization, the People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall review the application following the procedure for issuing the Certificate of Plant Variety Rights Testing Organization as prescribed in point c, clause 2 of this Article.

d2) In the case that the Certificate of Plant Variety Rights Testing Organization contains errors caused by the People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city that issued the certificate, the issuing authority is responsible for reissuing the certificate within 5 working days from the date of receipt of the request from the plant variety rights testing organization, without collecting a fee for the reissuance.

4. The revocation of the Certificate of Plant Variety Rights Testing Organization is carried out as follows:

a) The plant variety rights appraisal organization certificate shall be revoked in the following cases:

a1) There is evidence confirming that the plant variety rights appraisal organization certificate was issued in violation of the law;

a2) The organization no longer meets the conditions prescribed in Clause 2, Article 201 of the Law on Intellectual Property;

a3) The plant variety rights appraisal organization ceases its appraisal activities;

a4) The plant variety rights appraisal organization violates legal regulations and is recommended by the competent state authority to be handled by revoking the plant variety rights appraisal organization certificate.

b) The People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall proactively or upon the request of an organization or individual revoke the plant variety rights appraisal organization certificate if there is a basis confirming that the appraisal organization falls under one of the cases prescribed in point a of this clause;

c) The file requesting the revocation of the Certificate of an organization authorized to inspect plant variety rights includes 01 set of the following documents:

c1) Application for the withdrawal of the Certificate of Organization Authorized to Inspect Plant Varieties;

c2) Evidence proving the basis for the proposal to revoke the Certificate of an organization authorized to inspect plant variety rights;

d) The procedure for revoking the Certificate of Organization Authorized to Inspect Plant Varieties is carried out as follows:

d1) In the case where an organization or individual requests the revocation of the Certificate of Plant Variety Rights Examination Organization in accordance with point c of this clause, within 01 month from the date of receiving the request, the authority that issued that Certificate shall notify in writing about this request to the organization that was granted the Certificate and set a deadline of 01 month from the date of the notification for that organization to provide its opinion. Based on the consideration of the opinions of the parties, the authority that issued that Certificate shall make a decision to revoke the Certificate of Plant Variety Rights Examination Organization or a decision to refuse the revocation of the Certificate of Plant Variety Rights Examination Organization for the parties;

d2) In cases where there is a basis to assert that an organization granted a Certificate of plant variety rights examination no longer meets the conditions specified in Clause 2, Article 201 of the Intellectual Property Law, the authority that issued the Certificate shall notify in writing the intent to revoke the Certificate to the organization and set a deadline of 01 month from the date of the notification for the organization to submit its comments. Based on the consideration of the opinions of the organization granted the Certificate, the authority that issued the Certificate shall make a decision to revoke the Certificate or notify the organization that the Certificate will not be revoked;

d3) In cases where there is a decision by a competent state authority to revoke the Certificate of plant variety rights examination, within 01 month from the date of receipt of that decision, the authority that issued the Certificate shall make a decision to revoke the Certificate;

d4) Decision to revoke the Certificate of Authority for Plant Variety Inspection Organizations announced by the People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city on the electronic information portal of the People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city within 02 months from the date of the decision.

5. The People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities shall compile a List of organizations authorized to inspect plant variety rights as prescribed in this Article according to decisions to grant, re-grant, or revoke Certificates of organizations authorized to inspect plant variety rights. The List of organizations authorized to inspect plant variety rights shall be published on the electronic information portal of the People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities. The People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities shall update the state management agency on plant variety rights regarding the List of authorized inspection organizations and related changes to these organizations in the respective localities to serve the work of recording information in the National Register of the List of organizations authorized to inspect plant variety rights.

Section 4. INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY INSPECTION ACTIVITIES,

INSPECTION OF PLANT VARIETY RIGHTS

Article 114. Content and scope of industrial property appraisal, rights to plant varieties

1. Industrial property appraisal, rights to plant varieties include the following content:

a) Determining the scope of protection of the subject of industrial property rights, rights to plant varieties;

b) Determining whether the subject under consideration meets the conditions to be considered as an infringement of industrial property rights, rights to plant varieties in accordance with the provisions from Article 74 to Article 80 of this Decree;

c) Determining whether there is duplication, similarity, confusion, difficulty in distinguishing, or copying between the subject under consideration and the protected subject;

d) Determining the value of industrial property rights, rights to plant varieties according to the valuation method prescribed by the law on prices; determining the value of damages in accordance with the provisions of Articles 204 and 205 of the Intellectual Property Law.

2. Appraisal of industrial property and rights to plant varieties according to the fields prescribed in the Intellectual Property Law includes:

a) The field of industrial property appraisal, including the following specialties:

a1) Appraisal of inventions and layout designs;

a2) Appraisal of industrial designs;

a3) Appraisal of trademarks and geographical indications;

a4) Appraisal of other industrial property rights.

b) The field of appraisal of rights to plant varieties.

