DECREE 65/2023/ND-CP (English – Tiếng Anh)

August 23, 2023

Detailing a number of articles and measures to implement the Law on Intellectual Property regarding industrial property, protection of industrial property rights, rights to plant varieties and state-level governance of intellectual property

Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization dated June 19, 2015; Law dated November 22, 2019 Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Government Organization and the Law on Organization of Local Government;

Pursuant to the Law on Intellectual Property dated November 29, 2005; Law dated June 19, 2009 Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Intellectual Property; Law dated June 14, 2019 Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Insurance Business and the Law on Intellectual Property; and the Law dated June 16, 2022 Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Intellectual Property;

At the proposal of the Minister of Science and Technology;

The Government hereby promulgates the Decree detailing a number of articles and measures to implement the Law on Intellectual Property regarding industrial property, protection of industrial property rights, rights to plant varieties and state-level governance of intellectual property.

PART ONE. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

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

1. The establishment, owners and content of, limitations on industrial property rights, industrial property right assignment, industrial property representation, and measures to promote industrial property.

2. The determination of acts of infringement, nature and extent of infringement upon industrial property rights, rights to plant varieties, determination of damages, requests and settlement of requests for handling of infringement, handling of infringement upon industrial property rights, rights to plant varieties, control of exported and imported goods in relation to industrial property and rights to plant varieties, examination of industrial property and rights to plant varieties and state-level governance of intellectual property.

Article 2. Subjects of application

1. Vietnamese, foreign organizations and individuals whose industrial property rights are eligible for protection in Vietnam under treaties to which Vietnam accedes.

2. Organizations and individuals that have protected industrial property rights or protected rights to plant varieties or commit acts of infringement upon industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties in accordance with the Law on Intellectual Property.

3. Relevant organizations and individuals.

Article 3. Interpretation of terms

In this Decree, the terms below are construed as follows:

1. “Vietnamese organizations and individuals” mean natural persons, juridical persons, and other legal entities of civil law.

2. “Applicant” means any organization or individual that files an application to establish industrial property rights or any organization or individual that files a request to handle acts of infringement upon industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties.

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. “PCT Application designating or electing Vietnam” means a PCT Application filed in any PCT contracting state, including Vietnam, where Vietnam is the designated or elected.

10. “PCT Application entering the national phase” means a PCT Application that designates or elects Vietnam and is filed with the state authority in charge of industrial property rights.

11. “PCT Application originating in Vietnam” means a PCT Application filed from Vietnam, which claims protection in any PCT contracting state, including Vietnam.

12. “Madrid Application” means a mark international registration application filed under the Madrid Agreement or under the Madrid Protocol.

13. “Madrid Application originating in Vietnam” means a Madrid Application filed from Vietnam, which seeks mark protection in any other contracting party to the Madrid Agreement or Madrid Protocol.

14. “Madrid Application designating Vietnam” means a Madrid Application originating from any other contracting party to the Madrid Agreement or Madrid Protocol, which seeks mark protection in Vietnam.

15. “Hague Application” means an application for international registration of an industrial design filed under the Hague Agreement.

16. “Hague Application designating Vietnam” means a Hague Application originating from any other contracting party to the Hague Agreement, including, which seeks mark protection in Vietnam.

17. “Hague Application originating in Vietnam” means a Hague Application filed from Vietnam, which seeks protection of industrial design in any contracting party to the Hague Agreement, including Vietnam.

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

19. “Infringement” means the act of infringing upon industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties.

20. “Infringement settlement” means the settlement of an infringement upon industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties.

21. “Infringer” means any organization or individual that infringes upon industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties.

22. “Infringing element” means any element resulted from the infringement upon industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties.

23. “Alleged infringement” means a suspected act that shall be reviewed to determine whether it is an infringement or not.

24. “Subject matter under review” means a suspected subject matter that shall be reviewed to reach a conclusion as to whether it is a subject matter that infringes upon industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties or not.

25. “Written request for infringement settlement” means a request in writing for the application of measures to settle an infringement.

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

PART TWO. STATE-LEVEL GOVERNANCE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Article 4. Principle of unified state-level governance of intellectual property

Activities with respect to state governance over intellectual property as specified in Articles 10 and 11 of the Law on Intellectual Property shall be organized and conducted with uniform objectives, content and measures under the centralized leadership of the Government while simultaneously allowing for clear delegation of responsibilities and close coordination among ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies, and People’s Committees at all levels.

Article 5. Prime responsibility for and coordination in state-level governance of intellectual property

1. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall assume the prime responsibility for, 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 authorities in, conducting the following joint activities to ensure unified state-level governance of intellectual property:

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

b) Supervising, pushing and inspecting the implementation of general intellectual property tasks assigned by the National Assembly and the Government to ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies, and People’s Committees at all levels in accordance with Article 10, Article 11 of the Law on Intellectual Property and this Decree;

c) Summarizing, evaluating and reporting to the Government the status quo of protection of intellectual property rights, proposing specific policies and measures to improve the effectiveness of the intellectual property system and ensuring the unified state-level governance of intellectual property;

d) Formulating and directing the implementation of general programs and projects on protection of intellectual property rights, collaborative methods among competent state authorities in charge of protection of intellectual property rights;

dd) Negotiating, acceding to, and organizing the implementation of general treaties on intellectual property; proposing the settlement of national disputes in relation to intellectual property in international relations;

e) Building a database and establishing a national information network on state-level governance of intellectual property and protection of intellectual property rights.

2. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism shall coordinate with the Ministry of Science and Technology to perform the tasks specified in Clause 1 of this Article; ensure the implementation of state-level governance functions on copyright and related rights, ensure the consistency of policies, strategies, and legal documents on copyright and related rights are consistent with general policies, strategies, and legal documents on intellectual property; periodically or irregularly providing information to the Ministry of Science and Technology on state-level governance and protection of intellectual property rights in order to coordinate with each other in solving arising problems and summarizing them into reports to the Prime Minister.

3. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall coordinate with the Ministry of Science and Technology to perform the tasks specified in Clause 1 of this Article; ensure the implementation of state-level governance functions on rights to plant varieties, ensure the consistency of policies, strategies, and legal documents on protection of rights to plant varieties are consistent with general policies, strategies, and legal documents on intellectual property; periodically or irregularly providing information to the Ministry of Science and Technology on state-level governance and protection of intellectual property rights in order to coordinate with each other in solving arising problems and summarizing them into reports to the Prime Minister.

Article 6. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Science and Technology with respect to industrial property

The Ministry of Science and Technology has the following responsibilities with respect to state-level governance of industrial property:

1. Formulating and organizing the materialization of strategies and policies on protection of industrial property rights.

2. Promulgating or submitting to competent authorities for promulgation, and organizing the implementation of legal documents on industrial property.

3. Organizing the system of agencies performing state-level governance functions on industrial property.

4. Providing professional guidance, organizing training and refresher courses on industrial property.

5. Organizing the establishment of industrial property rights, registration of industrial property right assignment contracts, and implementation of other procedures in relation to protection titles of industrial property rights.

6. Exercising the right to compulsory patent licensing in accordance with Article 147 of the Law on Intellectual Property.

7. Assume the prime responsibility for or coordinating in implementing measures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of organizations, individuals, the State and the society regarding industrial property.

8. Managing industrial property examination; issuing industrial property examiner cards.

9. Inspecting and examining the observance of industrial property law regulations; settling complaints and denunciations, and handling violations of industrial property law regulations.

10. Organizing information and statistical activities with respect to industrial property; managing and organizing activities in relation to the national database on industrial property.

11. Organizing education, communication, and dissemination of knowledge, policies, and laws on industrial property.

12. Managing industrial property representation; granting industrial property representation service-practicing certificates

13. Conducting international cooperation on industrial property; proposing solutions to disputes between Vietnam and other countries with respect to industrial property.

14. Performing other tasks assigned by the Government.

Article 7. Mechanism of coordination in state-level governance of intellectual property

1. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinating with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and relevant authorities in, protecting, checking, inspecting and settling infringement of intellectual property rights.

2. The state authority in charge of intellectual property shall fully and promptly respond to requests from authorities competent to settle intellectual property infringement.

3. The state authority in charge of intellectual property shall join inspection teams or examination teams when requested in service of inspection and examination.

Article 8. Responsibilities of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies, People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities for intellectual property

Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies, People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities, within the ambit of their functions and tasks, shall coordinate with the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in performing the following specific tasks:

1. The tasks specified in Clause 1, Article 5 of this Decree and specific tasks assigned directly to them by the Government.

2. Ensuring appropriate implementation of local intellectual property policies and laws and compliance with the Law on Intellectual Property and legal documents guiding the implementation of the Law on Intellectual Property.

3. Periodically or irregularly providing information to the Ministry of Science and Technology on state-level governance and protection of intellectual property rights in order to coordinate with each other in solving arising problems and summarizing them into reports to the Prime Minister.

Article 9. Responsibilities of People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and Government-attached agencies for industrial property

1. People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities shall take the following responsibilities for state-level governance of industrial property in their respective localities:

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

b) Formulating, promulgating local regulations on industrial property, and organizing the implementation thereof;

c) Organizing the industrial property management system in their respective localities and implementing measures to enhance the effectiveness of such system;

d) Organizing communication and dissemination of knowledge, policies and laws on industrial property, implementing measures to promote industrial property;

dd) Guiding and supporting organizations and individuals in carrying out industrial property procedures;

e) Coordinating with relevant authorities in protecting industrial property rights and sanctioning violations of law regulations on industrial property;

g) Inspecting and examining the observance of industrial property law regulations, complaints and denunciations with respect to industrial property in their respective localities.

h) Managing geographical indications to their respective localities, including place names and other signs indicating the geographical origin of local specialties;

i) Conducting international cooperation on local industrial property.

2. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and Government-attached agencies shall organize and direct the implementation of law regulations on industrial property and manage industrial property subject matters under their management.

PART THREE. INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

CHAPTER I. ESTABLISHMENT OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

SECTION 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS ON ESTABLISHMENT OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

Article 10. Bases and procedures for the establishment of intellectual property rights

1. Industrial property rights to patents for inventions, topographies, industrial designs, marks, and geographical indications shall be established under decisions by state authorities in charge of industrial property rights to grant protection titles to the applicants for registration of such subject matters, as specified in Chapter VII, Chapter VIII, and Chapter IX of the Law on Intellectual Property and Appendix I of this Decree.

Industrial property rights to marks internationally registered under the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol shall be established upon the grant of protection by the state authority in charge of industrial property with respect to such international registration.

Industrial property rights to industrial designs internationally registered under the Hague Agreement shall be established upon the grant of protection by the state authority in charge of industrial property with respect to such international registration.

2. Industrial property rights to well-known marks shall be established upon the practice of such marks being widely used in accordance with Article 75 of the Law on Intellectual Property without the need for registration procedures. When using rights and resolving disputes over rights to any well-known mark, such mark proprietor must prove his/her rights with evidence as specified at Point c, Clause 5, Article 91 of this Decree.

3. Industrial property rights to trade names shall be established upon the practice of such trade names being lawfully used in the respective area (territory) and business line without the need for registration procedures. When using rights and resolving disputes over rights to any trade name, the entity bearing such trade name must prove its rights with evidence as specified at Point b, Clause 5, Article 91 of this Decree.

4. Industrial property rights to trade secrets shall be established upon the financial, intellectual, or otherwise lawful investment in discovering, creating or obtaining information and hold the information in confidence as trade secrets without the need for registration procedures. When using rights and resolving disputes over rights to any trade secret, the owner of such trade secret must prove his/her rights with evidence as specified at Point a, Clause 5, Article 91 of this Decree.

5. The right to protection against unfair competition shall be established upon the practical competition without the need for registration procedures to be carried out with the state authority in charge of industrial property rights. When exercising the right to protection against unfair competition, the owner must prove his/her/its right with evidence showing the subject matter, business line, territory, and business period in relation to competitive activities.

Article 11. Industrial property rights under treaties

1. In the case where a treaty in relation to industrial property to which Vietnam is a contracting party provides for recognition and protection of industrial property rights of organizations and individuals of other contracting parties in accordance with Article 6 of the Law on Intellectual Property, the industrial property rights of such organizations and individuals of other contracting parties shall be recognized and protected in Vietnam.

Industrial property rights shall be protected to the extent and within the term in accordance with the provisions of treaties and registration procedures in accordance with the Law on Intellectual Property are not required.

2. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall publish all necessary information in relation to industrial property rights recognized and protected in Vietnam under treaties.

Article 12. Right of priority for patent/industrial design/mark application applications

The right of priority for patent/industrial design/mark application applications specified in Article 91 of the Law on Intellectual Property are applied as follows:

1. In the case where the applicant for patent/industrial design/mark application wishes to enjoy the right of priority in accordance with the Paris Convention, the applicant’s claim of such priority right shall be accepted if the following conditions are satisfied:

a) The applicant is a citizen of Vietnam or a citizen of a member of the Paris Convention or a citizen of any other country who resides or has a production or business establishment based in Vietnam or a member of the Paris Convention;

b) The first application has been filed in Vietnam or in a member of the Paris Convention and such application contains a section corresponding to a claim for the right of priority for the patent/industrial design/mark application;

c) The application is filed within the following periods from the date of first filing: 06 months for industrial design or mark registration, 12 months for patent;

d) In the patent/industrial design/mark application, the applicant must clearly state the claim for right of priority and submit a copy of the first application mentioned at Point b of this Clause in case it is filed from a foreign country, including confirmation from the first Receiving Office. The copy of the first application can be submitted within 03 months from the filing date;

dd) The fee for the right of priority is fully paid.

2. The first application that has been filed in Vietnam or in a member of the Paris Convention in accordance with Point b, Clause 1 of this Article shall be considered an eligible application to confirm the filling date in the respective member, regardless of the processing thereof.

3. In the case where the applicant for patent/industrial design/mark application wishes to enjoy right of priority under another treaty, the claim for the right of priority will be accepted if the conditions for the right of priority as specified in such treaty are satisfied.

Article 13. Right to industrial property registration under treaties

1. Foreign organizations and individuals that satisfy the conditions for protection of industrial property rights in Vietnam as specified in Article 2 of this Decree may file industrial property registration applications in Vietnam under treaties with respect to or in relation to international filing procedures.

2. Vietnamese organizations and individuals may file international applications for protection of their industrial property rights in Vietnam if so specified by treaties.

Article 14. Security control procedures for patents

1. For technical patents that may impact national security and defense listed in Appendix VII of this Decree, created in Vietnam and under the registration rights of individuals who are Vietnamese citizens and permanently reside in Vietnam or of organizations established under the laws of Vietnam, to satisfy the conditions for filing patent applications in foreign countries in accordance with Clause 1, Article 89a of the Law on Intellectual Property, Security control procedures must be carried out before the state authority in charge of industrial property rights announces such patent application.

2. The Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Public Security shall designate agencies to receive and process requests to identify the inventions in technical patent applications that may impact national defense and security in accordance with Clause 3 of this Article.

3. Within the time limit of 01 month from the date of receiving the written notice from the applicant of an national patent application about the expected filing of the application in a foreign country, whereby requesting security control procedures for the patent as specified in Clause 1 of this Article, or the date the PCT Application originating in Vietnam is filed with the state authority in charge of industrial property rights, if there are grounds to suspect that the invention in such application falls under the cases specified in Clause 1 of this Article, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall temporarily suspend the application examination process and send a written request to designated agencies of the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Public Security to identify whether such technical invention impacts national defense and security or not. The designated agencies of the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Public Security shall issue documents identifying whether the technical invention in the patent application impacts national defense and security or not within a time limit of 03 months from the date the state authority in charge of industrial property rights sends the written request.

4. For a patent application as specified in Clause 3 of this Article, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall notify the applicant of the temporary suspension of the application examination process to carry out the security control procedures in accordance with Article 89a of the Law on Intellectual Property within a time limit of 07 working days from the date the written request is sent to the designated agencies of the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Public Security.

5. Within a time limit of 20 days from the date of receiving the notices from the designated agencies of the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Public Security saying that the subject matter in the technical patent application actually impacts the national defense and security in accordance with Clause 3 of this Article, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall notify the applicant of the above information, and at the same time request the applicant to register the invention in accordance with the law regulations on 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 national procedures: In the case where the applicant files a patent application in accordance with the law regulations on protection of state secrets, the application will be further processed in accordance with the law. In the case where the applicant does not register the invention following procedures in accordance with the law regulations on protection of state secrets within the set time limit, the application will be considered withdrawn and destroyed by the state authority in charge of industrial property rights in accordance with the law regulations on protection of state secrets, unless the applicant has grounds to prove that the invention is not a state secret.

b) For PCT Applications originating in Vietnam filed with the state authority in charge of industrial property rights: The application shall be destroyed in accordance with the law regulations on protection of state secrets and Point e, Clause 1, Article 20 of this Decree shall prevail, unless the applicant has grounds to prove that the invention is not a state secret.

6. The state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall continue the application examination process as specified in the following cases:

a) At the end of the time limit of 03 months specified in Clause 3 of this Article, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights does not receive any notices from the designated agencies of the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Public Security.

b) The designated agencies of the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Public Security send notices saying that the invention in the patent application is not a technical invention that impact national defense and security.

The state authority for industrial property rights shall notify the applicant of the continued processing of the application within a time limit of 01 month from the date mentioned at Point a of this Clause or from the date of receiving the notices mentioned at Point b of this Clause.

7. For an application falling into the cases specified in Clause 6 of this Article, the applicant reserves the right to file the patent application in foreign countries.

Article 15. Method for calculating time limits

1. Time limits with respect to industrial property shall be calculated in accordance with the provisions on time limits in the Civil Code.

2. The time limits for the applicant and related parties to submit, amend, supplement documents or give comments can be extended once for the same period of time set in the notice of the state authority in charge of industrial property rights, provided that the person requesting the extension must submit a written request for extension before the end of the set period and pay the extension fee as specified.

3. The period of time during which there is a force majeure event or objective impediment obstacle that causes organizations or individuals with rights and obligations to be unable to exercise their rights and obligations within the time limit shall not be included to the time limit if such organizations or individuals send requests and have valid evidence to prove so. In the case where the request is accepted, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a decision or notice to revoke the decision or notice that has been issued before by virtue of the organization’s or individual’s non-performance of their rights and obligations within the time limit and resume the application processing as the time limit still remains.

4. Force majeure event means any objective, unforeseeable and irremediable event (natural disasters, hostilities, etc.) notwithstanding the adoption of all necessary measures within the capacity.

Objective impediment means any hindrance which in an objective context (for example: illness, business trip, study far away, etc.) results in a person with rights or obligations not knowing that his/her lawful rights and interests have been infringed or not being able to exercise his/her rights or fulfill his/her obligations;

Article 16. Amendment and supplementation of industrial property registration applications

1. Before the relevant state management agency in charge of industrial property rights issue a decision to refuse the application or it neither decides nor refuses to grant a protection title, the applicant may:

a) Amend or supplement documents included the application, providing that such amendments or supplements do not extend the scope (volume) of protection disclosed in the description of the patent application, set of photos and drawings, and descriptions of industrial designs displayed in the set of photos and drawings regarding an industrial design registration application or in the sample of mark and list of goods and services regarding a mark registration application without changing the distinctiveness of the subject matter specified in the application;

b) Change the name, address, country code of the applicant, the name, nationality, address of the author of the invention, topography, or industrial design; change the industrial property representative.

2. An application shall be amended or supplemented as follows:

a) In the case where the applicant, on his/her own initiative, initiates the amendment or supplement to the application after it is duly accepted by the state authority in charge of industrial property rights, including change of the legal representative in Vietnam, the written request for such amendment or supplement shall be made using Form No. 04 provided in Appendix II to this Decree;

b) In the case where the amendment or supplement to the application is initiated before it is duly accepted or otherwise refused by the state authority in charge of industrial property rights or the amendment or supplement is based on a notice of the state authority in charge of industrial property rights in relation to such application, the request for such amendment or supplement shall be made in writing and explicitly indicate the specific details to be modified;

c) The applicant may request amendments or supplements to the same detail in relation to multiple applications for the same subject matter of industrial property rights in one declaration or written request for such amendment or supplement;

d) Any person who requests any amendment or supplement to his/her application shall pay the following fees:

d1) Fees for examination of the request for amendment or supplement for each specific modification in accordance with regulations and copies of fee receipts (in the case where the fees are paid via postal services or directly to the account of the state authority in charge of industrial property rights);

d2) Fees for publication of information on amendment or supplement to the application in accordance with regulations if such amendment or supplement must be published as specified at Point a, Clause 3 of this Article. In the case where the amendments or supplements must be done to remedy mistakes caused by the state authority in charge of industrial property rights, the applicant is not liable to pay the publication fee;

dd) In case of request for amendments or supplements to the documents below, the applicant shall submit the respective amended or supplemented documents:

dd1) A part of or the whole description and/or abstract of the invention, if it is a patent application;

dd2) 04 sets of photos or sets of drawings, descriptions of integrated circuits produced using the topography, if it is a topography registration application;

dd3) 04 sets of drawings or 04 sets of photos and descriptions, if it is an industrial design registration application;

dd4) 05 samples of the mark and the list of goods and services bearing such mark, if it is a mark registration application;

dd5) A description of peculiar characteristics of the product bearing the geographical indication and the map of the geographical area subject to the geographical indication, if it is a geographical indication registration application.

Amended or supplemented documents to be included in the application shall satisfy the requirements for the respective documents specified in Appendix I to this Decree. Regarding a request for amendment or supplement as specified at Points dd1, dd2, and dd3 of this Clause, the applicant shall enclose therewith a detailed specification of such amendment or supplement for comparison with the initially submitted documents.

e) In case of changing the name, address, country code of the applicant, the name, and nationality of the author, the applicant shall file written confirmations (original or certified copy) or legal documents (certified copy) proving the changes (the decision to change the name or address; the enterprise registration certificate on which the change of the name or address is recorded, etc.). In case of changing the industrial property representative, the applicant shall submit an announcement on the change of the industrial property representative.

