Modes of filing registration applications for establishment of IP rights

Conditions and Requirements of subject matter eligible for protection

Subject matter excluding from protection

Organizations, individuals of Vietnam, foreign individuals permanently residing in Vietnam and foreign organizations and individuals having a production or trading establishment in Vietnam shall file applications for registration of establishment of industrial property right either directly or though a lawful representative in Vietnam..

Foreign individuals not permanently residing in Vietnam, foreign organizations and individuals not having a production or trading establishment in Vietnam shall file applications for registration of establishment of industrial property right through a lawful representative in Vietnam.

Organizations, individuals who need to claim IP subjects have to file a request application for protection of IP subject and such application shall be subjected under specific requirements for each of them. The application shall be directly filed at NOIP (directly or via post). The applicant(s) can do it themselves or authorize to IP representative service organization to file and carry out relevant procedures.

To be novel;

To involve an inventive step;

To be susceptible of industrial application.

 To be novel;

To be susceptible of industrial application.

To be original;

To be commercially novel.

To be a visible sign in the form of letters, words, pictures, figures, including three-dimensional figures or a combination thereof, represented in one or more colors;

To be capable of distinguishing goods or services of the mark owner from those of others.

The product having the geographical indication originates from the area, locality, territory or country corresponding to such geographical indication.

The product having the geographical indication has reputation, quality or characteristics essentially attributable to the geographical conditions of the area, locality, territory or country corresponding to such geographical indication

To be capable of distinguishing the business entity bearing such trade name from other business entities acting in the same field and locality of business.

Neither to be common knowledge nor easily obtained;

To be capable, when being used in the business course, to render advantages to its holder over those who do not hold or use it;

To be kept secret by its owner with necessary measures so that it shall neither be disclosed nor easily accessible.

to be a variety which is bred or discovered and developed, belonging to the List of species able to be protected by State issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development,

To be new, distinct,

To be uniform, stable; and

Has a proper denomination.

Such work must be created directly by author’s intelligence without reproducing others’ works;

Derivative works shall only be protected if they do not infringe the copyrights in respect of the works used to make derivative works.

Discoveries, scientific theories; mathematical methods;

Schemes, plans, rules or methods for performing mental acts, training domestic animals, playing games, doing business; computer programs;

Presentations of information;

Solutions of aesthetic characteristics only;

Plant varieties, animal varieties;

Processes of essentially biological nature for the production of plants and animals other than microbiological processes;

Disease prevention, diagnostic and treatment methods for human or animals.

Appearance of a product that is dictated by its technical features of the product;

Appearance of a civil or an industrial construction work;

Appearance of a product that is invisible during use of the product.

Principles, processes, systems or methods operated by semiconductor integrated circuits;

Information or software contained in semiconductor integrated circuits.

Signs identical with or confusingly similar to the national flags, national emblems;

Signs identical with or confusingly similar to emblems, flags, armorial bearings, abbreviations, full names of State agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-political professional organizations, social organizations or socio-professional organizations of Vietnam or international organizations, unless permitted by such agencies or organizations;

Signs identical with or confusingly similar to real names, alias, pen names or images of leaders, national heroes or famous persons of Vietnam or foreign countries;

Signs identical with or confusingly similar to certification seals, control seals, warranty seals of international organizations which require that their signs must not be used, except where such seals are registered as certification marks by those organizations;

Signs liable to mislead, confuse or deceive consumers as to the origin, functional parameters, intended purposes, quality, value or other characteristics of the goods or services.

Designations of State agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, social organizations, socio-professional organizations or those entities who are not engaged in business activities shall not be protected as trade names.

Designations, indications having become generic names of goods in Vietnam;

Geographical indications of a foreign country where it is not or no longer protected or no longer used;

Geographical indications identical with or similar to a mark having been protected if their use will cause confusion as to the origin of the products;

Geographical indications misleading consumers as to the true geographical origin of products bearing such geographical indications.

Personal status secrets

State management secrets.

Security and national defense secrets.

Other confidential secret information irrelevant to business.

Information just for the purposes of communication;

Legal normative documents, administrative documents, other documents in the judicial sector and the official translation thereof.

Processes, systems, method of operation, definitions, principles and statistics.