Article 115. Rights and obligations of the requester for industrial property appraisal and rights to plant varieties

1. The requester for industrial property appraisal and rights to plant varieties has the following rights:

a) Request the appraisal organization or appraiser to answer the appraisal conclusions correctly according to the content and time requested;

b) Request the appraisal organization or appraiser to explain the appraisal conclusions;

c) Request additional expertise or re-expertise in accordance with the provisions of Article 120 of this Decree;

d) Agree on the price of the expertise service.

2. The person requesting the expertise has the following obligations:

a) Fully and truthfully provide documents, evidence, and information related to the object of expertise as requested by the expertise organization or expert;

b) Clearly and specifically present the issues that need to be evaluated in the expertise request;

c) Pay the expertise fees as agreed; advance the expertise fees when requested by the expertise organization or expert;

d) Retrieve the object of expertise when requested by the expertise organization or expert.

Article 116. Request for industrial property appraisal, rights to plant varieties

1. Organizations or individuals entitled to request an appraisal of industrial property, rights to plant varieties include:

a) Subjects of industrial property rights, rights to plant varieties;

b) Organizations or individuals requested to handle acts of infringement or who are complained against or denunciated regarding industrial property rights, rights to plant varieties;

c) Other organizations or individuals having rights or interests related to disputes, infringements, complaints, or denunciations concerning industrial property rights, rights to plant varieties.

2. Organizations or individuals specified in Clause 1 of this Article have the right to request themselves or authorize other organizations or individuals to request an industrial property appraisal organization, or industrial property and plant variety appraisers to conduct the appraisal.

3. Independent appraisers or appraisal organizations receive appraisal request files, estimate the costs of conducting the appraisal, negotiate, and carry out the signing of the appraisal contract with the requesting organization or individual, except in cases of refusal to perform the appraisal as prescribed.

4. The appraisal request must be formalized as an appraisal service contract between the requester and the appraisal organization or appraiser.

5. The appraisal service contract may include the following contents:

a) Name and address of the requesting organization or individual;

b) Name and address of the appraisal organization or appraiser;

c) Contents of the appraisal request;

d) Related evidence, documents, and items;

e) Deadline for delivering the appraisal conclusion;

f) Rights and obligations of the parties;

g) Location and time of carrying out the appraisal;

h) Cost of conducting the appraisal and payment method;

i) Acceptance and settlement of the contract;

k) Responsibility for compensation for damages; methods of dispute resolution.

Article 117. Delivery, receipt, and return of objects for industrial property appraisal, rights to plant varieties

In cases where the appraisal request includes objects for appraisal, the delivery, receipt, and return of such objects must be recorded in minutes and include the following main contents:

1. Time and place of delivery, receipt, and return of the appraisal objects.

2. Name and address of the party delivering and the party receiving the appraisal objects or their representatives.

3. Name of the appraisal object; relevant documents or items.

4. Condition and method of preservation of the appraisal objects when delivering, receiving, and returning.

Supplementary provisions

5. Signatures of the party delivering and the party receiving the appraisal objects or their representatives in the case of authorization for a third party to request the appraisal.

Article 118. Sampling for industrial property appraisal, rights to plant varieties

1. The appraisal organization and appraisers may take appraisal samples themselves (the specific objects being the infringing elements and the industrial property objects, rights to protected plant varieties) or request the requester to provide appraisal samples. The sampling for appraisal must be documented with the witnessing and signature confirmation of the relevant parties.

2. The handover, receipt, and return of appraisal samples are carried out in the same manner as prescribed in Article 117 of this Decree.

Article 119. Implementation of appraisal of industrial property and rights to plant varieties

1. The examination of industrial property ownership and rights to plant varieties can be carried out by one or several examiners of industrial property and rights to plant varieties. Individual examination is an examination carried out by one examiner. Collective examination is an examination carried out by two or more examiners.

2. In the case of an individual appraisal, the appraiser carries out the entire appraisal and is responsible for their own appraisal conclusions. In the case of a collective appraisal regarding issues within the same field of expertise, the appraisers jointly carry out the appraisal, sign the document of the common appraisal conclusions, and share responsibility for the conclusions; if there are differing opinions, each appraiser records their own conclusion separately in the common appraisal document and is responsible for that opinion. In the case of a collective appraisal regarding issues in different fields of expertise, each appraiser carries out their respective part and is responsible for their own appraisal conclusions.

Article 120. Supplementary appraisal, re-appraisal of industrial property, rights to plant varieties

1. Additional appraisal is carried out in cases where the appraisal conclusion is not complete or clear regarding the contents that need to be appraised, or when new circumstances arise that need to be clarified. The request for additional appraisal and the implementation of additional appraisal must comply with the regulations for the initial appraisal.

2. Reappraisal is carried out in cases where the person requesting the appraisal does not agree with the appraisal results or when there are contradictions between appraisal conclusions on the same issue that needs to be appraised. Reappraisal can be conducted by the appraisal organization or appraiser who performed the previous appraisal or by another appraisal organization or appraiser at the request of the person requesting the appraisal.