3. The state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall process requests for amendments or supplements to applications as follows:

a) Publish the amendments or supplements in case of request for modification of information related to the formally valid application as stated in the decision on valid application acceptance; name and nationality of the author of the invention, industrial design, or topography; abstract of the invention enclosed with drawings (if any); set of photos or drawings of the industrial design; sample of the mark and enclosed list of goods and services; description of peculiar characteristics of the product bearing the geographical indication and name of such product;

b) Examine the amendment or supplement in accordance with Article 109 of the Law on Intellectual Property and relevant law regulations in the case where the applicant requests for amendments or supplements to the application as specified at Point a, Clause 2 of this Article;

c) Re-examine the application and request the applicant to pay fees as per regulations if his/her request for amendment or supplement to such application, which is filed after the notice of allowance of the protection title, falls into the cases below:

c1) Modifying information in relation to the distinctiveness of the subject matter specified in the application: description of the invention; description and set of photos and drawings of the industrial design; sample of the mark and list of goods and services bearing such mark, regulation on the use of the collective mark, regulation on the use of the certification mark; description of peculiar characteristics of the product bearing the geographical indication and the geographical area subject to the geographical indications;

c2) Changing the mark applicant;

d) Notify the acceptance or refusal of the request for amendment or supplement within the time limit specified in Clause 4, Article 119 of the Law on Intellectual Property;

dd) Notify the acceptance or refusal of the request for amendments or supplement to the application in the documents sent to the applicant during the processing of the relevant industrial property registration application in the cases specified at Point b, Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 17. Division and withdrawal of industrial property registration applications; request of examination and conversion of patent applications

1. An industrial property registration application shall be divided as follows:

a) Before the state authority in charge of industrial property rights issues a decision to reject the application or a decision to grant or refuse the grant of the protection title, the applicant may divide the application (separate any technical solution(s) in the patent application, separate any industrial design(s) in the industrial design registration application, or a part of the list of goods and services in the mark registration application into new application(s), called divisional applications);

b) A divisional application must bear a new application number and is entitled to the date of filing or date(s) of priority (if any) of the parent application. For each divisional application, the applicant shall pay filing fees and all fees and charges for procedures carried out independently from the parent application (other than the procedures that are already completed when filing the parent application, which are not necessary to be initiated again when submitting the divisional application) but is not liable to pay the fee for examination of the priority claim (other than cases of dividing industrial design applications due to the failure to ensure uniformity). The divisional application shall be subject to formality examination and further processed according to the procedures not yet completed for its parent application. The divisional application shall be published as per regulations;

c) The application shall file a specification on the subject matters for which protection is requested and the specific modifications compared to the parent application when filing the divisional application;

d) The parent application (after being divided) shall be further processed under the procedures for application processing or the procedures for amendment to the application.

2. Industrial property registration applications may be withdrawn in accordance with Article 116 of the Law on Intellectual Property as follows:

a) An application shall be withdrawn by the applicant or his/her authorized representative under a power of attorney. If the application is filed by a representative, the power of attorney shall specify the authorization of the withdrawal thereof or be enclosed with an order letter specifying the number of applications to be withdrawn;

b) Within a time limit of 02 months from the date of receiving the request, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall:

b1) Issue a notice of acceptance of application withdrawal in the case where it complies with Point a of this Clause, terminate the processing of the application, and record the withdrawal into the application dossier. An industrial property registration application that have been withdrawn cannot be restored but can be used as the grounds for claiming the right of priority in accordance with Clause 3, Article 116 of the Law on Intellectual Property;

b2) Issue a notice of intended refusal of the withdrawal in the case where the request for application withdrawal does not comply with Point a of this Clause and allow a time limit of 02 months from the date of the notice for the applicant to correct the deficiencies;

b3) Issue a notice of refusal of application withdrawal if the applicant fails to correct the deficiencies within the time limit specified at Point b2 of this Clause or fails to provide a qualified correction.

3. A patent application shall be converted in accordance with Point dd Clause 1 of Article 115 of the Law on Intellectual Property as follows:

a) Before the state authority in charge of industrial property rights issues a decision to reject the application or a decision to grant or refuse the grant of the protection title, the applicant may convert the request for grant of an invention patent into that for a utility solution patent or vice versa for the whole or a part of the application, provided that the applicant pays the filing fees for the application to be converted as per regulations. In case of converting a part of the application, the applicant shall divide the application before requesting the conversion.

b) After receiving the valid request for conversion, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall continue to perform procedures for processing the conversion application under relevant regulations and shall not re-perform the procedures done to the application before the request for conversion.

4. Any third party requesting the state authority in charge of industrial property rights to conduct substantive examination of the patent application in accordance with Article 113 of the Law on Intellectual Property shall comply with the following regulations:

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

b) The time limit for filing the request for substantive examination shall comply with Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 113 of the Law on Intellectual Property;

c) Any person who requests for substantive examination shall pay the fees for patent search and examination as per regulations;

d) The request for substantive examination of a patent application shall be notified to the applicant of such patent within 03 months after receiving the request;

dd) In the case where the request for substantive examination is unsatisfactory, within a time limit of 01 month after receiving the request, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue an invitation to correct and allow a time limit of 02 months from the date of the invitation to correct for the person who requests for substantive examination to correct the deficiencies. In the case where the person who requests for substantive examination of the patent application fails to correct the deficiencies within the set time limit or adopts an unqualified correction, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a notice of substantive examination refusal;

e) In the case where the request for examination of the patent application is valid, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall conduct substantive examination of the application in accordance with Article 114 of the Law on Intellectual Property and relevant law regulations, and the notify the person who requests for examination the results thereof.

Article 18. Recognition of substitution of the industrial property registration applicant

1. Before the state authority in charge of industrial property rights issues a decision to reject the application or a decision to grant or refuse the grant of the protection title, the applicant may request the state authority in charge of industrial property rights to recognize the substitution of the applicant due to assignment, inheritance or succession, or under a decision of the competent authority.

2. The applicant substituted due to the assignment of the application shall be recognized as follows:

a) A dossier of request for recognition of change due to the assignment of the application consists of:

a1) A written request for the recognition of the assignment of the application, made using Form No. 05 provided in Appendix II to this Decree;

a2) Documents on the assignment of the industrial property registration application (original or certified copy) specifying the names and addresses of the assignor and the assignee; the number of applications to be assigned or the information adequate to otherwise confirm such applications;

a3) Copies of fee/charge receipts as per regulations (in case of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the state authority in charge of industrial property rights);

b) Request for the recognition of changes due to the assignment of several applications by the same applicant may be included in the same declaration, provided that the payment of examination fees as per regulations in commensurate to the number of applications requested for recognition of the assignment is made;

c) Request for the recognition of changes due to the assignment of the application shall be processed similarly to the processing of a request for amendment or supplement to the application in accordance with Article 16 of this Decree. In the case where the request for the recognition of changes due to the assignment of the mark registration application is filed after the grant of the notice of allowance of the protection title, the mark registration application shall be re-examined, and publication of the assignment shall be made. The requester shall pay the application examination fees and publication fees as per regulations.

3. The applicant substituted due to the inheritance or under decisions of the competent authorities shall be recognized upon request depending on the inheritance or succession of assets during the consolidation, merger, split-up, and spin-off of juridical persons, joint ventures, associates, or establishment of new juridical persons of the same owner, business transformation, or the rulings of the Court or decisions of other competent authorities. Procedures for requesting the recognition of the substitutive applicant in such cases shall be similar to the procedures for amending or supplementing applications specified in Article 16 of this Decree.

SECTION 2. PCT APPLICATIONS AND PROCESSING THEREOF

Article 19. PCT Applications

1. PCT Applications include PCT Applications originating in Vietnam and PCT Applications entering the national phase.

2. Regarding a PCT Application originating in Vietnam, the applicant may file the application via a state authority in charge of industrial property rights or directly to the International Bureau. Any application filed directly to the International Bureau shall be made in the language specified in the PCT and satisfy the formality and substantive requirements specified in the PCT. Any application filed with the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall be made in English. Each application shall be made into 01 counterpart and satisfy the formality and substantive requirements specified in the PCT, and the applicant shall pay fees for the preliminary examination of the format as well as fees and charges specified by the Regulations on Implementation of the PCT and law regulations on fees and charges of any contracting state designated in the PCT Application.

3. If a PCT designates or elects Vietnam, in order to enter into the national phase, the applicant shall file the documents below to the state authority in charge of industrial property rights within a time limit of 31 months from the date of priority (if the application claims the right of priority) or the filing date of the international application:

a) Written declaration requesting invention registration, made using Form No. 01 provided in Appendix I to this Decree;

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

c) Vietnamese translation of the specification and abstract of the international application (the published copy or initially filed original application, if the application has not yet been published, and modified copy and explanation of modifications, if the international application has been modified under Article 19 and/or Article 34.2(b) of the PCT);

d) Copies of fee/charge receipts (in case of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the state authority in charge of industrial property rights);

dd) Power of attorney (in the case where the request is filed by a representative).

Article 20. Processing of PCT Applications originating in Vietnam filed with the state authority in charge of industrial property rights

1. After receiving the PCT Application originating in Vietnam, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall:

a) Collect preliminary formality examination fees;

b) Identify whether the subject matters for which the protection is requested in the application is classified as a state secret or not;

c) Notify applicants of the fees as per regulations to be paid to the International Bureau and the International Search Office under the PCT;

d) Check and process the application under the PCT;

dd) Send the application to the International Bureau and the International Search Office in the case where the application satisfies the preliminary formality requirements, fees under local laws are paid fully and promptly, and the subject matter for which the protection is requested in the application is not classified as a state secret;

e) Not further proceed in the case where the subject matter for which the protection is requested in the application is classified as a state secret.

2. After the PCT Application originating in Vietnam has been sent to the International Bureau by the state authority in charge of industrial property rights, the applicant shall conduct all transactions in relation to such application directly with the International Bureau or the competent authority of the relevant PCT contracting state designated in the application under the PCT.

Article 21. Processing of PCT Applications entering the national phase

A PCT Application entering the national phase shall be processed as follows:

1. Claims for the right of priority shall be processed in accordance with the PCT and the Regulations on implementation of the PCT. To enjoy the right of priority, an applicant shall:

a) Reaffirm the claim for the right of priority in the written declaration;

b) Pay fees for the examination of the priority claim;

c) Submit, upon request of the state authority in charge of industrial property rights, Vietnamese translations of necessary documents already submitted to the International Bureau and other necessary documents as specified in Rule 17.1(a) of the Regulations on implementation of the PCT.

2. The applicant may amend or supplement documents included in the application. Amendments or supplements to documents included in the application shall comply with the following regulations:

a) Articles 28 and 41 of the PCT, Rule 52.1(b) and Rule 78.1(b) of the Regulations on implementation of the PCT, and Article 115 of the Law on Intellectual Property;

b) Powers of attorney, documents on assignment of rights to file the application in international phase (if any) shall be submitted within a time limit of 34 months from the date of priority (if the application claims the right of priority) or the filing date of the international application;

c) Amended or supplemented documents filed to the state authority in charge of industrial property rights by the applicant shall be made in Vietnamese.

3. The PCT Application entering the national phase shall be processed on the first day of the 32^nd month from the date of priority (if the application claims the right of priority) or from the filing date of the international application. If the applicant submits a written request for early processing of the PCT Application entering the national phase, the application shall be processed prior to the expiration of the time limit specified in this Clause in accordance with Article 23.2 of the PCT.

4. The PCT Application entering the national phase shall undergo the formality and substantive examination following procedures applicable to patent applications filed under national procedures, and shall be published within a time limit of 02 months after the date of being duly accepted.

SECTION 3. HAGUE APPLICATIONS AND PROCESSING THEREOF

Article 22. Hague Applications

1. Hague Applications include Hague Applications designating Vietnam and Hague Applications originating in Vietnam.

2. Regarding a Hague Application originating in Vietnam, the applicant may file the application via a state authority in charge of industrial property rights or directly to the International Bureau. Any application filed to the International Bureau shall be made in the language specified in the Hague Agreement and satisfy the formality and substantive requirements specified in the Hague Agreement.

3. Any Hague application filed with the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall be made in English. Each application shall be made into 02 counterparts and satisfy the formality and substantive requirements specified in the Hague Agreement, and the applicant shall pay fees for international application as well as fees and charges specified by the Hague Agreement and law regulations on fees and charges of any designated contracting state.

Article 23. Processing of Hague Applications originating in Vietnam filed with the state authority in charge of industrial property rights

1. In the case where the Hague Application originating in Vietnam is filed with the state authority in charge of industrial property rights, it shall:

a) Collect the fees for international transfer of the application;

b) Notify the fees that the applicant has to pay directly to the International Bureau under the Hague Agreement within a time limit of 20 days from the date of receiving the application;

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

d) In the case where the application has deficiencies, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall send an invitation to correct and allow a time limit of 12 days for the applicant to adopt corrections;

dd) Send the Hague Application originating in Vietnam to the International Bureau within a time limit of 01 month from the date of receiving the application.

2. The date on which the state authority in charge of industrial property rights receives the Hague Application will be considered the filing date of the international registration application for industrial designs if the International Bureau receives such application within a time limit of 01 month from the date indicated on the seal of application receipt of the state authority in charge of industrial property rights.

3. After the Hague Application originating in Vietnam has been sent to the International Bureau, the applicant shall conduct all transactions in relation to such application directly with the International Bureau or the competent authority of the relevant contracting state to the Hague Agreement designated in the application under the Hague Agreement.

Article 24. Processing of Hague Applications designating Vietnam

After receiving a notice of International Bureau, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall process the Hague Application designating Vietnam as follows:

1. The state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall conduct the substantive examination of the application following the same procedures applicable to the industrial design registration application filed under the national procedures, unless otherwise specified in Clauses 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9 of this Clause. Within a time limit of 06 months from the date on which the International Bureau issues the notice, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall have its final decision on the possibility to protect the industrial design specified in the application.

2. In the case where the industrial design specified in the application is protectable in accordance with the laws of Vietnam and the application has no deficiency, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall:

a) Before the time limit of 06 months specified in Clause 1 of this Article ends, issue a decision to recognize the protection of the internationally registered industrial design specified in the application, record the information to the National Industrial Design Register (in “Internationally Registered Industrial Design” Section) and send to the International Bureau the statement of grant of protection to the internationally registered industrial design, made using the form of the International Bureau;

b) Publish the decision on the Industrial Property Gazette within a time limit of 02 months from the date on which the decision is issued.

3. In the case where the industrial design is unprotectable or the application is incomplete (lacking photos/drawings resulting in the inadequate description of the design characteristics of the industrial design or the international registration does not comply with statements of Vietnam or there is information to be verified, etc.), before the time limit of 06 months specified in Clause 1 of this Article ends, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a notice of refusal made using the form of the International Bureau, which specifies the refusal and reasons for such refusal, and send such notice to the International Bureau.

4. In the case where some industrial designs in the application are unprotectable or the application has deficiencies with respect to some industrial designs (lacking photos/drawings resulting in the inadequate description of the design characteristics of the industrial design or the international registration does not comply with statements of Vietnam or there is information to be verified, etc.), before the time limit of 06 months specified in Clause 1 of this Article ends, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall carry out the procedures below:

a) Issue a notice of refusal of any unprotectable or incomplete industrial design, which is made using the form of the International Bureau and specifies the refusal and reason for such refusal, and send such notice to the International Bureau;

b) Issue a decision on grant of protection to any protectable and complete industrial design, record the information to the National Industrial Design Register (in “Internationally Registered Industrial Designs” Section) and send to the International Bureau the statement of grant of protection to the internationally registered industrial design, which is made using the form of the International Bureau and specifies the industrial design accepted for protection;

c) Publish the decision on the Industrial Property Gazette within a time limit of 02 months from the date on which the decision is issued.

5. Within a time limit of 03 months from the date on which the state authority in charge of industrial property rights issues the notice of refusal in accordance with Clause 3 and Clause 4 of this Article, the applicant may correct the deficiencies or appeal against the refusal of the state authority in charge of industrial property rights. Any correction or appeal against the refusal specified in the notice shall be adopted/conducted following the same procedures applicable to the industrial design registration application filed under the national procedures, including regulations on filing methods.

In the case where the Hague Application is intended to be refused due to failure to satisfy the uniformity requirements as specified in Article 101 of the Law on Intellectual Property, the applicant may correct such deficiency by separating any industrial design(s) in the application into new application(s). The state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall divide the application and issue decisions and notices of new applications independently from the parent application.

6. In the case where the applicant adopts a qualified correction and/or has justifiable appeal within the time limit of 03 months specified in Clause 5 of this Article, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall:

a) Issue a decision on grant of protection of any protectable and complete internationally registered industrial design, record the information to the National Industrial Design Register (in “Internationally Registered Industrial Design” Section) and send to the International Bureau the statement of grant of protection to the internationally registered industrial design after refusal, which is made using the form of the International Bureau and specifies the industrial design accepted for protection;

b) Publish the decision on the Industrial Property Gazette within a time limit of 02 months from the date on which the decision is issued.

7. In the case where the applicant fails to correct the deficiencies or adopts unqualified corrections, or fails to have any appeal or has unjustifiable appeal against the refusal of industrial designs after the time limit of 03 months specified in Clause 5 of this Article, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a decision to refuse the protection of such internationally registered industrial designs.

8. After the time limit of 03 months from the date on which the International Bureau issues a notice of Hague Application designating Vietnam but the applicant fails to file any priority document or has such a document refused by the state authority in charge of industrial property rights, the application shall be considered not claiming the right of priority.

9. Procedures for complaining and resolving complaints about decisions specified in Clauses 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 of this Article shall be similar to those applicable to industrial design registration applications filed under the national procedures. In the case where several or all of the previously refused industrial designs are now protectable as the result of the complaint resolution, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall send the statement of grant of protection to the internationally registered industrial design to the International Bureau after the refusal, which is made using the form of the International Bureau and specifies the industrial designs accepted for protection.

10. In the case where a third party raises concerns about the Hague Application designating Vietnam before the date on which the decision on grant of protection, such concerns shall be considered as references for the processing of the Hague Application designating Vietnam.

SECTION 4. MADRID APPLICATIONS AND PROCESSING THEREOF

Article 25. Madrid Applications

1. Madrid Applications include Madrid Applications originating in Vietnam and Madrid Applications designating Vietnam.

2. The applicant shall file a Madrid Application originating in Vietnam with the state authority in charge of industrial property rights.

3. A Madrid Application originating in Vietnam shall consist of the following documents:

a) A declaration in Vietnamese requesting international registration of marks originating in Vietnam, made using Form No. 01 provided in Appendix II to this Decree;

b) 02 declarations in English or French made using MM2 form of the International Bureau;

c) 02 samples of the mark identical to the mark in the registration application filed in Vietnam (basic application) or the certificate of registered mark (basic registration certificate);

d) 02 MM18 declarations in English (if the application designates the USA);

dd) Power of attorney in Vietnamese (in the case where the application is filed by a representative);

e) Payment receipts of fees for procedures for international registration of marks originating in Vietnam;

g) Other relevant documents (if necessary).

4. The Madrid Application originating in Vietnam shall satisfy the formality and substantive requirements in accordance with regulations. The applicant shall fill the declaration with adequate, accurate, and compliant information which shall be consistent with the information specified in the basic application or basic registration certificate.

Article 26. Processing of Madrid Applications originating in Vietnam and relevant requests

1. After receiving the Madrid Application originating in Vietnam, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall conduct the examination to determine if the application satisfies the requirements specified in Clause 3 and Clause 4, Article 25 of this Decree and carry out the following procedures:

a) In the case where the application has deficiencies, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall send an invitation to correct to the applicant. In the case where the applicant fails to correct the deficiencies within the time limit of 03 months from the date on which the state authority in charge of industrial property rights sends the invitation to correct, the application shall be deemed withdrawn;

b) In the case where the application does not have deficiencies or the applicant has adopted qualified corrections, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a notice of fees and charges that the applicant has to pay directly to the International Bureau, sign off the application and send it to the International Bureau within a time limit of 15 days from the date of issuing such notice;

c) The date on which the state authority in charge of industrial property rights receives the Madrid Application will be considered the international registration date of such application if the International Bureau receives the application within 02 months from the date indicated on the seal of application receipt of the state authority in charge of industrial property rights. In the case where the application is not filed to the International Bureau within the above-time limit mentioned above, the date on which the International Bureau receives the application will be considered the international registration date.

2. After the Madrid Application originating in Vietnam is filed to the International Bureau, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall let the applicant know via a notice and continue to process (in cooperation with the applicant if necessary) notices and requests from the International Bureau or carry out other tasks in relation to the application (if any).

3. Requests arising after the Madrid Application originating in Vietnam is issued with an international registration number, such as late designation (extension of protection territory), amendments to the name and/or address of the owner of the international registration, limitation of the list of goods and services, renewal of the international registration validity, designation of the representative, changes to the representative, recognition of international registration transfer, etc., may be carried out directly with the International Bureau or through the state authority in charge of industrial property rights. Any request filed with the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall be enclosed with the following documents:

a) A declaration in Vietnamese, made using Form No. 02 provided in Appendix II to this Decree;

b) 02 respective declarations, made using the form of the International Bureau;

c) Power of attorney in Vietnamese (in the case where the request is filed by a representative);

d) Payment receipts of fees for examination of amendments, transfer, renewal, territorial extension, limitation of the list of goods and services, and termination or invalidation of marks internationally registered originating in Vietnam, etc.;

dd) Other relevant documents (if necessary).

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

a) In the case where the request has deficiencies, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall send an invitation to correct to the applicant. In the case where the applicant fails to correct the deficiencies within the time limit of 03 months from the date on which the state authority in charge of industrial property rights sends the invitation to correct, the request shall be deemed withdrawn.

b) In the case where the request does not have deficiencies or the applicant has adopted qualified corrections, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a notice of fees that the applicant has to pay directly to the International Bureau, sign off the request and send it to the International Bureau within a time limit of 10 days from the date of issuing such notice.

5. The applicant shall submit a written request for renewal of international registration to the state authority in charge of industrial property rights within no more than 06 months before and/or 01 month after the expiry date of such international registration. In case of requesting the international registration renewal during a grace period, the written request shall be submitted to the state authority in charge of industrial property rights within 01 month from the end of the grace period.

Article 27. Processing of Madrid Applications designating Vietnam

1. After receiving a notice of the International Bureau on a Madrid application designating Vietnam, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall conduct substantive examination of the application following procedures applicable to mark registration applications filed under the national procedures, unless otherwise specified in Clauses 3 and 10 of this Article. Within a time limit of 12 months from the date on which the International Bureau issues the notice, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall make a conclusion on protectability of the mark.

2. For protectable marks in accordance with the laws of Vietnam, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall carry out the following procedures:

a) Before the time limit of 12 months specified in Clause 1 of this Article ends, issue a decision on grant of protection of the internationally registered mark in Vietnam, record the information to the National Industrial Design Register (in “Internationally Registered Marks” Section) and send to the International Bureau the statement of protection recognition;

b) Publish the decision on the Industrial Property Gazette within a time limit of 02 months from the date on which the decision is issued.

The scope (volume) of protection shall be certified as requested in the mark international registration application recorded by the International Bureau and certified by the state authority in charge of industrial property rights.

3. If the mark has a part of or the whole goods and services unprotectable or the international registration of a protectable mark has deficiencies (lack of regulation on the use of the collective mark or certification mark, 3D photos or illustrations of the mark, etc.), before the time limit of 12 months specified in Clause 1 of this Article ends, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a notice of temporary refusal specifying the intent and reason for such intended refusal, and send such notice to the International Bureau.

4. Within a time limit of 03 months from the date on which the state authority in charge of industrial property rights issues the notice of temporary refusal of a part of or the whole goods and services, the applicant may correct the deficiencies or appeal against the intended refusal of the state authority in charge of industrial property rights.

Any correction or appeal against the intended refusal shall be adopted/conducted following the same procedures applicable the mark registration applications filed under the national procedures, including regulations on filing methods.

5. In the case where the state authority in charge of industrial property rights intends to refuse a part of or the whole list of goods and services specified in the notice of temporary refusal, if the applicant adopts qualified corrections and/or has justifiable appeal against the intended refusal within the time limit of 03 months specified in Clause 4 of this Article, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall:

a) Issue a decision to accept the protection of the mark internationally registered in Vietnam with the scope (volume) of protection respective to the protectable goods and services, record the information to the National Industrial Design Register (the “Internationally Registered Marks” Section), and send the statement of protection after temporary refusal notice to the International Bureau;

b) Publish the decision on the Industrial Property Gazette within a time limit of 02 months from the date on which the decision is issued.

6. In the case where the state authority in charge of industrial property rights intends to refuse a part of the list of goods and services specified in the notice of temporary refusal, if the applicant fails to correct deficiencies or adopts unqualified corrections, or fails to have any appeal or has unjustifiable appeal against such intended refusal after the time limit of 03 months specified in Clause 4 of this Article, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall apply the procedures specified in Clause 5 of this Article solely to protectable goods and services (those not specified in the notice of temporary refusal).

7. In the case where the state authority in charge of industrial property rights intends to refuse all of the list of goods and services specified in the notice of temporary refusal, if the applicant fails to correct deficiencies or adopts unqualified corrections, or fails to have any appeal or has unjustifiable appeal against such intended refusal after the time limit of 03 months specified in Clause 4 of this Article, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a decision to refuse the protection of the internationally registered mark in Vietnam and issue a notice of official refusal to the International Bureau.

8. Procedures for complaining and resolving complaints about decisions specified at Point a, Clause 2 and Clauses 5, 6, 7 of this Article shall be similar to those applicable to mark registration applications filed under the national procedures if there are grounds to believe that such decisions are made contrary to the laws regarding their contents and the issuance process. The applicant shall be notified of the results of the complaint resolution by the state authority in charge of industrial property rights. In the case where a part of or the whole list of goods and services that was refused under such decisions is now protectable or the exclusions are changed (not separately protected) as a result of the complaint resolution, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall send to the International Bureau the subsequent decision that affects the mark protection, using the form of the International Bureau regarding respective issues.

9. From the date on which the protection of mark international registration is granted in Vietnam, upon request of the mark proprietor, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a certificate of protection in Vietnam of the internationally registered mark, provided that the requester pay the fees and charges as per regulations.

10. From the date on which the Madrid Application is published by the International Bureau on the Gazette until the date on which the decision on grant of protection is made, or after the time limit of 12 months from the date on which the International Bureau sends the notice of the application designating Vietnam, whichever comes first, if a third party raises concerns about the Madrid Application designating Vietnam, such concerns shall be considered as references during the processing of the application.

Article 28. Conversion of international mark registration to applications filed under national procedures

1. In the case where a mark international registration in Vietnam of a mark proprietor who is a national of a nation contracting only to the Madrid Protocol is invalidated under Article 6 of the Madrid Protocol, such person may file a converted mark registration application to the state authority in charge of industrial property rights for registration of protection of the very mark for part of or all goods or services on the list of goods and services recorded in the invalidated mark international registration under Article 9^quinquies of the Madrid Protocol. A converted mark registration application shall be accepted if it satisfies the following conditions:

a) The application is filed within a time limit of 03 months from the date of invalidation of the relevant mark international registration;

b) The international registration has never been before subject to any refusal, termination, or cancellation in whole in Vietnam;

c) The application is made using Form No. 03 provided in Appendix II to this Decree (with the list of goods and services in Vietnamese in the converted application smaller or equal to the list of goods and services that are invalidated in the respective international registration);

d) The application satisfies all other formality requirements for mark applications in accordance with the laws of Vietnam;

dd) The applicant adequately pays fees and charges as the same as those applicable to mark registration applications filed under the national procedures, unless otherwise specified at Point b Clause 2 of this Article.

A converted mark registration application is allowed to bear the filing date as the international registration date or the late designation date (in case of late designation of Vietnam). In the case where the international registration enjoys the right of priority, the converted mark registration application shall be recorded with the respective date of priority, unless there are grounds to abrogate such right.

2. The state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall examine the converted mark registration application in accordance with regulations on conditions for conversion specified in Clause 1 of this Article and the following principles:

a) Regarding formalities accepted by the International Bureau in the respective international registration, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall not perform the re-examination, unless otherwise the application has deficiencies (lack of regulation on the use of the collective mark, certification mark, 3-dimensional illustrative photos or drawings of the mark, etc.).

The state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a decision to refuse the application in the case where the application fails to satisfy the conditions specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

b) The state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall not re-examine any mark registration application converted from an international registration already granted protection in Vietnam. In the case where the application satisfies the conditions for conversion specified in Clause 1 of this Article, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall perform procedures for notifying the intended grant of the protection title, issuing a decision on grant of the protection title, recording it into the National Industrial Design Register, and publishing the decision on the Industrial Property Gazette as for applications filed under the national procedures.

c) Regarding valid conversion mark registration application that does not fall into the case specified at Point b of this Clause, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall perform procedures for valid application acceptance, application publication, and content examination and carry out other procedures as for mark registration applications filed under the national procedures.

SECTION 5. PROTECTION TITLES

           Article 29. Modification of protection titles, change of information in the National Industrial Property Register

1. A protection title shall contain information specified in Clause 1, Article 92 of the Law on Intellectual Property and be made using the form provided in Appendix II to this Decree. A protection title shall be granted as an electronic file and a paper printout (if the applicant requests one). The holder of the protection title and the organization or individual permitted by the State to exercise the rights to geographical registration may request the state authority in charge of industrial property rights to record the following modification of the protection title:

a) Changes to the name and address of the holder of the protection title; the organization managing geographical indications; the name and nationality of the author of the invention, industrial design, or topography;

b) Changes to the holder of the protection title (transfer of ownership due to inheritance, succession, merger, split-up, and spin-off of juridical persons, joint ventures, associates, or establishment of new juridical persons of the same owner, business transformation, or the rulings of the Court or decisions of other competent authorities);

c) Modification of the description of peculiar characteristics of the product bearing the geographical indication, the geographical area subject to the geographical indication, of the regulation on the use of the collective or certification mark.

The person who requests the modification of the protection title to be recorded shall pay the fee for examination of such request, the registration fee, and the fee for publication of the decision to record the modification of the protection title.

2. The holder of the protection title or the organization or individual permitted by the State to exercise the rights to geographical registration may request the state authority in charge of industrial property rights to record the substitution of the industrial property representation organization by the holder of the protection title in the National Industrial Property Register. The person who requests the substitution of the industrial property representation organization to be recorded shall submit a power of attorney of the holder of the protection title and pay the fee for examination of such request, the registration fee, and the fee for publication of the decision to record the substitution of the industrial property representation organization in accordance with the regulations.

3. The holder of the protection title may request the state authority in charge of 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 for removal of certain items of goods or services, or certain classes of goods or services mentioned in the certificate of registered mark or removal of certain minor elements that are disclaimed (not individual protection), which does not alter the distinctiveness of the protected trademark mentioned in the certificate of registered mark;

b) Request for removal of one or more independent or dependent claim(s) within the scope of protection mentioned in the invention patent or utility solution patent;

c) Request for removal of one or more embodiments of the design, or removal of one or more items of the set of products included in the industrial design patent.

The person who requests for narrowing the scope of protection shall pay the fee for examination of such request, the registration fee, and the fee for publication of the decision on modification of the protection title.

4. Depending on the modification to be made as mentioned in Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of this Article, the dossier of request shall be 01 set of the following documents:

a) A written declaration, which shall be made using Form No. 06 provided in Appendix II to this Decree and explicitly indicate the request for the modification to be recorded. Such a declaration may be used to request for modification of various protection titles if they have the same specific modification, provided that the requester pay the fees for each protection title in accordance with the regulations;

b) The original protection title in the case where it is granted as a paper printout;

c) Documents proving the change of the name and address (original or certified copy); decisions to change the name and address; business registration licenses on which the change of the name and address is recorded; other legal documents proving the change of the name and address (original or certified copy) in the case where the change of the name and address is requested to be recorded;

d) Documents proving the transfer of ownership as mentioned at Point b Clause 1 of this Article (documents proving the merger, split-up, and spin-off of juridical persons, joint ventures, associates, or establishment of new juridical persons of the same owner, business transformation, or the rulings of the Court or decisions of other competent authorities) in case of requesting for change of the holder of the protection title;

dd) A detailed specification of the specific modification;

e) 05 sets of photos or drawings of the modified industrial design (in case of requesting for modification of the industrial design); 02 descriptions of peculiar characteristics of the product bearing the geographical indication and the map of the geographical area subject to the geographical indication (in case of requesting for modification of the geographical indication); 02 copies of the regulations on the use of the collective, 02 copies of the modified regulations on use of certification mark (in case of requesting for modification of the collective or certification mark); 05 samples of the mark (in case of requesting for modification of the sample of the mark in accordance with Point a, Clause 3 of this Article);

g) A power of attorney (in the case where the request is filed by a representative);

h) Copies of fee/charge receipts (in case of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the state authority in charge of industrial property rights).

5. A request for modification of a protection title or a request for recording the substitution of the industrial property representation organization in the National Industrial Property Register shall be processed as follows:

a) Within a time limit of 02 months from the date of receiving the request, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall assess the request for modification of the protection title in accordance with Point a and Point b, Clause 1 of this Article. If the request is deemed satisfactory, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a decision to modify the protection title, record the information to the protection title, register and publish the decision on the Industrial Property Gazette within a time limit of 60 days from the date of issuing the decision. In the case where the request has deficiencies or is unsatisfactory, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a notice of intended refusal of the request which explicitly indicate the reason therefor and allowing a time limit of 02 months from the date of the notice for the requester to amend the deficiencies or appeal. After the set time limit, if the requester fails to correct deficiencies or adopts unqualified corrections, or fails to have any appeal or has unjustifiable appeal, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a decision on refusal of the request to modify the protection title;

b) Regarding requests for modification of the protection title in accordance with Point c, Clause 1 and Clause 3 of this Article, the procedures for the re-examination of the respective applications shall be performed in accordance with Article 114 of the Law on Intellectual Property and relevant law regulations. The time limit for re-examination shall not be included in the time limit for the processing of the request for modification of the protection title;

c) Within a time limit of 02 months from the date of receiving the request, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall consider the request for recording the substitution of the industrial property representation organization into the National Industrial Property Register in accordance with Clause 2 of this Article. If the dossier of request is deemed satisfactory, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a decision to record the substitution of the industrial property representation organization into the National Industrial Property Register, register and publish the decision on the Industrial Property Gazette within a time limit of 60 days from the date of issuing the decision. In the case where the request has deficiencies or is unsatisfactory, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a notice of intended refusal of the request, specifying the reason and setting a time limit of 02 months from the date of the notice for the requester to correct the deficiencies or appeal. After the set time limit, if the requester fails to correct deficiencies or adopts unqualified corrections, or fails to have any appeal or has unjustifiable appeal, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a decision on refusal to record the substitution of the industrial property representation organization.

6. In the case where any deficiency is detected in the protection title, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall, at its discretion or upon request of the person who detects such deficiency, revoke such protection title and re-grant a corrected one. The holder of the protection title shall pay the fee for examination of the request for modification of the protection title in accordance with Clause 1, Article 97 of the Law on Intellectual Property and the fee for publication of such modification in the case where the protection title has deficiencies which are caused by such holder and have been published. If the deficiencies are caused by the state authority in charge of industrial property rights, the holder of the protection title is not liable to pay the fee for publication.

7. The state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall grant duplicates of the protection title and re-grant the protection title/duplicates of the protection title in the following cases:

a) In the case where the industrial property rights are jointly owned, the protection title shall only be granted to the first person in the list of joint applicants. Other co-owners may request the state authority in charge of industrial property rights to grant duplicates of the protection title, provided that they pay the fee for the grant of such duplicates;

b) In the case where the protection title/the duplicate of the protection title is lost, damaged, torn, soiled, faded to the extent of being rendered unusable, or disassembled resulting in the loss of its seal, the holder of the industrial property rights may request the state authority in charge of industrial property rights to re-grant the protection title/the duplicate, provided that the respective fees are paid;

c) A request for grant of duplicates of the protection title or re-grant of the protection title/duplicates of the protection title shall be made in writing, unless otherwise indicated in the written declaration requesting registration of industrial property subject matters. An application dossier consists of 01 set of following documents:

c1) A written declaration requesting grant of duplicates of the protection title or re-grant of the protection title/duplicates of the protection title, made using Form No. 09 provided in Appendix II to this Decree;

c2) 02 samples of the mark or 02 sets of photos or 02 sets of drawings of the industrial design identical to those included in the original protection title;

c3) A power of attorney (in the case where the request is filed by a representative);

c4) Copies of fee/charge receipts (in case of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the state authority in charge of industrial property rights);

d) Processing of the request for grant of duplicates of the protection title or re-grant of the protection title/duplicates of the protection title:

d1) Within a time limit of 01 month from the date of receiving the request, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall consider the request for grant of duplicates of the protection title or re-grant of the protection title/duplicates of the protection title. In the case where the request for grant of duplicates of the protection title or re-grant of the protection title/duplicates of the protection title is satisfactory to the requirements specified at Points a, b, and c of this Clause, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a decision to grant duplicates of the protection title or re-grant the protection title/duplicates of the protection title and record the information to the register section of the respective protection title in the National Industrial Property Register;

d2) A duplicate of the protection title shall contain all information of the respective protection title and an indication that it is a “Duplicate”. A protection title/duplicate that is re-granted shall contain all information of the initial protection title/duplicate and an indication that it is “Re-granted.” The state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall publish the re-grant of the protection title/duplicates of the protection tile on the Industrial Property Gazette within a time limit of 60 days from the date of issuing the decision;

d3) In the case where the request for grant of duplicates of the protection title or re-grant of the protection title/duplicates of the protection title is unsatisfactory to requirements specified at Point c of this Clause, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a notice and allow a time limit of 02 months from the date of such notice for the applicant to correct deficiencies or appeal. After the time limit mentioned above, if the requester fails to correct deficiencies or adopts unqualified corrections, or fails to have any appeal or has unjustifiable appeal, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a decision on refusal to grant duplicates of the protection title or a decision on refusal to re-grant the protection title/duplicates of the protection title, which shall explicitly indicate the reasons.

8. Procedures for granting duplicates of/re-granting the certificate of an industrial property subject matter licensing contract shall be the same as those specified in Clause 7 of this Article.

Article 30. Maintenance of invention/utility solution protection titles

1. A dossier of request for maintenance of an invention/utility solution protection title shall consist of the following documents:

a) A declaration made using Form No. 07 provided in Appendix II to this Decree;

b) Power of attorney (in the case where the request is filed by a representative);

c) Copies of fee/charge receipts (in case of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the state authority in charge of industrial property rights);

2. The request for maintenance of the protection title and the fee for examination of such request, the fees for maintenance and use of the protection title, the registration fee, and the publication fee shall be filed/paid to the state authority in charge of industrial property rights no later than 06 months before the expiry date of the protection title. Such request may be filed after the time limit mentioned above, but no later than 6 months from the previous expiry date and the holder of the protection title shall be liable to pay charges for each month of late filing in accordance with the law regulations on fees and charges.

3. Within a time limit of 01 month from the date of receiving the dossier of request for maintenance of the protection title and the fees and charges specified in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall consider the dossier of request and perform the following procedures:

a) In the case where the dossier of request is deemed satisfactory, issue a notice of maintenance of the protection title and record the information into the National Industrial Property Register and publish it on the Industrial Property Gazette within a time limit of 60 days from the date of the notice;

b) In the case where the dossier of request has deficiencies or is unsatisfactory, issue a notice of intended refusal of maintenance which explicitly indicates the reasons therefor and allow a time limit of 02 months from the date of the notice for the requester to correct the deficiencies or appeal. After the set time limit, if the requester fails to correct deficiencies or adopts unqualified corrections, or fails to have any appeal or has unjustifiable appeal, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a decision on refusal of maintenance of the protection title.

Article 31. Renewal of industrial design patents and certificates of registered marks

1. An industrial design patent is renewable at most 02 consecutive times, 05 years each. In the case where the protected industrial design encompasses multiple options, the renewal of the industrial design patent may encompass all or several of these options, including the fundamental option. A certificate of registered mark is renewable multiple times, 10 years each for a part of or the whole list of goods and services.

2. A dossier of request for renewal of an industrial design patent or certificate of registered mark shall consist of the following documents:

a) A declaration requesting the renewal, made using Form No. 07 provided in Appendix II to this Decree;

b) The original industrial design patent or certificate of registered mark (if the protection title is granted as a paper printout and the renewal is requested to be recorded into the protection title);

c) Power of attorney (in the case where the request is filed by a representative);

d) Copies of fee/charge receipts (in case of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the state authority in charge of industrial property rights);

One dossier may be used to request the renewal of one or more protection titles if they have the same subject matter and holder.

3. The dossier of request and the fee for examination of the request for renewal, the fees for renewal and use of the protection title, the registration fee, and the fee for publication of the decision on renewal of the protection title shall be filed/paid by the holder of the industrial design patent or certificate of registered mark to the state authority in charge of industrial property rights within 06 months from the expiry date of such patent/certificate. The request for renewal may be filed after the time limit mentioned above, but no later than 6 months from the expiry date of the protection title and the holder of the protection title shall be liable to pay charges for each month of late filing in accordance with the law regulations on fees and charges.

4. Within a time limit of 01 month from the date of receiving the dossier of request for renewal, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall consider the dossier and perform the following procedures:

a) In the case where the application is satisfactory, issue a decision to renew the protection title, record the information to the protection title (if requested), and register and publish the decision to renew the industrial design patent or certificate of registered mark on the Industrial Property Gazette within a time limit of 60 days from the date of issuing the decision;

b) Issue a notice of intended refusal of the renewal which explicitly indicates the reasons therefor and allow a time limit of 02 months from the date of the notice for the requester to correct the deficiencies or appeal in one of the following cases:

b1) The dossier of request for renewal is unsatisfactory or improperly filed;

b2) The requester is not the holder of the respective industrial design patent or certificate of registered mark.

After the set time limit, if the requester fails to correct deficiencies or adopts unqualified corrections, or fails to have any appeal or has unjustifiable appeal, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a decision on refusal to renew the industrial design patent or certificate of registered mark.

c) After the renewal procedures are done, if the holder of the industrial design patent or certificate of registered mark requests the state authority in charge of industrial property rights to record the renewal decision into the protection title, such holder shall perform procedures for modification of the protection title and pay fees and charges in accordance with the regulations.

Article 32. Termination and invalidation of protection titles

1. Any organization or individual requesting the termination or invalidation of its/his/her protection title in accordance with Clause 4, Article 95 and Clause 4, Article 96 of the Law on Intellectual Property shall pay the request fee, the fee for examination of the request for termination or invalidation of the protection title, the registration fee, and the fee for publication of the decision on the termination or invalidation of the protection title.

2. A written request for termination or invalidation of the protection title shall comply with the following regulations:

a) One application may be used to request the termination or invalidation of one or more protection titles for the same justification, provided that the requester pay the required fees and charges for each protection title;

b) A written request for termination or invalidation of the protection title shall include the following documents:

b1) A declaration requesting the termination or invalidation of the protection title, made using Form No. 08 provided in Appendix II to this Decree;

b2) Evidence (if any);

b3) A power of attorney (in the case where the request is filed by a representative);

b4) A written justification for the request (explicitly stating the reference number, the reasons, the legal grounds, the extent of the termination or invalidation (partly or wholly) of the protection title), and relevant documents;

b5) Copies of fee/charge receipts (in case of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the state authority in charge of industrial property rights);

3. A written request for the termination or invalidation of the protection title shall be processed as follows:

a) The written request for termination or invalidation of the protection title shall be processed in accordance with Article 95, Article 96, and Clause 3, Article 220 of the Law on Intellectual Property and this Article. Regarding the request for invalidation of the protection title, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall re-examine the respective application in accordance with Article 114 of the Law on Intellectual Property and relevant law regulations;

b) In the case where a third party requests the termination or invalidation of the protection title, within a time limit of 01 month from the date of receiving the request, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a written notice on the third party’s request to the holder of the protection title and allow a time limit of 02 months for the holder to raise his/her concerns. The state authority in charge of industrial property rights may organize a dialogue in person between the third party and the relevant holder of the protection title;

c) The state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall, in consideration of the parties’ concerns, issue a decision to partly or wholly terminate/invalidate the protection title or a notice of refusal to partly or wholly terminate/invalidate the protection title in accordance with Clause 5, Article 95 and Clause 5, Article 96 of the Law on Intellectual Property;

The time limit for issuing the decision or notice mentioned in this Point is 03 months from the end of the time limit of 02 months specified at Point b of this Clause or from the end of the time limit of 03 months specified at Point a, Clause 4 and Point a, Clause 5 of this Article if the holder does not raise any concern or from the date of receiving the owner’s concerns. Such time limit may be extended for at most 3 months if the holder raises concerns different from that of the party requesting the termination or invalidation of the protection title.

In the case where the holder renounces the industrial property rights in accordance with Clause 3, Article 95 of the Law on Intellectual Property, the time limit mentioned above shall be 15 days from the date of receiving the request.

The period of time during which other necessary procedures are performed to settle the request for termination or invalidation of the protection title shall not be included in the time limit mentioned above.

d) In case of disagreement over the decision or notice with respect to the request for termination or invalidation of the protection title by the state authority in charge of industrial property rights as specified at Point c of this Clause, the requester or the organization or individual specified at Point b of this Clause may file an appeal against such a decision or notice in accordance with law regulations on complaints in relation to industrial property-related procedures;

dd) Decisions on termination or invalidation of protection titles shall be recorded into the National Industrial Property Register and published on the Industrial Property Gazette within a time limit of 60 days as from the date on which such decisions are issued.

4. A written request for the termination or invalidation of the mark international registration shall be processed as follows:

a) Regarding a written request for termination or invalidation of a mark international registration under the Madrid Agreement or Madrid Protocol filed by a third party, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall notify the mark proprietor of the request for termination or invalidation of the mark international registration via the International Bureau, and allow a time limit of 03 months from the date of the notice for the mark proprietor to raise concerns;

b) The mark international registration of a part of or the whole list of goods and services may be terminated or invalidated;

c) In the case where the state authority in charge of industrial property rights issues a decision to terminate or invalidate the mark international registration of a part of or the whole list of goods and services, which is no longer subject to any complaint or administrative lawsuit, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a notice of termination or invalidation of the mark international registration using the form of the International Bureau, which explicitly indicates the list of goods and services of which the registration is terminated or invalidated, and send such notice to the International Bureau;

d) Other regulations in relation to the processing of requests for termination or invalidation of mark protection titles based on the mark registration applications filed under the national procedures shall apply to the processing of requests for termination or invalidation of mark international registration.