3. In the case of differences between expert evaluation conclusions or between the expert evaluation conclusions and the professional opinions of the state management agency on industrial property rights or plant variety rights on the same issue requiring evaluation, the requester of the evaluation may continue to request another evaluation organization or expert to re-conduct the evaluation.

4. When necessary, during the evaluation of industrial property rights or plant variety rights, the evaluation organization may establish a Council of Advisory Experts on Industrial Property Rights and Plant Variety Rights to obtain professional opinions on the issue requiring evaluation. Matters related to the Council of Advisory Experts are carried out as follows:

a) Organize the assessment and selection of members of the Council related to the field of appraisal and decide to establish the Advisory Council for Industrial Property Appraisal and Plant Variety Rights. The Advisory Council for Industrial Property Appraisal and Plant Variety Rights includes a chairman and members. The number of members of the Advisory Council for Industrial Property Appraisal and Plant Variety Rights must be an odd number and consist of at least 3 members.

b) The advisory council for the appraisal of intellectual property and plant variety rights operates on the principle of democracy, openly voting on professional opinions. Members of the advisory council for the appraisal of intellectual property and plant variety rights collectively discuss professional matters, and the opinions of members must be recorded in the minutes of the meetings of the advisory council for the appraisal of intellectual property and plant variety rights.

c) The entire consultancy and appraisal process of the advisory council for the appraisal of intellectual property and plant variety rights must be fully and accurately documented in the working minutes. The minutes must be signed by the chairman and members of the council and kept in the appraisal file.

Article 121. Written conclusions of the appraisal of intellectual property and plant variety rights

1. The conclusion of the industrial property appraisal and rights to plant varieties as prescribed in Clause 5, Article 201 of the Intellectual Property Law must be documented in writing.

2. The written conclusion of the industrial property appraisal and rights to plant varieties as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article must include the following main contents:

a) Name and address of the appraisal organization and appraiser;

b) Name and address of the organization or individual requesting the appraisal;

c) Object, content, and scope of the appraisal;

d) Method of conducting the appraisal;

đ) Appraisal conclusion;

e) Time and place of conducting and completing the appraisal.

3. Independent appraisers and appraisal organizations must send the appraisal conclusion document to the organization or individual requesting the appraisal within the timeframe agreed upon in the appraisal contract. In the case of conducting an independent appraisal, the appraiser performing the appraisal must sign the appraisal conclusion document and is responsible for that conclusion. In the case of an organization conducting the appraisal, the appraiser performing the appraisal and the legal representative of the appraisal organization must both sign and stamp the appraisal conclusion document and are responsible for the conclusion.

4. If additional time is needed to carry out the appraisal, independent appraisers and appraisal organizations must promptly notify the organization or individual requesting the appraisal in writing.

Article 122. Service fees for the appraisal of industrial property and rights to plant varieties

The service fee for the appraisal of industrial property and rights to plant varieties is agreed upon by the parties.

Part Five

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 123. Transitional provisions

1. The processing of secret patent applications submitted before the effective date of this Decree, for which no decision to grant or refuse a protection certificate has been made, shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Articles 48 to 52 of this Decree.

2. The processing of Hague applications designating Vietnam and published by the International Bureau before the effective date of this Decree, for which no decision to accept or refuse protection has been made, shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of this Decree and the provisions of the Hague Agreement.

3. The handling of La Hay applications originating from Vietnam submitted to the state management agency on industrial property rights before the effective date of this Decree but have not yet been sent to the International Bureau shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of this Decree and the provisions of the Hague Agreement.

Article 124. Effectiveness of the Decree

1. This decree takes effect from August 23, 2023.

2. This decree replaces Decree No. 103/2006/NĐ-CP dated September 22, 2006, detailing and guiding the implementation of certain articles of the Law on Intellectual Property concerning industrial property, replacing the provisions on the protection of rights in the field of industrial property rights, rights over plant varieties, and state management of intellectual property in Decree No. 105/2006/NĐ-CP dated September 22, 2006, detailing and guiding the implementation of certain articles of the Law on Intellectual Property concerning the protection of intellectual property rights and state management of intellectual property, Decree No. 119/2010/NĐ-CP dated October 30, 2010, amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 105/2006/NĐ-CP dated September 22, 2006, detailing and guiding the implementation of certain articles of the Law on Intellectual Property concerning the protection of intellectual property rights and state management of intellectual property, Decree No. 122/2010/NĐ-CP dated October 31, 2010, amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 103/2006/NĐ-CP dated September 22, 2006, provides detailed regulations and guidance on the implementation of certain articles of the Intellectual Property Law on industrial property, and Article 1 of Decree No. 154/2018/NĐ-CP dated November 9, 2018, amending, supplementing, and abolishing certain provisions on investment and business conditions in the field of state management of the Ministry of Science and Technology and certain provisions on specialized inspection.

Article 125. Implementation responsibility

The Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of agencies under the Government, and Chairpersons of the People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities are responsible for implementing this decree./.