5. A written request for the termination or invalidation of industrial design international registration shall be processed as follows:

a) Regarding a written request for termination or invalidation of an industrial design international registration under the Hague Agreement filed by a third party, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall notify the industrial design proprietor of the request for termination or invalidation of the industrial design international registration via the International Bureau, and allow a time limit of 03 months from the date of the notice for the industrial design proprietor to raise concerns;

b) Some or all industrial designs included in an industrial design international registration may be invalidated;

c) In the case where the state authority in charge of industrial property rights issues a decision to invalidate the international registration of some or all industrial designs, which is no longer subject to any complaint or administrative lawsuit, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a notice of invalidation of the industrial design international registration using the form of the International Bureau, which explicitly indicates the industrial designs of which the registration is invalidated, and send such notice to the International Bureau;

d) Other regulations in relation to the processing of requests for termination or invalidation of industrial design protection titles granted on the basis of the industrial design registration applications filed under the national procedures shall apply to requests for termination or invalidation of industrial design international registration.

CHAPTER II. OWNERS AND CONTENT OF, AND LIMITATIONS ON INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

Article 33. Owners of industrial property rights

1. Owners of industrial property rights include organizations and individuals owning subject matters of industrial property specified in Article 121 of the Law on Intellectual Property or organizations and individuals licensed the industrial property rights by the owners.

2. In the case where a patent, industrial design, topography, or mark protection title is granted to multiple organizations and 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 be jointly owned by such organizations and individuals. Co-owners shall exercise their ownership rights under civil law regulations.

Article 34. Scope of industrial property rights

1. The scope of the industrial property rights to an invention, industrial design, topography, mark, or geographical indication shall be defined by the scope of protection recorded in the National Industrial Design Register, Global Brand Database, and International Designs Bulletin or the protection title, certification of mark international registration, or decision on grant of protection to internationally registered industrial design.

2. The scope of rights to a trade name shall be defined by the scope of protection of such trade name, including the trade name, business line, and business territory where the trade name is legally used by the owner. The registration of the name of a business organization or individual in business procedures shall not considered as the use of such name but a condition for such use to be legal.

3. The scope of rights to a trade secret shall be defined by the scope of protection of such trade secret, including the compilation of information constituting such trade secret, organized in an accurate and comprehensive manner to the extent that it can be effectively utilized.

4. Owners of industrial property rights shall enjoy the rights and perform the obligations under the scope of protection with conditions specified in Articles 132, 133, 133a, 134, 135, 136, 136a, and 137 of the Law on Intellectual Property.

Article 35. Rights of authors of inventions, industrial designs or topographies

1. The moral rights of authors specified in Clause 2, Article 122 of the Law on Intellectual Property shall be protected indefinitely.

2. The rights to receive remuneration of authors specified in Clause 3, Article 122 of the Law on Intellectual Property shall be protected throughout the protection period of inventions, industrial designs, and topographies.

3. Unless the owner and the author otherwise agree, the remuneration shall be paid no later than 30 days from the date on which the owner receives the licensing payment or no later than 90 days from the end of the fiscal year if the remuneration of the author is calculated in accordance with Point a, Clause 1 Article 135 of the Law on Intellectual Property.

Article 36. Responsibilities for state-level governance over appellations of origin

1. People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Industry and Trade in, identifying types of specialties, characteristics thereof, production processes of specialties bearing geographical indications under the management of ministries, sectors, and local authorities in line with the development master plans of the localities.

2. People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities shall permit the use of place names and other appellations of origin of their local specialties for registration of collective marks or certification marks; file the applications for registration of geographical indications used for their local specialties or authorize People’s Committees of urban and rural districts, towns, provincial cities, and centrally-run cities or specialized agencies under the People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities to carry out the Filing.

3. The Minister of Science and Technology shall provide guidelines on the criteria for identifying place names and other appellations of origin.

Article 37. Exercise of the ownership right to geographical indications

1. Agencies and organizations that have the rights to manage geographical indications of Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as organizations managing geographical indications) specified in Clause 4, Article 121 of the Law on Intellectual Property include:

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

b) The People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city that are authorized representatives of other People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities where the geographical area subject to the geographical indication is located in the case where the geographical indication belongs to multiple localities;

c) People’s Committees of urban and rural districts, towns, provincial cities, and centrally-run cities or specialized agencies under the People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities authorized to manage the geographical indications by People’s Committees of provinces or centrally-run cities;

d) Agencies or organizations granted the rights to manage geographical indications by People’s Committees of provinces or centrally-run cities, provided that such entities represent the benefits of all the organizations and individuals granted the rights to use geographical indications in accordance with Clause 4, Article 121 of the Law on Intellectual Property.

2. Agencies and organizations that have the rights to manage geographical indications specified at Point d, Clause 1 of this Article may exercise the ownership rights to geographical indications specified in Clause 2, Article 123 and Article 198 of the Law on Intellectual Property.

3. Regarding foreign geographical indications, owners, organizations allowed to exercise the owners’ rights toward geographical indications and the organizations managing foreign geographical indications shall be identified under the laws of the countries of origin of such geographical indications.

Article 38. Exercise of the right to manage geographical indications of organizations managing such geographical indications

1. Organizations managing geographical indications specified in Clause 1, Article 37 of this Decree shall:

a) Develop and promulgate management regulations for geographical indications;

b) Manage geographical indications in accordance with the regulations they have promulgated;

c) Prepare and disclose lists of organizations and individuals using geographical indications based on notices of such organizations and individuals. The lists of organizations and individuals using geographical indications shall be updated upon any change;

d) Adopt measures to manage the use of geographical indications of organizations and individuals producing products bearing geographical indications to ensure that such products satisfy the standards of peculiar characteristics and quality, and reputation in conformity with the descriptions of peculiar characteristics of the products bearing geographical indications;

dd) Monitor and perform measures to prevent and forbid acts of infringement upon rights to geographical indications; request competent authorities to settle such infringement in accordance with the laws;

e) Report on the management of geographical indications to the state authority in charge of industrial property rights once every two years.

2. Management regulations for a geographical indication as specified at Point a, Clause 1 of this Article shall satisfy the following conditions:

a) The management regulations for a geographical indication shall contain the following key information:

a1) The product bearing the geographical indication: its name and description (its peculiar characteristics and quality, production process, production area, etc.) respective to each item in the description of peculiar characteristics of the product;

a2) Recognition of organizations and individuals using the geographical indication: the dossier of request for recognition of organizations and individuals using the geographical indication, including the written request for recognition, documents proving that the organizations and individuals engage in the production of the product bearing the geographical indication in the geographical area subject to the geographical indication and other documents, if necessary; consideration of such dossier, examination and verification of documents, including their compliance with the description of peculiar characteristics of the product bearing the geographical indication (if necessary) and recording information of such organizations and individuals into the list of organizations and individuals using geographical indications;

a3) The mechanism for checking and controlling the use of the geographical indication: details to be checked and controlled (the product’s geographic origin, peculiar characteristics and quality, production process, etc.); the inspection and control plan; the tools and methods of inspection and control; the agencies and organizations performing inspection and control, etc.;

a4) Rights and responsibilities of organizations and individuals using geographical indications: To ensure the maintenance of peculiar characteristics and quality, and reputation of the product bearing the geographical indication; to notify the organization managing the geographical indication so that they can be recognized in the list of organizations and individuals using the geographical indication before using such geographical indication; to report to the organization managing the geographical indication on the current use of the geographical indication on an annual basis, etc.;

a5) Rights and responsibilities of the organization managing the geographical indication with respect to the management of the geographical indication;

a6) Funding for management of the geographical indication;

a7) Actions to be taken against violations of the regulations.

b) The management regulations for geographical indications shall be consulted with organizations and individuals involved in the production of products bearing geographical indications before they are promulgated.

c) Management regulations for geographical indications shall not include unreasonable limitations of the rights to legally use the geographical indications of organizations and individuals involved in the production of products bearing geographical indications.

Article 39. Confidentiality of data on agrochemical testing

1. Agrochemicals are chemical products used in agriculture and rural development.

2. Data on agrochemical testing shall be held in confidence if such data satisfies the conditions specified in Clause 1, Article 128 of the Law on Intellectual Property upon request of the applicant for marketing authorization of agrochemicals.

3. Authorities competent to grant marketing authorization for agrochemicals shall protect the testing data specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 40. Use of industrial property subject matters

1. Acts of circulating products specified at Point d, Clause 1, Point b, Clause 2, and Point b, Clause 7 of Article 124 of the Law on Intellectual Property include selling, displaying for sale, and transporting products.

2. The use of a mark which is, in practice, different from the protected mark by the mark proprietor or any person permitted by the mark proprietor is deemed the use of such mark in accordance with Clause 5, Article 124 of the Law on Intellectual Property if the difference is insignificant and does not change the distinctiveness of the mark.

Article 41. Use of inventions on behalf of the State

1. The use of inventions on behalf of the State for public and non-commercial purposes, national defense, security, disease prevention and treatment and nutrition for the people, and to meet other urgent social needs as specified in Clause 1, Article 133 of the Law on Intellectual Property shall be performed by ministries, ministerial-level agencies, or designated organizations and individuals by issuing decisions on compulsory patent licensing as specified at Point a, Clause 1, Article 145 and paragraph 2, Clause 1, Article 147 of the Law on Intellectual Property. In the case where the products, which are imported or produced by the patent licensees under contracts, satisfy the requirements of national defense, security, disease prevention and treatment and nutrition for the people or to meet other social urgent needs, the patent holders shall be deemed having fulfilled the obligation to use inventions as specified in Article 136 of the Law on Intellectual Property.

2. Procedures for issuing decisions on compulsory patent licensing in case of using inventions on behalf of the State shall comply with Article 55 and Article 56 of this Decree.

Article 42. Compensation for owners of inventions for delayed grant of marketing authorization of pharmaceutical products

1. In the case where the procedure for first-time registration of marketing authorization of pharmaceutical products falls behind schedule as specified in Article 131a of the Law on Intellectual Property, after the marketing authorization is granted, within a time limit of 02 months from the date on which the applicant files the written request made using Form No. 02 provided in Appendix I to this Decree, the competent authority in charge of granting marketing authorization of pharmaceutical products shall grant the confirmation of the delayed grant of marketing authorization, which explicitly indicates the period of delay.

2. In the case where the invention patent holder made a written request using Form No. 03 provided in Appendix I to this Decree enclosed with the written confirmation of the competent authority in charge of granting marketing authorization of pharmaceutical products on the delayed grant of marketing authorization as specified in Clause 1 of this Article, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall notify the owner of compensation plans and shall:

a) Exempt the holder from paying fees for the use of the invention patent during the period of time the procedure for registering marketing authorization of pharmaceutical products manufactured under such patent is delayed during the processing of the request for maintenance of the patent;

b) Deduct the fee for the use of the invention patent, which are paid during the period of delay, against the fees for processing of the next request for maintenance of the patent;

c) Refund the fee to the invention patent holder within 03 months from the date of receiving the complete dossier of request as specified by the regulations in the case where the holder decides not to maintain the patent or the invention patent expires.

3. The fees for use of every relevant invention patents, which are jointly used to manufacture a pharmaceutical product, shall be exempted.

CHAPTER III. INVENTIONS, INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS, TOPOGRAPHIES THAT ARE RESULTS OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL TASKS FUNDED BY STATE BUDGET

Article 43. The right to register inventions, industrial designs, topographies that are results of scientific and technological tasks funded by state budget

1. Automatic assignment of the right to register inventions, industrial designs, and topographies that are results of the scientific and technological tasks funded by the state budget as specified in Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 86a of the Law on Intellectual Property means the presiding organization has the right to register any invention, industrial design, and topography that is created during the performance of scientific and technological tasks without the need to undergo the procedures for assigning the registration right of the state ownership representative.

2. The right to register inventions, industrial designs, and topographies that are results of scientific and technological tasks invested in by multiple sources, including the state budget, as specified in Clause 2 and Point b, Clause 3, Article 86a of the Law on Intellectual Property shall be determined as follows:

a) The organizations presiding over the tasks shall have part of the right to register inventions, industrial designs, and topographies commensurate with the investment funded by the state budget. In the case where the inventions, industrial designs, and topographies are the results of scientific and technological tasks in national defense and security, part of the registration right shall be long to the State and exercised by the state ownership representative in accordance with Clause 3 of this Article;

b) Other organizations and individuals shall have part of the right to register inventions, industrial designs, and topographies commensurate with their investment.

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

a) The Minister of Science and Technology of Vietnam, as for national-level scientific and technological tasks other than those specified at Point b of this Clause;

b) Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Government-attached agencies, other central-level agencies, Chairpersons of the provincial-level People’s Committees, as for national-level scientific and technology tasks assigned to them; scientific and technological tasks approved by themselves;

c) Heads of agencies and organizations, as for scientific and technological tasks approved by themselves.

Article 44. Obligation to notify and register inventions, industrial designs, and topographies that are results of scientific and technological tasks funded by state budget

1. The date on which the invention, industrial design, or topography is created in accordance with Clause 1, Article 136a of the Law on Intellectual Property is the date on which the presiding organization receives the written report of the author or knows that the invention, industrial design, or topography that is the result of a scientific or technological task, whichever comes first.

2. Within a time limit of 01 month from the date on which the invention, industrial design, or topography is created in accordance with Clause 1 of this Article, the presiding organization shall send a written notice to the state ownership representative, which explicitly indicates the information about such invention, industrial design, or topography, the need for registration, and the nations to which the registration application is expected to be filed (if any). In the case where the procedure for registration to establish the rights to the above subject matters is not performed, the presiding organization shall send a written notice to the state ownership representative within 10 days before the end of the time limit specified in Clause 2, Article 136a of the Law on Intellectual Property.

3. The author of the invention, industrial design, or topography and the presiding organization shall ensure the confidentiality of the information on such invention, industrial design, or topography until the application for registration of such invention, industrial design, or topography is filed or the state ownership representative make public such invention, industrial design, or topography in accordance with Clause 2, Article 133a of the Law on Intellectual Property.

4. The application for registration of an invention, industrial design, and topography created as a result of a scientific or technological task funded by the state budget may only be assigned to an organization established under the laws of Vietnam or a Vietnamese citizen residing in Vietnam. The assignee of the application for registration of such invention, industrial design, and topography shall perform the respective obligations of the presiding organization in accordance with the Law on Intellectual Property and this Decree.

5. When carrying out the procedure for establishing industrial property rights in accordance with law regulations on intellectual property to any invention, industrial design, or topography that is the results of a scientific or technological task funded by the state budget, the presiding organization shall:

a) Send a written notice to the authority managing the scientific and technological task of the results of processing of the application for registration of such invention, industrial design, or topography within a time limit of 07 working days from the date on which the state authority in charge of industrial property rights issues a decision or notice of the results of processing of such application;

b) Within 07 working days from the end of the time limit specified in Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 113 of the Law on Intellectual Property, send a written notice to the authority managing the scientific and technological task of the patent application that is deemed withdrawn in accordance with Clause 3, Article 113 of the Law on Intellectual Property, in which the reasons shall be explicitly indicated.

c) Issue a notice to the authority managing the scientific and technological task in order to perform the procedure for assigning the right to register the invention, industrial design, or topography that is a result of a scientific or technological task funded by the state to other organization or individual in accordance with Article 45 of this Decree in the following cases:

c1) The application for registration of the invention, industrial design, or topography is duly refused, unless the application is duly refused by reason that the subject matter specified in the application is not protectable as a patent, industrial design, or topography in accordance with Articles 59, 64, and 69 of the Law on Intellectual Property;

c2) The application for registration of the invention, industrial design, or topography is withdrawn before its publication in accordance with the regulations.

Article 45. Assignment of the right to register inventions, industrial designs, topographies that are results of scientific and technological tasks funded by state budget to other organizations or individuals

1. The state ownership representative shall assign the authority managing the scientific and technological task to publicly announce on its website/web portal for organizations and individuals in need to file written requests for assignment of the right to register inventions, industrial designs, and topographies in the cases specified in Clause 1, Article 133a of the Law on Intellectual Property and Point c, Clause 5, Article 44 of this Decree.

2. Information publicly announce in accordance with Clause 1 of this Article includes the name and technical field of the invention, industrial design, or topography that is the result of a scientific or technological task; the method of assignment; and the information access.

3. The organizations and individuals in need specified in Clause 1 of this Article may access details of the invention, industrial design, or topography that is the result of a scientific or technological task as specified in Clause 2 of this Article if they file written requests to the authority managing the scientific and technological task and commit to ensure the confidentiality and use the information for non-commercial purposes.

4. The organizations and individuals in need specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall file written requests for assignment of the right to register the invention, industrial design, or topography, made using Form No. 01 provided in Appendix III, to the authority managing the scientific and technological task.

5. The authority managing the scientific and technological task shall process requests for assignment of the registration right in accordance with the following regulations:

a) Examination of the satisfaction of the written requests. In the case where the written request is unsatisfactory, within a time limit of 05 working days from the date of receiving such written request, the authority managing the scientific and technological task shall send a written notice to the organization or individual and allow a time limit of 10 days from the date of the notice for the organization or individual to correct deficiencies;

b) Within a time limit of 07 working days from the end of the time limit for public announcement in accordance with Clause 1, Article 133a of the Law on Intellectual Property, the authority managing the scientific and technological task shall report to the state ownership representative for it to issue a decision to assign right to register the invention, industrial design, or topography to the eligible organization or individual;

c) In the case where multiple organizations and individuals requesting assignment of the right to register one invention, industrial design, or topography have satisfactory applications, the state ownership representative shall send written notices of intended assignment to such organizations and individuals for them to co-exercise the registration right and jointly file an application for such invention, industrial design, or topography and allow a time limit of 07 working days for the organizations and individuals to raise their concerns on the notice. After the time limit mentioned above, if relevant organizations and individuals dissent in writing from becoming the joint applicant or do not have any written response, within a time limit of 05 working days from the end of the time limit mentioned above, the state ownership representative shall issue a decision to assign the right to register the invention, industrial design, or topography to the organizations and individuals that consent to the notice of intended assignment in writing.

6. The assignee(s) of the registration right is obliged to file an application for establishing rights to the invention, industrial design, or topography within a time limit of 06 months after receiving the assignment decision specified in Clause 5 of this Article and perform other respective obligations of the presiding organization in accordance with the Law on Intellectual Property and this Decree.

7. After 90 days from the date of public announcement specified Clause 1 of this Article, if the registration right is not assigned to any organization or individual in need, the state ownership representative shall assign the authority managing the scientific and technological task to make public on its website/web portal the details of the invention, industrial design, or topography that is the result of a scientific or technological task for organizations and individuals to utilize and use it in accordance with the laws.

Article 46. Exercise of the industrial property rights and measures to protect inventions, industrial designs, and topographies that are results of scientific and technological tasks funded by state budget

1. To ensure the exercise of industrial property rights and efficient utilization of inventions, industrial designs, and topographies that are results of scientific and technological tasks funded by the state budget, the presiding organizations to which the protection titles of such subject matters are granted shall:

a) Take appropriate measures to protect industrial property rights to such subject matters, including the performance of necessary procedures for maintaining and renewing the protection titles of such subject matters;

b) Determine and adopt appropriate measures to commercially utilize them.

2. On an annual basis, the presiding organizations granted the protection titles of inventions, industrial designs, and topographies that are results of scientific and technological tasks funded by the state budget shall send reports to the authorities managing the scientific and technological tasks, each containing the following information:

a) The recent commercial utilization of inventions, industrial designs, and topographies and assessment of the efficiency thereof;

b) The total profits that the presiding organizations have received from the utilization, licensing, assignment, capital contribution by inventions, industrial designs, and topographies as well as the payment of remunerations to authors and the distribution of profits, enclosed with the independently audited financial statements of the presiding organizations;

c) Measures to protect the rights, which are currently implemented.

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

1. The reasonable period of time as mentioned at Point a Clause 3, Article 133a of the Law on Intellectual Property is 04 years from the date of patent application filing or 03 years from the date of grant of the invention patent; 03 years from the filing date of the application for registration of an industrial design or topography or 02 years from the date of grant of the industrial design patent, certificate of registration of semiconductor integrated circuit topography, whichever is later.

2. Authorities competent to approve scientific and technological tasks as specified in the law regulations on science and technology shall, at their discretion or upon request of other organizations and individuals, issue decisions to permit the use of inventions, industrial designs, and topographies that are results of scientific and technological tasks funded by the state budget in the cases specified in Clause 3, Article 133a of the Law on Intellectual Property based on consultation with the Ministry of Science and Technology.

3. Decisions specified in Clause 2 of this Article shall explicitly indicate the scope and conditions for use by other organizations and individuals, including:

a) Whether the right to use inventions, industrial designs, or topographies is exclusive or non-exclusive;

b) The use right may only be exercised within the scope and time limit enough to achieve the targets of the use permission;

c) Organizations and individuals permitted by competent authorities shall not transfer the rights to other entities.

Authorities competent to approve scientific and technological tasks shall send decisions on use permission to persons permitted to use inventions, industrial designs, and topographies, patent holders, and the state authority in charge of industrial property rights.

4. Any organization or individual requesting permission to use an invention, industrial design, or topography that is the result of a scientific or technological task funded by the state budget as specified in Clause 2 of this Article shall file a dossier to the authority competent to approve such scientific or technological task, which shall consist of the following documents:

a) A written request for permission to use an invention, industrial design, or topography that is the result of a scientific or technological task funded by the state budget, made using Form No. 02 provided in Appendix III to this Decree;

b) A document proving that the request for permission to use an invention, industrial design, or topography that is the result of a scientific or technological task funded by the state budget is justifiable.

5. The authority competent to approve the scientific or technological task shall process the dossiers in accordance with the following regulations:

a) Examine the satisfaction of the dossiers: In the case where the dossier is unsatisfactory, within a time limit of 05 working days from the date of receiving the application, the authority competent to approve the scientific or technological task shall send a written notice to the organization or individual and allow a time limit of 20 days from the date of the notice for the organization or individual to correct deficiencies;

b) Within a time limit of 07 working days from the date of receiving the satisfactory dossier, the authority competent to approve the scientific or technological task shall notify the patent holder of the request for permission to use the invention, industrial design, or topography and allow a time limit of 01 month from the date of the notice for the patent holder to provide written response, unless otherwise specified at Point b, Clause 3, Article 133a of the Law on Intellectual Property where the authority competent to approve the scientific or technological task shall not notify the patent holder.

c) After the time limit mentioned above, the authority competent to approve the scientific or technological task shall process the requests for use permission and concerns of the patent holder on the basis of the dossiers submitted and concerns raised by relevant parties. In the case where the request for permission to use the invention, industrial design, or topography is unjustifiable in accordance with Clause 3, Article 133a of the Law on Intellectual Property, the authority competent to approve the scientific or technological task shall issue a decision to refuse the request with reasons for such refusal explicitly indicated therein. In the case where the request is justifiable, the authority competent to approve the scientific or technological task shall issue a decision to permit the use thereof.

6. The patent holder may request the termination of use permission when the grounds specified in Clause 3, Article 133a of the Law on Intellectual Property no longer exist and are unlikely to reappear. The request for the termination of use permission shall be made in writing and sent to the authority competent to approve the scientific or technological task enclosed with supporting documents.

CHAPTER IV. CLASSIFIED INVENTIONS

Article 48. Classified patent applications

1. A classified patent application shall be filed in paper form to the state authority in charge of industrial property rights in accordance with Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 89 of the Law on Intellectual Property.

2. A classified patent application shall consist of the following documents:

a) Documents specified in Article 100 of the Law on Intellectual Property sealed as confidential in accordance with law regulations on protection of state secrets (other than fee/charge receipts);

b) Documents proving that the subject matter in the application is a state secret in accordance with law regulations on protection of state secrets.

3. The classified patent application shall be accepted if it consists of at least the mandatory information and documents specified in Clause 1, Article 108 of the Law on Intellectual Property and Point b, Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 49. Procedures in relation to classified inventions

1. Procedures for processing classified patent applications and granting protection titles of classified inventions, maintaining, modifying, terminating, and invalidating protection titles of classified inventions shall comply with the respective regulations of the Law on Intellectual Property and its guiding documents regarding patent applications, unless otherwise specified in Clauses 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this Article.

2. An classified patent application shall undergo substantive examination within a time limit of 18 months from the date on which the application is duly accepted if the request for substantive examination is filed before the date on which the application is duly accepted or from the date of receiving the request for substantive examination if such request is filed after the date on which the application is duly accepted.

3. Any written concern of a third party or objection shall be considered as a source of information for the processing of the classified patent application. In the case where it is not possible to determine whether the information or the disclosure of information in documents specified in this Clause is compliant with law regulations on protection of state secrets or not, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security to determine the compliance of the disclosure of information in documents specified in this Clause with the law regulations on protection of state secrets.

4. Complaint procedures specified in Article 119a of the Law on Intellectual Property shall not be applicable to decisions or notices with respect to classified patent applications and other applications related to classified inventions.

5. Classified patent applications and classified patents shall not be published on the Industrial Property Gazette.

Article 50. Processing of declassified patent applications and patents

1. Classified patent applications and classified patents shall be declassified in accordance with Article 22 of the Law on Protection of State Secrets.

2. In the case where there are clear grounds indicating that the invention in the classified patent application or the invention protected under the protection title is not compliant with Clause 1, Article 2 of the Law on Protection of State Secrets, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a notice requesting the applicant to re-determine whether such invention is a state secret or not in accordance with law regulations on protection of state secrets and allow a time limit of 03 months from the date of the notice for the applicant to have response on this matter.

3. Regarding cases of declassification specified in Clause 1 of this Article, authorities and organizations competent to conduct declassification in accordance with law regulations on protection of state secrets shall send notices of such declassification to the state authority in charge of industrial property rights, applicants, and holders of invention protection titles.

4. Any patent application that is declassified in accordance with Clause 1 of this Article or confirmed to not be a state secret by the applicant in accordance with Clause 2 of this Article shall have a filing date similar to that of the classified patent application and continue to be processed under the Law on Intellectual Property regarding patent applications.

5. Any patent that is declassified in accordance with Clause 1 of this Article or confirmed to not be a state secret by the applicant in accordance with Clause 2 of this Article shall have a grant date similar to that of the classified patent and relevant procedures shall be performed under the Law on Intellectual Property regarding protection titles.

6. In the case where they are declassified, the classified patent application and classified patent/utility solution patent shall be published on the Industrial Property Gazette within a time limit of 03 months from the date of declassification.

Article 51. Registration of classified inventions abroad

Classified patent applications shall be filed abroad in accordance with law regulations on protection of state secrets.

Article 52. Management of the use of classified inventions

Classified inventions protected in accordance with Article 123 of the Law on Intellectual Property shall be used in accordance with law regulations on protection of state secrets.

CHAPTER V. INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHT ASSIGNMENT

Article 53. Compensation for the right to use inventions licensed under compulsory decisions

1. Compensation for the right to use an invention licensed under a compulsory decision as specified at Point d, Clause 1, Article 146 of the Law on Intellectual Property shall be calculated by the economic value of the licensed rights in consideration of the following factors:

a) Price of the licensing of the right to use the invention under contract;

b) Investment in the creation of the invention, taking into account the funding from the state budget (if any);

c) Profits from the use of the invention;

d) Remaining validity period of the protection title;

dd) Necessity level of the licensing of the invention;

e) Scope and time limit of licensing;

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

2. Compensation for the right to use any invention licensed under a compulsory decision in the case where the licensee and the patent holder cannot reach an agreement thereon shall not exceed 5% of the net selling price of the product produced using the invention, provided that the principle specified in Clause 1 of this Article is followed.

3. If deemed necessary, the authority competent to issue decisions on compulsory patent licensing may establish a council to determine the compensation in accordance with the laws.

Article 54. Rights to request for issuance of decisions on compulsory patent licensing

Organizations and individuals that have the capability, tasks, or needs to use inventions as specified at Points a, b, c, and dd or are subject to anti-competitive actions as specified at Point d, Clause 1, Article 145 of the Law on Intellectual Property may request the competent person specified in Clause 1, Article 147 of the Law on Intellectual Property to issue decisions on compulsory patent licensing in accordance with Article 55 and Article 56 of this Decree.

Article 55. Dossiers of request for issuance of decisions on compulsory patent licensing

1. A dossier of request for issuance of a decision on compulsory patent licensing shall consist of the following documents:

a) A written declaration requesting the compulsory patent licensing, made using Form No. 04 provided in Appendix I to this Decree;

b) Documents proving that the request for issuance of the decision on compulsory patent licensing is justifiable in accordance with the laws as specified in Clauses 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of this Article;

c) Power of attorney (in the case where the request is filed by a representative);

d) Copies of fee/charge receipts (in case of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the state authority in charge of carrying out such procedures);

2. In the case where the request for issuance of the decision on compulsory patent licensing is pursuant to Point a, Clause 1, Article 145 of the Law on Intellectual Property, the dossier shall consist of documents proving that, although there are practical needs to use the invention for public and non-commercial purposes or in service of national defense, security, disease prevention and treatment and nutrition for the people or to meet other urgent social needs, the invention patent holder has not used the invention and such act will affect the achievement of such purposes.

3. In the case where the request for issuance of the decision on compulsory patent licensing is pursuant to Point b, Clause 1, Article 145 of the Law on Intellectual Property, the dossier shall consist of documents proving that the invention patent holder has not fulfilled the obligation to use the invention specified in Clause 1, Article 136 and Clause 5, Article 142 of the Law on Intellectual Property and, at the time the dossier is filed, the time limit of 04 years from the filing date of the respective patent application and the time limit of 03 years from the grant date of the invention patent end.

4. In the case where the request for issuance of the decision on compulsory patent licensing is pursuant to Point c, Clause 1, Article 145 of the Law on Intellectual Property, the dossier shall consist of documents proving that the person in need to use the invention fails to reach an agreement with the invention patent holder regarding the conclusion of the invention license contract after a reasonable period of negotiation with a reasonable price and commercial conditions, which must explicitly indicate the need to use the invention, the time spent on negotiating, the price and specific commercial conditions proposed by the person in need.

5. In the case where the request for issuance of the decision on compulsory patent licensing is pursuant to Point d, Clause 1, Article 145 of the Law on Intellectual Property, the dossier shall consist of documents proving that the invention patent holder has committed anti-competitive acts prohibited by the law regulations on competition.

6. In the case where the request for issuance of the decision on compulsory licensing of a semiconductor technology invention is pursuant to Point a and Point d, Clause 1, Article 145 and Point b, Clause 1, Article 146 of the Law on Intellectual Property, the dossier shall consist of documents proving that the use of such invention is only for public or non-commercial purposes or the invention patent holder has committed anti-competitive acts prohibited by the law regulations on competition.

7. In the case where the request for issuance of the decision on compulsory patent licensing is pursuant to Point dd, Clause 1, Article 145 of the Law on Intellectual Property, the dossier shall consist of documents proving the use of the invention is to meet the needs for foreign pharmaceutical products for disease prevention and treatment eligible for importation in accordance with Article 31^bis of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.

Article 56. Procedures for processing dossiers of request for issuance of decisions on compulsory patent licensing

1. A dossier of request for issuance of a decision on compulsory patent licensing shall be filed in accordance with the following regulations:

a) Dossiers in the cases specified at Points b, c, and d, Clause 1, Article 145 of the Law on Intellectual Property shall be filed to the Ministry of Science and Technology;

b) Dossiers in the cases specified at Points a and dd, Clause 1, Article 145 of the Law on Intellectual Property shall be filed to ministries and ministerial-level agencies managing the fields of the inventions;

c) The Ministry of Science and Technology, ministries, and ministerial-level agencies shall designate an authority to receive and appraise dossiers specified in this Clause (hereinafter referred to as the “dossier-appraising agency”).

2. A dossier of request for issuance of a decision on compulsory patent licensing shall be appraised as follows:

Within a time limit of 02 months from the date of receiving the dossier, the dossier-appraising agency shall appraise the dossier in accordance with the following regulations:

a) In the case where the dossier is satisfactory, within a time limit of 20 days from the date of receiving the dossier, the dossier-appraising agency shall issue a notice of the request for licensing of the invention under a compulsory decision to the invention patent holder and request such holder to raise his/her concerns in writing within a time limit of 01 month from the date of the notice; request relevant parties to conduct re-negotiation to resolve disagreements and conclude the patent licensing contract, if necessary. In the case where the parties fail to reach an agreement and the refusal to conclude the patent licensing contract on the patent holder is deemed unreasonable, the considerations of the dossier shall be submitted, and the issuance of a decision on compulsory patent licensing shall be proposed, to the Minister of Science and Technology or the relevant minister or head of the relevant ministerial-level agency.

In the case where the request falls in any of the cases specified at Point a, Clause 1, Article 145 of the Law on Intellectual Property and the invention shall be used for public and non-commercial purposes, the relevant ministry or ministerial-level agency may issue a decision on compulsory patent licensing without the need to request the invention patent holder to raise concerns or to request the parties to negotiate.

b) In the case where the request for issuance of the decision on licensing of the invention is unjustifiable in accordance with Article 145 of the Law on Intellectual Property, the dossier-appraising agency shall report the considerations of the dossier to and request the Minister of Science and Technology or the relevant minister or head of the relevant ministerial-level agency to issue a notice of intended refusal, which explicitly indicates the reasons, and allow a time limit of 01 month from the date of the notice for the applicant to raise his/her concerns on the intended refusal.

The time for the applicant to correct deficiencies of the dossier or appeal shall not be included in the time limit for consideration of the dossier.

c) For dossiers in the cases specified at Point a and Point dd Clause 1, Article 145 of the Law on Intellectual Property, dossier-appraising agencies of ministries and ministerial-level agencies shall photocopy such dossiers and send such photocopies to the Ministry of Science and Technology (attention to the dossier-appraising agency of the Ministry of Science and Technology) for it to give comments thereon before submitting them to the ministers and heads of ministerial-level agencies for decision in accordance with Points a and b of this Clause.

Within a time limit of 20 days from the date of receiving the dossier, the dossier-appraising agency of the Ministry of Science and Technology shall consider the dossiers and report to the Minister of Science and Technology on sending its written comments to the relevant ministers or heads of relevant ministerial-level agencies and requesting them to issue decisions on compulsory patent licensing or notices of refusal.

3. Within a time limit of 20 days from the date of receiving the report on the considerations of the dossier from the dossier-appraising agency of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Minister of Science and Technology shall consider issuing a decision on compulsory patent licensing or send a notice of refusal of the request for compulsory patent licensing to the applicant, which explicitly indicates the reasons for such refusal.

Within a time limit of 20 days from the date of receiving the written request of the Minister of Science and Technology, the relevant minister or head of the relevant ministerial-level agency shall consider issuing a decision on compulsory patent licensing or send a notice of refusal of the request for compulsory patent licensing to the applicant, which explicitly indicates the reasons for such refusal.

In case of disagreement with the request of the Minister of Science and Technology, the relevant minister or head of the relevant ministerial-level agency shall send a written notice, which explicitly indicates the reasons.

4. The relevant minister or head of the relevant ministerial-level agency shall send the decision on compulsory patent licensing to the licensee, the invention patent holder, and the dossier-appraising agency of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The dossier-appraising agency of the Ministry of Science and Technology shall record such decision into the National Industrial Property Register within a time limit of 01 month and publish it on the Industrial Property Gazette within a time limit of 02 months from the date on which the decision is issued.

Article 57. Request for termination of licensing of inventions under compulsory decisions

1. The termination of licensing of an invention under a compulsory decision shall be decided by the Minister, head of the ministerial-level agency, or the decision-maker.

2. A request for the termination of licensing of an invention under a compulsory decision shall consist of the following documents:

a) A written request for termination of licensing of the invention under the compulsory decision;

b) Documents proving that the grounds leading to the licensing of the invention under a compulsory decision no longer exist and are unlikely to reappear and the termination of licensing of the invention does not cause any damage to the licensee under a compulsory decision;

c) Power of attorney (in the case where the request is filed by a representative);

d) Copies Decree/charge receipts (in case of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the application examination authority of the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam);

3. Procedures for receiving and processing requests for termination of licensing of inventions under compulsory decisions and issuing termination decisions shall be similar to those for receiving and processing dossiers of request for licensing of inventions under compulsory decisions specified in Article 55 of this Decree.

Article 58. Dossiers for registration of industrial property right assignment contracts

1. A dossier for registration of an industrial property right assignment contract shall be a set of the following documents:

a) Written declaration on registration of the industrial property right assignment contract, made using Form No. 01 provided in Appendix IV to this Decree;

b) 01 counterpart of the contract (the original or the copy certified in accordance with regulations). If the contract is made in a language other than Vietnamese, it must be enclosed with a Vietnamese translation. If the contract has multiple pages, each page must be signed off by the relevant parties or a seal shall be affixed on adjoining edges of the pages;

c) The original protection title in the case where it is granted as a paper printout;

d) Written agreements of co-owners on the industrial property right assignment in the case where the respective industrial property rights are jointly owned;

dd) Power of attorney (in the case where the request is filed by a representative);

e) Copies of fee/charge receipts (in case of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the state authority in charge of industrial property rights);

g) For a dossier for registration of a contract on assignment of a collective mark or certification mark, in addition to the foregoing, the following documents are also required:

g1) Regulations on the use of the collective mark or certification mark of the assignee in accordance with Article 105 of the Law on Intellectual Property;

g2) Documents proving the filing right of the assignee with respect to the certification mark or collective mark in accordance with Clause 3 and Clause 4, Article 87 of the Law on Intellectual Property.

In this case, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall re-examine the filing right and regulations on the use of the mark. Applicants shall pay application examination fees in addition to fees and charges for dossiers for registration of industrial property right assignment contracts in accordance with regulations.

2. An application dossier for registration of an industrial property subject matter licensing contract shall consist of the following documents:

a) A written declaration on registration of the industrial property subject matter licensing contract, made using Form No. 02 provided in Appendix IV to this Decree;

b) 02 counterparts of the contract (the original or the copies enclosed with the original for comparison unless the copies are certified in accordance with regulations). If the contract is made in a language other than Vietnamese, it must be enclosed with a Vietnamese translation. If the contract has multiple pages, each page must be signed off by the relevant parties or a seal shall be affixed on adjoining edges of the pages;

c) Written agreements of co-owners on licensing of the industrial property subject matter in the case where the respective industrial property rights are jointly owned;

d) Power of attorney (in the case where the request is filed by a representative);

dd) Copies of fee/charge receipts (in case of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the state authority in charge of industrial property rights).

3. Each dossier for registration of the industrial property right assignment contract shall be recorded for only one step of assignment. In the case where the industrial property subject matter is assigned through multiple steps, each step requires a separate dossier for registration of the industrial property right assignment contract.

Article 59. Procedures for processing of dossiers for registration of industrial property right assignment contracts

1. In the case where the dossier for registration of a contract on assignment of an industrial property subject matter does not have any deficiency as specified in Clause 3 of this Article, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall:

a) Issue a decision to record the industrial property right assignment (as for an industrial property right assignment contract) and a decision to grant a certificate of registration of the industrial property subject matter licensing contract (as for an industrial property subject matter licensing contract);

b) For an industrial property right assignment contract: Record the information into the protection title of the new holder; in case of assignment of a part of the list of goods and services bearing the protected mark, grant a certificate of registered mark to the assignee and limit such assignment on the list of goods and services in the original protection title;

c) For an industrial property subject matter licensing contract: Grant a certificate of registration of the industrial property subject matter licensing contract to the applicant; stamp the registration seal on 02 counterparts of the contract, of which 01 shall be sent to the applicant and the other shall be archived;

d) Record the industrial property right assignment into the National Industrial Property Register;

dd) Issue a decision to record the industrial property right assignment and a decision to grant a certificate of registration of the industrial property subject matter licensing contract on the Industrial Property Gazette within a time limit of 02 months from the date on which the decision is issued.

2. In the case where the dossier for registration of an industrial property right assignment contract has any deficiency specified in Clause 3 of this Article, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall:

a) Issue a notice of intended refusal of the contract registration, which explicitly indicates the deficiencies thereof, and allow a time limit of 02 months from the date of the notice for the applicant to correct the deficiencies or appeal against the intended refusal of the contract registration;

b) Issue a decision on the refusal of the contract registration if the applicant fails to correct the deficiencies or adopt unqualified corrections, fails to appeal or has unjustifiable appeal against the intended refusal of the contract registration within the set time limit.

3. A dossier for registration of an industrial property right assignment contract shall be deemed having deficiencies in one of the following cases:

a) The declaration is not satisfactory;

b) Any of the mandatory documents is lacking;

c) The power of attorney is not satisfactory;

d) Copies of the contract are not duly certified;

dd) The name or address of the assignor in the contract is not consistent with the respective information in the protection title or the contract that is the ground for the assignment, the power of attorney, or the declaration. The name or address of the assignee in the contract is not consistent with the respective information in the power of attorney or the declaration;

e) The contract is not fully signed (and sealed, if any) by the assignor and the assignee;

g) The assignor is not the holder of the protection title;

h) The industrial property subject matter is no longer protected under the protection title or it is subject to a dispute;

i) The assignment contract does not contain the respective mandatory information specified in Article 140 or Clause 1, Article 144 of the Law on Intellectual Property;

k) The contract is not compliant with regulations on conditions for limiting the industrial property right assignment specified in Article 139 of the Law on Intellectual Property or contains clauses unreasonably restricting the rights of the licensee of the industrial property subject matter as specified in Clause 2, Article 144 of the Law on Intellectual Property;

l) There are grounds confirming that the industrial property right assignment infringes upon the industrial property rights of a third party.

4. The time for processing of dossiers for registration of industrial property right assignment contracts is 02 months. The time for the applicant to correct deficiencies shall not be included in the time for processing the application.

5. After the dossier for registration of the industrial property right assignment contract has been filed to the state authority in charge of industrial property rights, if the relevant parties have any dispute over the contract, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall suspend the consideration of the dossier until the parties settle the dispute, and continue the process after the parties submit a document proving that the dispute has been settled in accordance with regulations.

6. Before the state authority in charge of industrial property rights grant any decision to record or refuse the registration of the industrial property right assignment contract, if one of the relevant parties wishes to withdraw the dossier for registration of the industrial property right assignment contract, there must be mutual consent of both parties to the withdrawal of the filed dossier, unless otherwise the dossier is withdrawn due to failure to correct deficiencies requested by the state authority in charge of industrial property rights.

Article 60. Limitations on mark assignment

1. The assignment of a mark specified in Clause 4, Article 139 of the Law on Intellectual Property shall be considered confusing the characteristics and origins of goods and services bearing such a mark in the following cases:

a) The assigned mark is identical or confusingly similar to the assignor’s other trademarks protected under the certificates of registered marks or mark international registrations;

b) A part of the goods and services bearing the assigned mark is similar to the part of the remaining goods and services on the list of goods and services owned by the assignor, and the use of such mark and part of goods and services of the assignee may potentially cause confusion over the commercial origin of goods and services (in the case where the scope of assignment cover a part of the list of goods and services);

c) The assigned mark contains elements that are signs confusing or misleading the customers about the origin, quality, value, etc., of the goods and services within the scope of assignment.

2. Rights to collective marks and certification marks shall only be assigned to organizations satisfying the conditions for organizations entitled the right to register such collective marks and certification marks.

Article 61. Recognition of modification, renewal, and termination prior to the expiration of industrial property subject matter licensing contracts

1. Modification, renewal, and termination prior to the expiration of a recorded industrial property subject matter licensing contract shall be recognized by the state authority in charge of industrial property rights in accordance with this Article.

2. Dossiers for recognition of modification, renewal, or termination prior to the expiration of the contracts shall be carried out as follows:

a) A dossier for the recognition of modification, renewal, or termination prior to the expiration of the industrial property subject matter licensing contract shall be made in writing and consist of the following documents:

a1) A written declaration requesting the recognition of modification, renewal, or termination prior to the expiration of the industrial property subject matter licensing contract, made using Form No. 03 provided in Appendix IV to this Decree;

a2) Original certificate of registration of the industrial property subject matter licensing contract (in case of registration of modification or renewal of the contract);

a3) Documents proving the changes of names and addresses of parties in the contract;

a4) Agreements and documents recording specific clauses that need to be amended in the contract, including the renewal or termination prior to the expiration of the contract;

a5) A power of attorney (in the case where the request is filed by a representative);

a6) Copies of fee/charge receipts (in case of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the state authority in charge of industrial property rights);

b) A dossier for contract renewal shall be filed within 01 month from the end of the contract term specified in the certificate of registration of the industrial property subject matter licensing contract.

3. Within a time limit of 01 month from the date of receiving the dossier for recognition of the modification, renewal, or termination prior to the expiration of the contract, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall consider the dossier in accordance with the following regulations:

a) In the case where the dossier is satisfactory, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a decision to record the modification, renewal, or termination prior to expiration of the industrial property subject matter licensing contract; record modification or renewal of the industrial property subject matter licensing contract into the certificate of registration of the industrial property subject matter licensing contract; record the modification, renewal, or termination prior to the expiration of the industrial property subject matter licensing contract into the National Industrial Property Register; publish the decision on the recognition of modification, renewal, or termination prior to the expiration of the industrial property subject matter licensing contract on the Industrial Property Gazette within a time limit of 02 months from the date on which such decision is issued;

b) In the case where the dossier has deficiencies, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a notice of intended refusal of the recognition of modification, renewal, or termination prior to the expiration of the industrial property subject matter licensing contract, which explicitly indicates the deficiencies of the dossier, and allow a time limit of 02 months from the date of the notice for the applicant to correct such deficiencies or appeal against the intended refusal of the contract registration.

After the set time limit, if the applicant fails to correct the deficiencies within the set time limit or adopts an unqualified correction, the state authority in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a decision to refuse the recognition of modification, renewal, or termination prior to the expiration of the industrial property subject matter licensing contract.

CHAPTER VI. INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY REPRESENTATION

Article 62. Programs on industrial property law training

1. The programs on industrial property law training must ensure that learners are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to apply industrial property laws in solving specific issues related to industrial property right protection with a minimum duration of 20 study units or 18 credits (of which, at least 40% of the duration is practical training, professional internship or graduation internship).

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

3. The Ministry of Science and Technology recognizes the industrial property law training courses specified at Point d, Clause 2 and Clause 2a, Article 155 of the Law on Intellectual Property which are taught according to the framework programs specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

4. An individual is considered to have graduated from an industrial property law training course specified at Point d, Clause 2 and Clause 2a, Article 155 of the Law on Intellectual Property if he/she graduates 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 in accordance with Clause 3 of this Article.

Article 63. Examination of industrial property representation profession

1. The examination of industrial property representation profession shall be conducted to assess the capability to apply industrial property laws in solving specific issues related to the establishment and protection of industrial property rights.

2. The state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall organize the examination of industrial property representation profession every 2 years. The plan on examination of industrial property representation profession must be published on its portal.

3. The examination results are notified to examination participants by the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights. The examination participants have the right to request the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights to review the examination results.

4. The examination result of an individual that satisfies the conditions specified at Point e, Clause 2, Article 155 of the Law on Intellectual Property shall have a validity of 05 years (from the date of notification of the examination results) for requesting the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights to grant an industrial property representation service-practicing certificate.

5. The Council for examination of industrial property representation profession established by the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall be responsible for organizing the examination of industrial property representation profession according to the Regulations on examination of industrial property representation profession issued by such agency.

6. An individual who fully satisfies the conditions specified at Points a through dd, Clause 2, Article 155 of the Law on Intellectual Property may register to participate in the examination of industrial property representation profession in accordance with Clause 7 of this Article.

7. A dossier of registration for participating in the examination shall be submitted to the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights and include 01 set of the following documents:

a) A declaration for participating in the examination, made using Form No. 01 provided in Appendix V to this Decree;

b) A copy of bachelor’s degree or equivalent diploma specified at Point c, Clause 2, Article 155 of the Law on Intellectual Property (the original is produced for comparison, unless the copy has been certified);

c) A copy of certificate of graduation from industrial property law training course recognized by the Ministry of Science and Technology specified in Article 62 of this Decree (the original is produced for comparison, unless the copy has been certified); or copies of the recruitment decision or labor contract and other documents (certified by the agency or organization where the applicant is working) that prove at least 05 years of experience directly working on appraisal of industrial property registration applications at a national or international agency on industrial property or working in the domain of industrial property law specified at Point d, Clause 2, Article 155 of the Law on Intellectual Property, including inspection, examination, procuracy, adjudication, legislation, legal consulting, and state management on industrial property; scientific research (with the title of researcher) and teaching about industrial property (the original is produced for comparison, unless the copy has been certified);

d) 02 photos sized 3×4 (cm);

dd) Copies of fee and charge receipts (in cases of payment of fees and charges via postal service or direct payment to the account of the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights).

8. A dossier of registration for participating in the examination shall be processed by the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights within 20 days after the receipt of the dossier under the following procedure:

a) In the case where the dossier is valid, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall notify the applicant of his/her eligibility to attend the examination, and of the expected time, location, and schedule of examination;

b) In the case where the dossier is invalid, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall notify the applicant of errors for correction, and set a time limit of 01 month after the grant of the notification for the correction of such errors by the applicant;

c) In the case where the applicant fails to correct errors or the correction of errors fails to meet the requirements, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a decision to refuse to accept the application of registration for examination, in which the reasons for refusal must be clearly stated.

Article 64. Grant, re-grant, and revocation of industrial property representation service-practicing certificates

1. An industrial property representation service-practicing certificate shall be granted as follows:

a) The state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall grant an industrial property representation service-practicing certificate to an individual who satisfies the conditions specified in Clauses 2 and 2a, Article 155 of the Law on Intellectual Property if he/she requests the grant and pays fees and charges as prescribed by the law provisions;

b) A dossier of request for grant of industrial property representation service-practicing certificate shall include 01 set of documents as follows:

b1) A declaration of request for grant of industrial property representation service-practicing certificate, made using Form No. 02 provided in Appendix V to this Decree;

b2) A copy of certificate of graduation from industrial property law training course and a copy of lawyer card in cases of applying for a practicing certificate as prescribed in Clause 2a, Article 155 of the Law on Intellectual Property (the original is produced for comparison, unless the copy has been certified);

b3) 02 photos sized 3×4 (cm);

b4) A copy of people identify card (the original is produced for comparison, unless the copy has been certified), except for the case where the declaration requesting for grant of industrial property representation service-practicing certificate includes information about citizen identity card number;

b5) Copies of fee and charge receipts (in cases of payment of fees and charges via postal service or direct payment to the account of the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights).

c) A dossier of request for grant of industrial property representation service-practicing certificate shall be processed by the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights within 01 month after the receipt of the dossier under the following procedure:

c1) In the case where the dossier is valid, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall grant an industrial property representation service-practicing certificate, clearly stating full name, date of birth, place of residence, people identity card number/citizen identity card number, certificate number and practicing domain of the certificate holder; record the grant of industrial property representation service-practicing certificate in the National Register of Industrial Property Representation and publish it in the Official Gazette of Industrial Property, and its portal within a period of 02 months after the decision is issued;

c2) In the case where the dossier is invalid, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall notify the applicant of errors for correction, and set a time limit of 01 month after the grant of the notification for the correction of such errors by the applicant;

c3) In the case where the applicant fails to correct errors or the correction of errors fails to meet the requirements, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a decision to refuse to grant an industrial property representation service-practicing certificate, in which the reasons for refusal must be clearly stated;

d) An industrial property representation service-practicing certificate shall be made using Form No. 03 provided in Appendix V to this Decree.

2. An industrial property representation service-practicing certificate shall be re-granted as follows:

a) In the following cases, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall re-grant an industrial property representation service-practicing certificate to the industrial property representative if he/she requests the grant and pays fees and charges as prescribed by the law provisions:

a1) The information in the industrial property representation service-practicing certificate specified at Point c1, Clause 1 of this Article has changed;

a2) The industrial property representation service-practicing certificate is lost, defective or damaged (torn, dirty, faded, etc.) to the point of being unusable;

a3) The eligibility for an industrial property representation service-practicing certificate is restored in cases of revocation of the mentioned certificate due to inability to meet the requirements prescribed in Clauses 2 and 2a, Article 155 of Intellectual Property Law.

b) A dossier of request for re-grant of industrial property representation service-practicing certificate, submitted to the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights, shall include a set of documents as follows:

b1) A declaration of request for re-grant of industrial property representation service-practicing certificate, made using Form No. 04 provided in Appendix V to this Decree;

b2) 02 photos sized 3×4 (cm);

b3) A copy of people identity card (the original is produced for comparison, unless the copy has been certified), except for the case where the declaration of request for re-grant of industrial property representation service-practicing certificate already includes information about citizen identity card number, for the cases specified at Point a1 of this Clause;

b4) Documents proving that the eligibility for an industrial property representation service-practicing certificate is restored, for the cases specified at Point a3 of this Clause;

b5) Copies of fee and charge receipts (in case of payment of fees and charges via postal service or direct payment to the account of the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights).

c) A dossier of request for re-grant of industrial property representation service-practicing certificate shall be processed by the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights within 20 days after the receipt of the dossier under the procedure as applicable to the grant of industrial property representation service-practicing certificate specified at Point c, Clause 1 of this Article.

d) If an industrial property representation service-practicing certificate is defective due to the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights, this agency shall be responsible for re-granting the industrial property representation service-practicing certificate within 05 working days after the receipt of the request from the certificate holder; the re-grant of the certificate charges no fee.

3. An industrial property representation service-practicing certificate shall be revoked as follows:

a) The state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall revoke an industrial property representation service-practicing certificate in the following cases:

a1) The person who has been granted an industrial property representation service-practicing certificate no longer meets the requirements specified in Clauses 2 and 2a, Article 155 of the Law on Intellectual Property;

a2) The person who has been granted an industrial property representation service-practicing certificate has his/her practicing certificate revoked under a decision of a competent state agency under Clause 4, Article 156 of the Law on Intellectual Property;

b) The state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall, proactively or at the request of an organization or individual, revoke the industrial property representation service-practicing certificate if there are grounds to confirm that the certificate holder falls into the cases specified at Point a of this Clause;

c) Any organization or individual requesting for revocation of an industrial property representation service-practicing certificate must submit a set of documents as follows:

c1) An application for revocation of the industrial property representation service-practicing certificate;

c2) Documents proving grounds for revocation of the industrial property representation service-practicing certificate.

d) The revocation of an industrial property representation service-practicing certificate shall be carried out under the following procedure:

d1) In the case where an organization or individual requests the revocation of the industrial property representation service-practicing certificate according to Point c of this Clause, within 01 month from the date of receipt of the request, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall provide a written notification of such a request for the certificate holder and set a time limit of 01 month from the notification date for the certificate holder to provide any suggestion. The state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall, based on the suggestions of concerned parties, issue a decision to revoke the practicing certificate or refuse the revocation of the practicing certificate and send it to the concerned parties;

d2) In the case where there are grounds confirming that the certificate holder no longer satisfies the requirements specified in Clause 2 and Clause 2a, Article 155 of the Law on Intellectual Property, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a written notification of the intended revocation of the industrial property representation service-practicing certificate to the certificate holder and set a time limit of 01 month from the notification date for the certificate holder to provide any suggestion. The state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall, based on the suggestions of the certificate holder, issue a decision to revoke the practicing certificate or not to revoke the practicing certificate for the grantee;

d3) In the case where a competent agency has issued a decision to revoke an industrial property representation service-practicing certificate, within 01 month from the receipt date of the mentioned decision, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a decision to revoke the industrial property representation service-practicing certificate;

d4) The state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall record the decision on the revocation of the industrial property representation service-practicing certificate in the National Register of Industrial Property Representation and publish it in the Official Gazette of Industrial Property within a period of 02 months after the decision is issued.

Article 65. Recording and removal of names of industrial property representatives

1. The recording of an organization qualified to provide industrial property representation services shall be carried out as follows:

a) An organization that satisfies all the conditions specified in Article 154 of the Law on Intellectual Property shall be recorded by the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights as an industrial property representative service provider in the National Register of Industrial Property Representation and published in the Official Gazette of Industrial Property if the organization requests the recording and pay fees and charges as prescribed by the law provisions.

Branches and other affiliated units of the organizations that satisfy the conditions specified in Article 154 of the Law on Intellectual Property are only allowed to provide industrial property representation services in the name of their managing organization.

b) A dossier of request for the recording of an industrial property representative service provider in the National Register of Industrial Property Representation, submitted to the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights by an organization satisfying the requirements prescribed in Article 154 of the Law on Intellectual Property, shall include a set of the following documents:

b1) A declaration of request for the recording of the industrial property representative provider, made using Form No. 05 provided in Appendix V to this Decree, which adequately specifies the information on the organization and the information on the authorized industrial property representative;

b2) A copy of the recruitment decision or labor contract of the organization with the industrial property representation service-practicing certificate holder (the original shall be produced for comparison, unless the copy has been certified);

b3) Copies of fee and charge receipts (in cases of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights).

c) Within 20 days from the receipt date of the dossier of request for the recording of the industrial property representative service provider, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall assess the dossier in the same procedure as applicable for grant of the industrial property representation service-practicing certificate specified at Point c, Clause 1, Article 64 of this Decree.

2. The recording of industrial property representatives shall be carried out as follows:

a) An individual eligible for practicing industrial property services may request the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights to record it as the industrial property representative in the National Register of Industrial Property Representation and publish it in the Official Gazette of Industrial Property in accordance with Clause 1, Article 156 of the Law on Intellectual Property and this Clause, and must pay fees and charges as prescribed by the law provisions.

b) A dossier of request for the recording of an industrial property representative to the National Register of Industrial Property Representation, submitted to the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights by an individual satisfying the requirements prescribed in Article 155 of the Law on Intellectual Property, shall include a set of the following documents:

b1) A declaration of request for the recording of the industrial property representative, made using Form No. 06 provided in Appendix V to this Decree, which adequately specifies the information on the individual and the information on the industrial property representative service provider where the individual works;

b2) A copy of the recruitment decision or labor contract of the industrial property representation service provider with the individual (the original shall be produced for comparison, unless the copy has been certified);

b3) Copies of fee and charge receipts (in cases of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights).

c) Within 20 days from the receipt date of the dossier of request for the recording of the industrial property representative, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall assess the dossier under the same procedure as applicable for grant of the industrial property representation service-practicing certificate specified at Point c, Clause 1, Article 64 of this Decree.

3. The recording of changes to the information of industrial property representative service providers shall be carried out as follows:

a) The industrial property representative service provider may request the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights to record the changes concerning the information recorded in the National Register of Industrial Property Representation (including the full name, transaction name, abbreviated name, and address of the organization, business field of industrial property representative services, full name and certificate number of the industrial property representative in the organization) in accordance with this Point and shall pay the fees and charges as prescribed by the law provisions.

b) A dossier of request for the recording of changes to the information of the industrial property representative service provider, submitted to the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights, shall include the following documents:

b1) A declaration of request for the recording of changes to the information of the industrial property representative service provider, made using Form No. 07 provided in Appendix V to this Decree;

b2) Copies of the amended business registration certificate or amended certificate of operation registration in the case of changing the name and address (the original shall be produced for comparison, unless the copies have been certified), excluding the case where the enterprise identification number is declared in the declaration of request for the recording of changes to the industrial property representative service provider;

b3) Copies of fee and charge receipts (in cases of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights).

c) Within 20 days from the receipt date of the dossier of request for the recording of changes to the information of the industrial property representative service provider, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall assess the dossier under the same procedure as applicable for grant of the industrial property representation service-practicing certificate specified at Point c, Clause 1, Article 64 of this Decree.

4. The removal of the names of industrial property representation service provider shall be carried out as follows:

a) The industrial property representation service provider shall perform the procedure for removing its name from the National Register of Industrial Property Representation at the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights in the following cases:

a1) The industrial property representation service provider abandons or terminates the business of industrial property representation services;

a2) The industrial property representation service provider no longer satisfies the requirements specified in Article 154 of the Law on Intellectual Property;

b) A dossier of request for the removal of the name of the industrial property representation service provider, submitted to the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights, shall include the following documents:

b1) A declaration of request for the removal of the name of the industrial property representation service provider, made using Form No. 08 provided in Appendix V to this Decree;

b2) Documents proving that the organization is no longer eligible for engaging in industrial property representation services;

b3) Copies of fee and charge receipts (in cases of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights).

c) Within 20 days from the receipt date of the dossier of request for the removal of the name of the industrial property representation service provider, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall assess the dossier under the same procedure as applicable for grant of the industrial property representation service-practicing certificate specified at Point c, Clause 1, Article 64 of this Decree.

5. The removal of the names of industrial property representatives shall be carried out as follows:

a) The industrial property representative shall perform the procedure for removing its name from the National Register of Industrial Property Representation at the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights when he/she no longer satisfies the practicing conditions specified at Point b, Clause 1, Article 155 of the Law on Intellectual Property.

b) A dossier of request for the removal of the name of the industrial property representative, submitted to the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights, shall include the following documents:

b1) A declaration of request for the removal of the name of the industrial property representative, made using Form No. 09 provided in Appendix V to this Decree;

b2) Documents proving that the industrial property representation service-practicing certificate holder no longer satisfies the practicing conditions specified at Point b, Clause 1, Article 155 of the Law on Intellectual Property (decision on termination of the labor contract or other documents);

b3) Copies of fee and charge receipts (in cases of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights);

c) Within 20 days from the receipt date of the dossier of request the removal of the name of the industrial property representative, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall assess the dossier under the same procedure as applicable for grant of the industrial property representation service-practicing certificate specified at Point c, Clause 1, Article 64 of this Decree.

CHAPTER VII. MEASURES TO PROMOTE INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY

Article 66. Training and advanced training for industrial property personnel

1. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall detail the contents and programs of training and advanced training on industrial property.

2. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with relevant ministries and branches in, organizing advanced training on industrial property for those engaged in state management, appraisal, inspection, and handling of violations and infringements of industrial property.

Article 67. Assurance of industrial property information

1. The industrial property information system includes a collection of information concerning all of the subject matters of industrial property protected in Vietnam, information sorted for specific purposes or themes of foreign subject matters of industrial property categorized and arranged appropriately and conveniently for search (lookup), distribution, and use.

2. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall be responsible for developing and managing industrial property information storages and developing tools to classify, search, guide the search and use of the domestic and foreign industrial property information; organizing the supply of information adequately, promptly, and accurately to ensure the access to information storages for any subject that wishes to use such information for the establishment and protection of industrial property rights, research, development, and business; managing and carrying out the sharing, connection, utilization, international cooperation, and other operations concerning the national database on industrial property.

Article 68. Extension of the use scope of inventions, industrial designs, and topographies of the State

1. With regard to inventions, industrial designs, and topographies owned by the State, in case the capacity for using them of the owner of the protection title fails to meet the social demand, other organizations of the State may request the owner of the protection title to transfer the rights to use such inventions, industrial designs, or topographies with the following requirements:

a) Rights to use inventions, industrial designs, or topographies to be transferred are non-exclusive and forbidden from transferring to another person;

b) The use scope of inventions, industrial designs, or topographies of the receiving party shall not affect the capacity for using such inventions, industrial designs, or topographies to the fullest extent of the owner of the protection title;

c) In cases where the inventions, industrial designs, or topographies are used for non-commercial purposes, the price for transferring the rights that the receiving party must pay the owner of the protection title shall be 50% of the amount that a non-state receiving party must pay for the receipt of rights to use such inventions, industrial designs, or topographies with other equivalent conditions.

2. The transfer of rights to use inventions, industrial designs, or topographies of the State to state organizations specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall not affect the rights of the owner of the protection title in the transfer of rights to use the mentioned subjects to non-state organizations.

Article 69. Encouragement of industrial property activities of social organizations and socio-professional organizations

Social organizations and socio-vocational organizations operating in the domain of industrial property are entitled to enjoy favorable conditions for performing social consulting and criticism functions on industrial property and intensified non-public social services to adequately promote the support for the operations of state agencies and holders of industrial property rights.

Article 70. Other measures to encourage creative activities

The State shall encourage and support technological creative activities by:

1. Sponsoring technical creative competitions.

2. Commending and disseminating experience, creative measures, and advanced examples of creative labor.

3. Supporting the establishment and protection of industrial property rights regarding the results of creative activities.

PART FOUR. PROTECTION OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND RIGHTS TO PLANT VARIETIES

CHAPTER I. DETERMINATION OF ACTS, NATURE AND LEVEL OF INFRINGEMENT, AND DETERMINATION OF DAMAGES

SECTION 1. GROUNDS TO DETERMINE ACTS, NATURE, AND LEVEL OF INFRINGEMENT

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

Acts of infringement may, based on the nature and level, be handled by civil, administrative, and criminal measures according to Part Five (Protection of Industrial Property Rights) of the Law on Intellectual Property and the following regulations:

1. Civil measures shall be applied to handle any act of infringement at the request of the holder of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties or the organization or individual with damage caused by the infringement, even if such an act has been or is being handled by administrative or criminal measures.

The procedure for requesting the application of civil measures and the competence and procedure for applying civil measures shall comply with civil procedure laws.

2. Administrative measures shall be applied to handle any act of infringement that falls into one of the cases prescribed in Article 211 of the Law on Intellectual Property at the request of the holder of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties, the organization or individual with damage caused by such acts, or a competent agency.

Forms, fines, competence, and procedure for fining acts of infringement and measures to remedy the consequences shall comply with the Law on Intellectual Property and administrative handling laws concerning industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties.

3. Criminal measures shall be applied to handle any act of infringement if such an act has sufficient elements to constitute a crime in accordance with the Criminal Code.

The competence and procedure for applying criminal measures shall comply with criminal procedure laws.

Article 72. Determination of acts of infringement

Acts are considered infringements on industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties specified in Articles 126, 127, 129, and 188 of the Law on Intellectual Property when the following grounds are found:

1. The subject matters under review falls into the scope of subjects under protection;

2. There are infringing elements in the subject matters under review;

3. The person who commits the act that is under review is not the holder of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties and is not a person permitted by laws or a competent agency as specified in Clause 2 and Clause 3 Article 125, Article 133, Clause 3 Article 133a, Article 134, Clause 2 Article 137, Article 145, Article 190, and Article 195 of the Law on Intellectual Property;

4. The act under review takes place in Vietnam. The act will also be considered to take place in Vietnam if it occurs on the Internet and is carried out on an information website under a Vietnamese domain name or with the display language of Vietnamese or aims at consumers or information users in Vietnam.

Article 73. Grounds for determining subjects of protection

1. The determination of subjects of protection shall be performed by assessing documents and evidence proving the arising grounds and establishment of rights in accordance with Article 6 of the Law on Intellectual Property.

2. With regard to industrial property rights registered at competent agencies, the subjects of protection shall be identified according to the certificates of registration confirmation, protection titles, and documents enclosed with such certificates of registration confirmation and protection titles.

3. With regard to trade names, the subjects of protection shall be identified based on the use progress, fields, and territories using such trade names.

4. With regard to business secrets, the subjects of protection shall be identified based on documents showing the contents and nature of the business secrets, and explanation and description of the corresponding security measures.

5. With regard to famous marks, the subjects of protection shall be identified based on documents and evidence that the marks are used widely to achieve their fame according to the criteria specified in Article 75 of the Law on Intellectual Property.

6. With regard to geographical indications protected under international treaties, the subjects of protection shall be identified according to international treaties or the National Register of Industrial Property Representation.

7. Rights to plant varieties shall be determined according to plant variety protection titles issued by competent agencies.

Article 74. Elements of infringement on invention ownership

1. Elements of infringement on rights to inventions may be in one of the following forms:

a) A product or any part of the product is identical or similar to a product or any part of the product under the scope of invention protection;

b) A procedure is identical or similar to a procedure under the scope of invention protection;

c) A product or any part of the product is produced under a procedure identical or similar to a procedure under the scope of invention protection.

2. The ground to determine elements of infringement on rights to inventions is the scope of invention protection determined according to the invention patents, utility solution patents, or excerpts from the National Register of Industrial Property Representation.

Article 75. Elements of infringement on rights to topographies

1. Elements of infringement on rights to topographies may be in one of the following forms:

a) A topography is created from an illegal copy of a protected topography;

b) A semiconductor integrated circuit is created illegally following a protected topography;

c) A product or any part of the product with a semiconductor integrated circuit specified at Point b of this Clause.

2. The ground to determine elements of infringement on rights to topographies is the scope of protection of rights to topographies determined according to certificates of registration of semiconductor integrated circuit or excerpts from the National Register of Industrial Property Representation.

Article 76. Elements of infringement on rights to industrial designs

1. Elements of infringement on rights to industrial designs refer to when a product or any part for assembly into a complex product whose external appearance does not differ significantly from the protected industrial design.

2. The ground to determine elements of infringement on rights to industrial property is the scope of protection of industrial designs determined according to the industrial design patents, decisions on acceptance of the protection of industrial designs internationally registered, or excerpts from the National Register of Industrial Property Representation.

3. A product or any part for assembly into a complex product whose appearance is considered to not differ significantly from a protected industrial design if it falls into one of the following cases:

a) The product or any part for assembly into the complex product, including cases where an industrial design patent has been granted, is considered to have an external appearance that is a combination of design features that forms a whole that is a copy or essentially a copy (almost indistinguishable of the difference) of another person’s protected industrial design;

b) The product or any part for assembly into the complex product is considered to have an external appearance that is a combination of design features that forms a whole that is a copy or essentially a copy of an industrial design of at least one product in the protected set of products of another person.

Article 77. Elements of infringement on rights to marks

1. Elements of infringement on rights to marks refer to signs attached to goods, goods packaging, means of services, transaction documents, signs, advertising means, and other means of businesses that are identical or similar to the point of confusion over the protected marks.

2. The ground to assess elements of infringement on rights to marks is the scope of protection of marks, including mark samples and lists of goods and services determined in the certificates of mark registration, confirmation certificates of internationally registered marks protected in Vietnam, or excerpts from the National Register of Industrial Property Representation or determined via the assessment of evidence proving the famous marks in accordance with Article 75 of the Law on Intellectual Property.

3. In order to determine if a suspicious sign is an element of infringement on rights to a mark, it is necessary to compare such a sign to the related mark while comparing the goods and services bearing that sign to the goods and services under the protection scope. An element of infringement may only be confirmed when the following requirements are met:

a) The suspicious sign is identical or similar to the point of confusion over the mark under the scope of protection. Specifically, a sign is considered identical to a protected mark if it has the same structure and presentation or similar to the point of confusion over a mark under the protection scope if there are several components completely identical to or similar to the point that they cannot be easily distinguished from each other in terms of structure, pronunciation, transcription, meanings, presentation, or colors regarding a visible sign and melody or tone regarding a sound sign and the use of the sign can potentially cause confusion over the goods and services bearing the mark for consumers;

b) Goods and services that bear the suspicious sign are identical or similar to the goods and services under the protection scope if they are identical or similar in terms of nature or functions and uses and have the same consumption channel or have connections with each other in terms of nature, functions, or implementation methods.

4. With regard to famous marks, suspicious signs are considered elements of infringement if:

a) The suspicious signs meet the requirements specified at Point a Clause 3 of this Article;

b) Goods or services that bear the suspicious sign and meet the conditions specified at Point b, Clause 3 of this Article or goods or services that are not identical, not similar, or not related to goods or services bearing the famous marks but is likely to confuse consumers about the origin of goods or services or give a false impression about the relationship between the producer or trader of that product or service and the famous mark owner.

Article 78. Elements of infringement on rights to geographical indications

1. Elements of infringement on rights to geographical indications displayed in the form of signs attached to goods, goods packaging, means of services, transaction documents, signs, advertising means, and other means of businesses that are identical or similar to the point of confusion with the protected geographical indications.

2. The ground to assess elements of infringement on rights to geographical indications is the scope of protection of geographical indications determined according to certificates of registration of geographical indications, international treaties that have contents of recognition and protection of geographical indications, or excerpts from the National Register of Industrial Property Representation.

3. In order to determine if a suspicious sign is an element of infringement on rights to a protected geographical indication, it is necessary to compare such a sign to the related geographical indication while comparing the product bearing that sign to the product with the protected geographical indication based on the following grounds:

a) The suspicious sign is identical or similar to the point of confusion over the protected geographical indication. Specifically, a sign is considered identical to a protected geographical indication if it has the same wording structure, including pronunciation and transcription of letters, meanings, or images and symbols under the scope of protection of the geographical indication. A sign is considered similar to the point of confusion over the protected geographical indication if it is similar in terms of wording structure, including pronunciation and transcription of letters, meanings, or images and symbols under the scope of protection of the geographical indication and misleads consumers that the product bearing the suspicious sign originates from a protected geographical area;

b) The product bearing the suspicious sign is identical or similar to the product bearing the protected geographical indication in terms of nature, functions, uses, and consumption channel;

c) With regard to wines and brandies, aside from the regulations specified at Point a and Point b of this Clause, signs that are identical with protected geographical indications, even if they are presented in the form of definition, transcription, or words indicating types, styles, forms, or equivalences used for products not originating from geographical areas with protected geographical indications are also considered elements of infringement on rights to geographical indications.

Article 79. Elements of infringement on rights to trade names

1. Elements of infringement on rights to trade names displayed in the form of commercial indications attached to goods, goods packaging, means of services, transaction documents, signs, advertising means, and other means of businesses that are identical or similar to the point of confusion with the protected trade names.

2. The ground to assess elements of infringement on rights to trade names is the scope of protection of trade names determined according to evidence demonstrating the legal use of such trade names provided by the trade name owner, in which the business entity, establishment, activities, business field and business area and the process of using the trade name must be clearly identified.

3. In order to determine if a suspicious sign is an element of infringement on rights to a trade name, it is necessary to compare such a sign to the protected trade name, the subject of the business, the business facility, and the business operation related to the suspicious sign, and the goods and services bearing such a sign to the goods and services of the protected trade name based on the following grounds:

a) The suspicious sign is identical or similar to the point of confusion over the protected trade name. Specifically, a sign is considered identical to a protected trade name if they are identical in terms of wording structure, including pronunciation and transcription of the trade name. A sign is considered similar to a protected trade name if they are similar in terms of structure, pronunciation, and transcription of the trade name, confusing the consumers over the subject of business, business facility, and business operation under the protected trade name;

b) Goods and services that bear the suspicious sign are considered identical or similar to goods and services bearing the protected trade name if they are identical or similar in terms of nature or functions and uses and have the same consumption channel, or have connections with each other in terms of nature, functions, or implementation methods.

Article 80. Elements of infringement on rights to plant varieties

1. Elements of infringement on rights to plant varieties considered to constitute acts of infringement are as follows:

a) Plant propagation materials, intact seedlings, harvested products, or any material that can potentially grow into the complete seedlings of protected plant varieties;

b) Names of plants or characters that are similar to the point of confusion over the display on goods, goods packaging, means of services, transaction documents, signs, advertising means, and other means of businesses or the names of the protected plant varieties;

c) Machinery, equipment, storage, preservation, transport vehicles, or other equipment serving the processing and storage of seeds, plant propagation materials, and harvested materials for making seeds of protected plant varieties.

2. The ground to determine elements of infringement on rights to plant varieties is the scope of unexpired plant variety protection titles.

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

1. The nature of infringement specified in Clause 1, Article 199 of the Law on Intellectual Property shall be determined based on the following grounds:

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

b) Methods of infringement: independent infringement, organized infringement, self-perpetuated acts of infringement, and acts of bribing, deceiving, or forcing others to commit acts of infringement.

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

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

b) Impacts and consequences of the infringement.

SECTION 2. DETERMINATION OF DAMAGES

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

1. Damage caused by infringement on industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties specified in Article 204 of the Law on Intellectual Property means the actual physical and spiritual loss caused by acts of infringement directly to the right holders.

2. Actual losses occur if there are all the following grounds:

a) Physical or spiritual benefits are real and belong to the aggrieved person;

b) The aggrieved person can potentially gain the benefits specified at Point a of this Clause;

c) There is a reduction or loss of benefits for the aggrieved person after the occurrence of the infringement compared to the potential gain of such benefits when the infringement does not occur, and such infringement is the main source that causes such reduction or loss.

3. The level of damage shall be determined in conformity with the elements of infringement on rights for subjects of industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties. The determination of damage levels shall be based on evidence of the damage provided by concerned parties, including the results of the request for damage identification and table of damage with elaboration on grounds to identify and calculate the damage.

Article 83. Loss of assets

1. Loss of assets shall be determined based on the level of deterioration or loss of value in money of the subject of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties under protection.

2. The value in money of the subject of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall be determined by one or more of the following grounds:

a) Price for the transfer of the ownership or price for the transfer of rights to use the subject of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties;

b) Value of business capital contribution by industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties;

c) Value of industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties in the total assets of the enterprise;

d) Value of investment in the creation and development of the subject of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties, including costs of marketing, research, advertising, labor, taxes, and other costs.

Article 84. Spiritual loss

Damage to the honor, dignity, reputation, fame, and other spiritual losses caused to the author of inventions, industrial designs, layout designs, and plant varieties in accordance with the Law on Intellectual Property refers to when the moral rights of the mentioned subjects are infringed on, making the author suffer from damage to the honor and dignity or decrease or loss of credibility (prestige), reputation, and trust due to misunderstanding.

Article 85. Decrease of incomes and profits

1. Incomes and profits specified at Point a, Clause 1, Article 204 of the Law on Intellectual Property include:

a) Incomes and profits from direct use or utilization of subjects of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties;

b) Incomes and profits from leases on subjects of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties;

c) Incomes and profits from the transfer of rights to use subjects of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties.

2. Decrease of incomes and benefits shall be determined following one or more of the following grounds:

a) Direct comparison of the actual level of income and profit before and after the infringement, corresponding to each type of income specified in Clause 1 of this Article;

b) Comparison of the output, quantity of actual products, goods, and services consumed or the supply of the mentioned subjects before and after the occurrence of the violations;

c) Comparison of the actual market sale prices of the products, goods, or services before and after the occurrence of the violations.

Article 86. Loss of business opportunities

1. Business opportunities specified at Point a, Clause 1, Article 204 of the Law on Intellectual Property include:

a) The actual capacity for directly using or utilizing subjects of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties in business;

b) The actual capacity for leasing subjects of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties;

c) The actual capacity for transferring rights to use subjects of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties or transferring subjects of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties;

d) Loss of other business opportunities caused by acts of direct infringement.

2. Loss of business opportunities means the damage to the value in money of the income that is supposed to belong to the aggrieved person when performing the capacities specified in Clause 1 of this Clause if the related act of infringement does not occur.

Article 87. Reasonable expenses for damage prevention and remedy

Reasonable expenses for damage prevention and remedy specified at Point a, Clause 1, Article 204 of the Law on Intellectual Property include the expenses for temporary detention, preservation, and storage of infringing goods, expenses for the implementation of temporary emergency measures, reasonable expenses for hiring lawyers, assessment services, and preventing and remedying acts of infringement, and expenses for notification and rectification on mass media concerning acts of infringement.

CHAPTER II. REQUESTS AND PROCESSING OF REQUESTS FOR HANDLING OF ACTS OF INFRINGEMENT

Article 88. Exercising rights to self-protection

1. Organizations and individuals shall exercise rights to self-protection specified in Article 198 of the Law on Intellectual Property and this Article.

2. Technological measures specified at Point a, Clause 1, Article 198 of the Law on Intellectual Property include:

a) Inclusion of the information on instructions on arising grounds, protection titles, owners, scope, protection period, and other information on industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties to the products and means of services (hereinafter referred to as “products” in this Article) for notifying that the products are subjects of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties under protection and warning other people from conducting any act of infringement;

b) Use of technical equipment or measures to mark, recognize, distinguish, and protect any product under protection.

3. Requests for termination of acts of infringement specified at Point b, Clause 1, Article 198 of the Law on Intellectual Property shall be carried out in the form of written notifications sent to the perpetrators by the holders of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties. Written notifications shall include the information on instructions on arising grounds, protection titles, scope, and protection period and impose a reasonable time limit for the perpetrators to terminate their acts of infringement.

4. Requests to competent state agencies to handle acts of infringement specified at Point c, Clause 1, Article 198 of the Law on Intellectual Property must be performed in accordance with the provisions of Articles 89, 90, 91, 92, 93 and 94 of this Decree.

Article 89. Applications for handling of infringement

1. An application for the handling of infringement shall include:

a) Date of application;

b) Name and address of the petitioner or name of the representative in the case where the request is performed via the representative;

c) Name of the agency that receives the application;

d) Name and address of the perpetrator; name and address of the suspected perpetrator in case of requesting for suspension of customs procedures for imports and exports suspected to be infringed on;

dd) Name and address of the organization or individual with related rights and benefits (if any);

e) Name and address of the witness (if any);

g) Summarized information on the infringed industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties: type of rights, grounds of arising rights, and summary of the subject of the rights;

h) Summarized information on the infringements: date and place of infringements, brief description of the infringing product, infringing acts and other information (if any);

i) Content of the request for the application of violation handling measures;

k) List of documents and evidence enclosed with the application;

l) Signature of the applicant and seal (if any).

2. The application for the infringement handling shall contain documents and evidence proving the request. The mentioned documents and evidence shall comply with Article 90 of this Decree.

Article 90. Documents and evidence enclosed with applications for infringement handling

1. The petitioner shall enclose the following documents and evidence with the application for infringement handling to prove his/her request:

a) Evidence of right holder if the petitioner is the owner or the person who receives the transfer of or inherits industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties;

b) Evidence of occurred infringement or evidence to suspect that imports or exports infringe on industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties regarding an application for temporary suspension of customs procedures;

c) Other documents and evidence proving the petitioner’s request.

2. In the case where the request to handle infringement is made through an authorized representative, a notarized or authenticated written authorization must be enclosed; If through a legal representative, documents proving the status of the legal representative must be enclosed.

Article 91. Evidence of right holders

1. With regard to an invention, industrial design, topography, mark, or plant variety, the evidence of the right holder is one of the following documents:

a) Copy of the invention patent, utility solution patent, industrial design patent, certificate of registration of semiconductor integrated circuit topography, certificate of mark registration, or plant variety protection title enclosed with the original for comparison, unless the copies have been certified in accordance with regulations;

b) Excerpt of the National Register of Industrial Property or excerpt of the National Register of Protected Plant Varieties issued by the agency competent to register the concerned subjects.

2. With regard to a mark internationally registered under the Madrid Agreement and Madrid Protocol designating Vietnam, the evidence of the right holder is the confirmation certificate of an internationally registered mark protected in Vietnam issued by the state management agency in charge of industrial property or its certified copy or excerpt of the National Register of Industrial Property (the part for Internationally Registered Marks).

3. With regard to an industrial design internationally registered under the Hague Agreement designating Vietnam, the evidence of the right holder is the copy of the decision to accept the protection of the industrial design internationally registered issued by the state management agency in charge of industrial property enclosed with the original for comparison or its certified copy or excerpt of the National Register of Industrial Property (the part for Internationally Registered Industrial Designs).

4. With regard to a geographical indication, the evidence of the right holder is one of the following documents:

a) Certificate of registration of the geographical indication or excerpt of the National Register of Industrial Property;

b) List of organizations and individuals using the geographical indication specified at Point c, Clause 1, Article 38 of this Decree or other documents proving the right holder under the law of the country of origin in case of foreign geographical indication protected in Vietnam.

5. With regard to other subjects of industrial property, the evidence of the right holder’s status is documents, items, and information about the grounds for establishing the corresponding rights as specified at Points a, b and c, Clause 3, Article 6 of the Law on Intellectual Property and is specifically provided as follows:

a) Regarding a business secret: descriptions of content, storage forms, protection methods, and measures to achieve the business secret;

b) Regarding a trade name: documents proving the legal use of the trade name, business field, and business location using the trade name, and the process of using the trade name;

c) Regarding a famous mark: documents specifying the criteria for assessment of the famous mark under Article 75 of the Law on Intellectual Property and presentation of the use process that makes the mark famous;

d) Regarding a geographical indication protected under an treaty: documents and information in the treaty containing the content of recognition and protection of the geographical indication or excerpt of the National Register of Industrial Property;

dd) Regarding a plant variety: unexpired plant variety protection title, decision on grant or re-grant of the plant variety protection title, or excerpt of the National Register of Industrial Property and evidence collected from sources as specified in Article 94 of the Civil Procedure Code.

6. If the petitioner for infringement handling is the person who receives the transfer of the rights to the subject of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties, transfers the rights to use the subject of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties, or inherits the subject of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties, aside from the documents specified in Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of this Article, it is necessary to produce the original or legal copy of the contract of the transfer of rights to the subject of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties, contract of the use of the subject of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties, or document confirming the rights to inherit the subject of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties. In the case where the transfer has been recorded in the protection title, the certificate of contract registration of the transfer of rights to the subject of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties, or certificate of contract registration of the use of the subject of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties, the mentioned documents are also considered evidence of the status of the right holder.

Article 92. Evidence of infringement

1. The following documents and items shall be considered evidence of infringement:

a) Original or legal copy of the related description, sample, or item specifying the protected subject;

b) Samples, relevant items, photos, and video recordings of the product under review;

c) Explanation or comparison between the product under review with the protected subject;

d) Minutes, testimonies, and other documents proving the infringement.

2. Documents and items specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall be made into a list with a confirmation signature of the petitioner for infringement handling.

Article 93. Responsibilities of petitioners for infringement handling

Petitioners for infringement handling shall ensure and assume the responsibility for the honesty of their provision of information, documents, and evidence.

Article 94. Filing and settlement of applications for infringement handling

1. An application for infringement handling shall be filed to any of the infringement handling agencies specified in Article 200 of the Law on Intellectual Property.

2. After receiving the application for infringement handling, if the request is within the jurisdiction of another agency, the receiving agency shall instruct the applicant to file the application to the competent agency or transfer it to the competent agency for settlement within 10 days from the date of receiving the application.

3. In the case where the application for infringement handling fails to ensure a sufficient number of necessary documents, evidence, and items, the infringement handling agency shall request the applicant to provide supplements and set a reasonable time limit that does not exceed thirty days for the applicant to supplement the necessary documents and evidence.

4. In the following cases, the infringement handling agency shall refuse the request to handle infringement and clearly state the reasons for refusal:

a) The applicant fails to satisfy the request of the infringement handling agency regarding the supplement to related documents, evidence, and items after the set time limit specified in Clause 3 of this Article;

b) The prescriptive period for infringement handling expires in accordance with the law provisions;

c) Verification results of the infringement handling agency deny the infringement described in the application for infringement handling;

d) A competent agency issues a document on insufficient grounds to handle the infringement.

5. In case of a dispute over or complaint about the subject of rights, protection capacity, or protection scope of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties, the agency that receives the application for infringement handling shall instruct the applicant to perform the procedure for requesting the settlement of the dispute or complaint at a competent agency within 10 days after the dispute arises.

CHAPTER III. HANDLING OF GOODS INFRINGING ON INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND RIGHTS TO PLANT VARIETIES

Article 95. Determination of value of infringing goods

1. The infringing goods are specified as follows:

a) Infringing goods are parts and details (hereinafter referred to as parts) of a product that contain infringing elements and can be traded as an independent product;

b) In the case where the element of infringement cannot be separated into a part of a marketable independent product specified at Point a of this Clause, the infringing goods shall be the whole product that contains such an element of infringement.

2. The value of infringing goods shall be determined by the infringement handling agency at the time the infringement occurs based on the following orders of priority:

a) Listed price of infringing goods;

b) Actual sale price of infringing goods;

c) Aggregate cost of infringing goods, if not yet circulated;

d) Purchase price of infringing goods.

3. The value of infringing goods shall be determined by parts of the infringing product specified at Point a, Clause 1 of this Article or by the total value of the infringing product specified at Point b, Clause 1 of this Article.

4. In the case where the application of the grounds specified in Clause 2 of this Article is inappropriate or there is a disagreement between the infringement handling agency and the equivalent financial agency on determining the value of infringing goods, the pricing shall be decided by the council for infringing goods evaluation.

The establishment, composition, and working principle of the council for infringing goods evaluation shall comply with the laws on civil and administrative violation handling.

Article 96. Handling of infringing goods

1. With regard to counterfeit goods in terms of marks, geographical indications, and ingredients, materials, and equipment used for the production and trading of such goods, the infringement handling agency shall apply one of the following measures:

a) Distributing or putting the goods into use for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Article 97 of this Decree;

b) Destroying the goods in accordance with Article 98 of this Decree;

c) Forcing the goods owner, carriers, or hoarders to eliminate elements of infringement and bring the goods out of the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam regarding goods in transit that are counterfeit in terms of marks, re-export the goods regarding imported goods that are counterfeit in terms of marks and imported ingredients, materials, and equipment used for the production and trading of counterfeit goods in terms of marks. In case of failure to eliminate elements of infringement from goods, ingredients, materials, and equipment used for the production and trading of the mentioned goods, measures specified in Clause 4 of this Article shall be appropriately applied.

With regard to imported goods and imported ingredients, materials, and equipment used for the production and trading of counterfeit goods in terms of geographical indications, depending on each specific case, the infringement handling agency shall force the elimination of elements of infringement and apply appropriate measures specified in Clause 4 of this Article.

2. With regard to the goods infringing on industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties that are not counterfeit foods in terms of marks, geographical indications, and ingredients, materials, and equipment used for the production and trading of such goods, the infringement handling agency shall force the goods owner, carrier, or hoarder to eliminate elements of infringement from the goods and apply appropriate measures specified in Clause 4 of this Article.

With regard to the imports infringing on industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties that are not counterfeit foods in terms of marks, geographical indications, and ingredients, materials, and equipment used for the production and trading of such goods, the infringement handling authority shall apply appropriate measures specified at Point c, Clause 1 of this Article.

3. Ingredients, materials, and equipment that have a sole function to create or commercially utilize counterfeit goods in terms of marks, geographical indications, and goods infringing on industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties or are solely used for the mentioned purposes shall be considered ingredients, materials, and equipment used for the production and trading of counterfeit goods in terms of marks and geographical indications and goods infringing on industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties.

4. Depending on each specific case, the infringement handling authority shall decide to apply the measures specified at Points a and b, Clause 1 of this Article or force organizations or individuals producing infringing goods to recall such goods that have been put into their distribution channel upon the request of right holders to apply the measures specified at Points a and b Clause 1 of this Article or other necessary measures. While deciding on the infringement handling, the infringement handling authority may consider requests from concerned parties.

Article 97. Forcible distribution or use for non-commercial purposes of goods

1. The forcible distribution or use for non-commercial purposes for counterfeit goods in terms of marks and geographical indications and goods infringing on industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties shall meet the following requirements:

a) Goods have use values that do not harm human health, animals, plants, and the environment and are not cultural products with toxic content;

b) Elements of infringement have been eliminated from the goods;

c) The distribution or use is not aimed toward profit and does not unreasonably affect the normal utilization of rights of holders of industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties, prioritizing humanitarian, charitable, or social benefit purposes;

d) Persons receiving the distribution or taking charge of the use are not the potential customers of the holders of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties.

2. The provisions specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall also apply to ingredients, materials, and equipment used for the production and trading of counterfeit goods in terms of marks and geographical indications and goods infringing on industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties.

Article 98. Forcible destruction

The forcible destruction of counterfeit goods in terms of marks and geographical indications, goods infringing on industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties, and ingredients, materials, and equipment used for the production and trading of such goods shall be applied in case of ineligibility for applying the measure to force the distribution or use for non-commercial purposes specified in Article 97 of this Decree.

CHAPTER IV. CONTROL OF EXPORTS AND IMPORTS CONCERNING INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND RIGHTS TO PLANT VARIETIES

Article 99. Rights to request control of exports and imports concerning industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties

The holders of industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties may apply for inspection and supervision in person or via legal representatives to detect imports and exports that have signs of infringement on industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties or apply for temporary suspension of customs procedures for imports and exports suspected to infringe on industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties.

Article 100. Competence to receive applications

Customs authorities are competent to receive applications for inspection or supervision or applications for suspension of customs procedures in accordance with Clause 1, Article 75 of the Customs Law.

Article 101. Procedure for processing applications

1. Within 20 days after receiving a complete dossier of request for inspection or supervision of imports or exports or within 2 working hours after receiving a complete dossier of request for suspension of customs procedures, the customs authority shall consider issuing a notification of application acceptance if the applicant has fulfilled the obligations specified at Points a, b and c, Clause 1 and Clause 2 Article 217 of the Law on Intellectual Property. In case of refusal, the customs authority shall send the applicant a written response that clearly states the reasons for refusal.

2. After accepting the application for inspection or supervision of imports or exports, the General Department of Vietnam Customs shall send notifications of the acceptance to the Customs Departments of provinces, cities, and the designated authority of the General Department of Vietnam Customs to implement the inspection or supervision. The Customs Departments of provinces, cities, and the designated authority of the General Department of Vietnam Customs shall, based on the notifications of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, look up data on the system to organize the implementation within the areas under their management.

3. Customs Branches shall be responsible for conducting the inspection or supervision to detect goods with signs of infringement or deciding to suspend the customs procedures based on the request for suspension of customs procedures.

Article 102. Procedure for processing goods suspected of infringement

1. In the case where goods are detected with signs of infringement, at the request of the holder of industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties or to exercise the authority to impose administrative sanctions, the customs authority shall issue a decision to suspend the customs procedures, notify the holder of industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties, and the shipment owner about the temporary suspension of customs procedures for the shipment, clearly stating the name, address, fax number, phone number of the parties, reason and duration of temporary suspension of customs procedures.

2. The customs authority shall continue to perform customs procedures for the shipment subject to suspension in accordance with Clause 3, Article 218 of the Law on Intellectual Property in the following cases:

a) The decision to suspend the customs procedures is suspended or revoked according to a decision on the settlement of complaint or denunciation;

b) The applicant for the suspension of customs procedures withdraws the application.

Article 103. Competence and procedure for proactively suspending customs procedures

1. During the inspection, supervision, and control, if there are clear grounds to suspect imports or exports are counterfeit goods in terms of marks or geographical indications, the Customs Branch shall proactively issue a decision to suspend the customs procedures for such goods.

2. The Customs Branch shall immediately send a notification of the suspension to the holder of rights to marks or geographical indications if there is contact information and the importer or the exporter.

3. The time of suspension of customs procedures is 10 days from the date the Customs Branch notifies the right holder in accordance with Clause 2 of this Article.

4. During the suspension of customs procedures, the Customs Branch that decides on the suspension shall:

a) Request the importer or exporter or the holder of rights to the marks or geographical indications (in case of having contact information) to provide documents related to the goods (catalogs, assessment conclusions, foreign documents, conclusions of the settlement of similar cases, etc.);

b) Take samples or allow relevant organizations and individuals to take samples for assessment or additional assessment or re-assessment at customs professional organizations or other assessment organizations in accordance with regulations (if necessary);

c) Cooperate and consult with state management agencies in charge of industrial property rights upon disputes or denunciations of the right holder, protection capacity, protection scope of rights to marks or geographical indications, and competence to handle violations;

d) Submit reports to the Customs Department of the province or city and the General Department of Vietnam Customs for directives on the timely settlement of complicated cases.

5. After the suspension period of customs procedures:

a) In the case where the customs authority determines that the goods subject to the suspension are counterfeit goods in terms of marks or geographical indications and the violation is within its jurisdiction, the customs authority shall impose an administrative fine for the act of infringing on rights to marks or geographical indications and counterfeit goods in terms of marks or geographical indications as prescribed by laws. In the case where it is determined that the violation is not within the jurisdiction of the customs authority, it shall hand over the case to other intellectual property protection right authorities for handling;

b) If the applicant files a civil lawsuit, the customs authority shall comply with the suggestions of the court;

c) In case of receiving a document from the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights notifying the dispute or complaint about the right holder, protection capacity, or scope of protection of rights to marks or geographical indications, the customs authority shall continue to carry out the customs procedures for the shipment, except for the case where the customs authority already has a decision to accept the case under procedures for administrative violation handling;

d) In the case where it is determined that the violation has criminal signs according to the Criminal Code, the customs authority shall hand over the case to a competent authority for investigation and prosecution in accordance with the law provisions;

dd) In the case where the customs authority decides that the goods subject to suspension are not counterfeit goods in terms of marks or geographical indications, it shall continue to carry out the customs procedures for the shipment and send notifications to concerned parties.

6. In the case where the proactive suspension of customs procedures is improper, causing damage to the owner of the goods, the Customs Branch shall compensate for the damage and pay every arising cost as in accordance with regulations.

Article 104. Procedures for control of exports and imports concerning industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties

Procedures for controlling imports and exports concerning industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties shall comply with this Decree and relevant customs laws.

CHAPTER V. ASSESSMENT OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND RIGHTS TO PLANT VARIETIES

SECTION 1. ASSESSORS AND ASSESSMENT ORGANIZATIONS OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND RIGHTS TO PLANT VARIETIES

Article 105. Forms of assessment activities of assessors of industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties

1. An assessor of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties may operate under an assessment organization of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties or conduct independent operations.

2. Forms of activities of assessors shall be recorded to the list of assessors of industrial property rights and list of assessors of rights to plant varieties specified in Article 109 and Article 112 of this Decree.

3. If assessors operate on behalf of assessment organizations of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties, the information on such assessors shall be recorded to the list of assessors under organizations according to the procedure for granting certificates of assessment organizations.

Article 106. Rights and obligations of assessors of industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties

1. An assessor of industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties has the following rights:

a) Refusing the assessment in the case where the relevant documents are insufficient, hold no value to draw an assessment conclusion, or are not subject to the assessment specialty prescribed in the assessor card;

b) Refusing to receive the assessment sample in the case where there is a risk of harm to health or the sample is too bulky to be stored;

c) Using the assessment result, the professional conclusion, or suggestions from experts for the assessment;

d) Requesting agencies, organizations, or individuals to provide information and documents concerning the subject of assessment for the assessment unless otherwise provided by the law provisions, applicable to assessors of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties operating independently;

dd) Exercising other rights in accordance with the law provisions.

2. An assessor of industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties has the following obligations:

a) Operating in compliance with the assessment specialty prescribed in the assessor card;

b) Performing the assessment in accordance with Clause 4, Article 201 of the Law on Intellectual Property;

c) Formulating the assessment dossier and explaining the assessment conclusion upon request from the petitioner for the assessment, organizations or individuals with related rights and benefits, or competent authorities;

d) Preserving and storing documents and samples related to the assessment case in accordance with the law provisions;

dd) Independently drawing the assessment conclusion and taking responsibility for such a conclusion. In case of intentionally drawing a false conclusion that damages the concerned organizations or individuals, compensating for the damage;

e) Refusing the assessment in case of having rights or benefits related to the subject of assessment, the assessment case, or other reasons affecting the objectivity of the assessment conclusion or in cases where the refusal is prescribed by other laws;

g) Ensuring the confidentiality of information and documents at the request of authorities, organizations, or individuals requesting the assessment and compensating for damage in case of disclosure of confidential information causing damage to the concerned authorities, organizations, or individuals;

h) Taking legal liability for acts of taking advantage of the role of assessor and the assessment for profiteering or intentionally drawing false assessment conclusions;

i) Informing and reporting on the assessment activities every 6 months and every year in writing to state management authorities of industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties;

k) Fulfilling other obligations in accordance with the law provisions.

Article 107. Rights and obligations of assessment organizations of industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties

1. An assessment organization of industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties has the following rights:

a) Hiring assessors of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties to assess by cases;

b) Requesting agencies, organizations, or individuals to provide information and documents related to the subject of assessment for the assessment unless otherwise provided by the law provisions;

c) Exercising other rights in accordance with the law provisions.

2. An assessment organization of industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties has the following obligations:

a) Operating in compliance with the assessment field prescribed in the certificate of assessment organization;

b) Performing the assessment in accordance with Clause 4, Article 201 of the Law on Intellectual Property;

c) Preserving and storing documents and samples related to the assessment case in accordance with the law provisions;

d) Ensuring the confidentiality of information and documents at the request of authorities, organizations, or individuals requesting the assessment and compensating for damage in case of disclosure of confidential information causing damage to the concerned authorities, organizations, or individuals;

dd) Refusing the assessment in cases it is prescribed by other laws;

e) Taking legal liability for acts of taking advantage of the role of assessor and the assessment for profiteering or intentionally drawing false assessment conclusions;

g) Informing and reporting on the assessment activities every 06 months and every year in writing to state management authorities of industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties;

h) Fulfilling other obligations in accordance with the law provisions.

SECTION 2. STATE MANAGEMENT OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY ASSESSMENT

Article 108. Examination of industrial property assessment profession

1. The examination of industrial property assessment profession shall be conducted to assess the capability to use professional knowledge and skills to assess and conclude issues related to industrial property rights.

2. The organization of examination of industrial property assessment profession shall be performed as follows:

a) The state management agency in charge of industrial property rights is the authority competent to organize the examination of industrial property assessment profession;

b) The state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall disclose notifications on its web portal, specifying the conditions for participating in the examination, procedures for filing dossiers, contents, and expected time and location of the examination;

c) The examination shall be organized within 3 months from the date when at least 5 participants have their applications approved in accordance with Clause 4 of this Article;

d) The examination results are notified to examination participants by the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights. The examination participants have the right to request the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights to review the examination results;

dd) The examination results shall have a validity of 5 years for requesting the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights to grant industrial property assessor cards.

3. The council for examination of industrial property assessment profession established by the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall organize the examination in accordance with the regulation on examination of industrial property assessment profession issued by the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights.

4. The registration for participation in the examination of industrial property assessment profession shall be performed as follows:

a) Individuals meeting the following requirements shall be eligible for registering for participation in the examination in accordance with this Article:

a1) Being Vietnamese citizens with full capacity for civil acts;

a2) Residing permanently in Vietnam;

a3) Having good moral qualities;

a4) Having at least bachelor’s degrees with specialties suitable for the field registered for examination;

a5) Having professionally worked in the field registered for examination for at least 5 years.

b) A dossier of request for participation in the examination of industrial property assessment profession submitted to the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall include a set of the following documents:

b1) A declaration of registration for participation in the examination of industrial property assessment profession, made using Form No. 01 provided in Appendix VI to this Decree;

b2) Copies of the bachelor’s degree or post-university degree (the original shall be produced for comparison, unless the copies have been certified);

b3) Copies of the recruitment decision, labor contract, or other documents proving the actual professional operations (the original shall be presented for comparison, unless the copies have been certified);

b4) 2 photos sized 3 x 4 (cm);

b5) Copies of fee and charge receipts (in cases of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights).

c) Within 20 days after receiving a dossier, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall process the dossier according to the following regulations:

c1) In the case where the dossier is valid, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a notification of acceptance of the dossier, clearly stating whether the examination plan has been set or has not been set due to an insufficient number of participants in accordance with Clause 2 of this Article;

c2) In the case where the dossier has deficiencies, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a notification of the intended refusal to accept the dossier, clearly stating the reasons and setting a time limit of 01 month from the notification date for the applicant to amend the deficiencies or object to the refusal. After the set time limit, if the applicant fails to amend deficiencies or provides inadequate amendments, does not have any objection or provides inadequate objections, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a decision to refuse the acceptance of the dossier, clearly stating the reasons.

Article 109. Grant, re-grant, and revocation of industrial property assessor cards

1. The state management agency in charge of industrial property rights is competent to grant, re-grant, and revoke industrial property assessor cards and establish and disclose the list of industrial property assessors according to the procedures specified in Clauses 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article.

2. The grant of industrial property assessor cards shall be performed as follows:

a) The state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall grant industrial property assessor cards to persons who satisfy the requirements specified in Clause 3, Article 201 of the Law on Intellectual Property if such persons apply for the grant and have paid fees and charges according to regulations. The requirements for eligibility for grant of industrial property assessor cards specified in Clause 3, Article 201 of the Law on Intellectual Property shall be understood as follows:

a1) “Residing permanently in Vietnam” shall be understood as having a permanent residence in Vietnam in accordance with residence laws;

a2) “Having good moral qualities” shall be understood as not being subject to any administrative fine for violations of industrial property laws, not committing acts of violating professional ethics, not being subject to criminal prosecution, or having unspent convictions;

a3) “Having at least bachelor’s degrees with specialties suitable for the field requested for grant of assessor cards” shall be understood as having bachelor’s degrees or post-university degrees in natural science or technical science regarding the specialty of assessment of inventions and topographies; having any other bachelor’s degrees or post-university degrees regarding other assessment specialties;

a4) “Having professionally worked in the field requested for grant of assessor cards for at least 5 years” shall be understood as having directly settled disputes or denunciations or engaged in the inspection, examination, legislation, or legal consulting regarding industrial property, or scientific research with the title of researcher, industrial property teaching with the title of lecturer for at least 5 years or having directly engaged in the explanation and guidance on laws, developed regulations, directly prepared or approved appraisal results of contents of applications for invention registration (including utility solutions) or applications for registration of industrial designs, marks, or geographical indications (including the names and origins of goods) at a national or international agency on industrial property for at least 5 years, or having engaged in the practice of industrial property representative services for at least 5 years.

b) A dossier of request for the grant of an industrial property assessor card, submitted to the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights, shall include a set of the following documents:

b1) A declaration of request for granting an assessor card, made using Form No. 02 provided in Appendix VI to this Decree;

b2) Copies of people identity card (the original shall be produced for comparison, unless the copies have been certified), except for the case where the declaration of request for granting an assessor card already has information on the citizen identity card number;

b3) 2 photos sized 3 x 4 (cm);

b4) Copies of fee and charge receipts (in cases of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights).

c) Within 1 month after receiving a dossier, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall assess the dossier according to the following regulations:

c1) In the case where the dossier is valid, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a decision to grant an assessor card, specifying the name, date of birth, permanent address, people identity card/citizen identity card number, assessor card number, and assessment specialty of the person with the granted card; record the grant to the National Register of Industrial Property and disclose the information on the Official Gazette of Industrial Property and its portal within 2 months from the decision grant date;

c2) In the case where the dossier is invalid, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a notification of the intended refusal to accept the dossier, stating the reasons and setting a time limit of 01 month from the notification date for the applicant to amend the deficiencies or object to the refusal. After the set time limit, if the applicant fails to amend deficiencies or provides inadequate amendments, does not have any objection or provides inadequate objections, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a decision to refuse the grant of the assessor card, specifying the reasons.

c3) The assessor card shall be made using Form No. 04 provided in Appendix VI to this Decree.

3. The re-grant of an industrial property assessor card shall be performed as follows:

a) In the following cases, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall decide to re-grant an industrial property assessor card if the assessor requests and has paid the fees and charges according to regulations:

a1) The industrial property assessor card is lost, defective, or damaged (torn, dirty, faded, etc.) to the point of being unusable;

a2) The information in the industrial property assessor card specified at Point c1, Clause 2 of this Article has been changed.

b) The assessor shall request the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights to re-grant the industrial property assessor card for the recording of changes specified at Point a2 of this Clause;

c) A dossier of request for the re-grant of an industrial property assessor card, submitted to the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights, shall include a set of the following documents:

c1) A declaration of request for re-grant of the assessor card, made using Form No. 03 provided in Appendix VI to this Decree;

c2) Copies of people identity card (the original shall be produced for comparison, unless the copies have been certified), except for the case where the declaration of request for re-grant of the assessor card already has information on the citizen identity card number, for the case specified at Point a2 of this Clause;

c3) 2 photos sized 3 x 4 (cm);

c4) Copies of fee and charge receipts (in cases of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights).

d) The processing of the dossier of request for re-grant of an industrial property assessor card shall be performed as follows:

d1) Within 20 days from the receipt date of dossier of request for re-grant of an industrial property assessor card, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall assess the dossier in the same procedure as applicable for grant of the industrial property assessor card specified at Point c, Clause 2 of this Article.

d2) In the case where the industrial property assessor card is defective due to the state management agency of industrial property rights, this agency shall be responsible for re-granting the industrial property assessor card within 05 working days after the receipt of the request from the card holder; the re-grant of the card charges no fee.

4. The revocation of an industrial property assessor card shall be performed as follows:

a) An industrial property assessor card shall be revoked in the following cases:

a1) There is evidence confirming that the assessor card has been granted contrary to laws;

a2) The person with the granted assessor card no longer meets the requirements specified in Clause 3, Article 201 of the Law on Intellectual Property;

a3) The person with the granted assessor card no longer engages in the assessment operations;

a4) The person with the granted assessor card is subject to the disciplinary revocation of the assessor card under a decision of the competent authority.

b) The state management agency of industrial property rights shall, proactively or upon a request of an organization or individual, revoke the assessor card if there are grounds confirming that the person with the granted card falls into one of the cases specified at Point a of this Clause;

c) A dossier of request for the revocation of an industrial property assessor card, submitted to the state management agency of industrial property rights, shall include a set of the following documents:

c1) A written request for the revocation of the industrial property assessor card;

c2) Evidence proving the ground for request for the revocation of the industrial property assessor card.

d) The procedure for revoking the industrial property assessor card shall be performed as follows:

d1) In the case where an organization or individual requests the revocation of the industrial property assessor card in accordance with Point c of this Clause, within 1 month from the date of receipt of the request, the state management agency of industrial property rights shall provide a written notification of such a request for the person with the granted assessor card and set a time limit of 01 month from the notification date for him/her to provide any suggestion. The state management agency of industrial property rights shall, based on the suggestions of concerned parties, issue a decision to revoke the industrial property assessor card or refuse the revocation of the industrial property assessor card and send it to the concerned parties;

d2) In the case where there are grounds confirming that the person with the granted industrial property assessor card no longer satisfies the requirements specified in Clause 2, Article 201 of the Law on Intellectual Property, the state management agency of industrial property rights shall issue a written notification of the intended revocation of the industrial property assessor card to the person with the granted industrial property assessor card and set a time limit of 01 month from the notification date for him/her to provide any suggestion. The state management agency of industrial property rights shall, based on the suggestions of the person with the granted industrial property assessor card, issue a decision to revoke the industrial property assessor card to him/her or provide a notification of not revoking the industrial property assessor card for him/her;

d3) In case of a decision to revoke the industrial property assessor card of a competent authority, within 1 month from the receipt date of the mentioned decision, the state management agency of industrial property rights shall issue a decision to revoke the industrial property assessor card;

d4) The state management agency of industrial property rights shall record the decision on the revocation of the industrial property assessor card to the National Register of Industrial Property Assessment and disclose it on the Official Gazette of Industrial Property and its portal within 2 months from the decision grant date.

5. The preparation and disclosure of the list of industrial property assessors shall be performed as follows:

a) The state management agency of industrial property rights shall prepare the list of industrial property assessors, including the information recorded according to decisions on grant, re-grant, and revocation of industrial property assessor card and disclose or update it on its portal annually;

b) The state management agency of industrial property rights shall notify the local state management agency of industrial property rights of information on changes concerning assessor cards of assessors working for the corresponding local industrial property assessment organizations to serve the grant, re-grant, or revocation of certificates of local assessment organizations within 2 months from the decision grant date.

Article 110. Grant, re-grant and revocation of certificates of industrial property assessment organizations

1. The competence to grant, re-grant and revoke certificates of industrial property assessment organizations is specified as follows:

a) The state management agency in charge of industrial property rights has the competence to grant, re-grant and revoke certificates of industrial property assessment organization in accordance with Clauses 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article for public service units that are science and technology organizations registering science and technology activities at the Ministry of Science and Technology;

b) The local state management agencies in charge of industrial property rights have the competence to grant, re-grant and revoke certificates of industrial property assessment organizations in accordance with Clauses 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article for organizations specified in Clause 2, Article 201 of the Law on Intellectual Property that register for business and operations at the local competent agencies.

2. The grant of a certificate of industrial property assessment organization shall be performed as follows:

a) Local state management agencies in charge of industrial property and state management agencies in charge of industrial property shall grant certificates of industrial property assessment organizations to organizations that satisfy the requirements specified in Clause 2, Article 201 of the Law on Intellectual Property if such organizations submit requests and have paid the fees and charges according to regulations.

b) A dossier of request for grant of a certificate of industrial property assessment organization, submitted to the state management agency in charge of industrial property or the local state management agency in charge of industrial property, shall include a set of the following documents:

b1) A declaration of request for grant of the certificate of industrial property assessment organization, made using Form No. 05 provided in Appendix VI to this Decree;

b2) Copies of the recruitment decision or labor contract between the organization and its industrial property assessor (the original shall be produced for comparison, unless the copies have been certified);

b3) Copies of fee and charge receipts (in cases of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the agency competent to settle this procedure).

c) Within 1 month after receiving a dossier, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall assess the dossier according to the following regulations:

c1) In the case where the dossier is valid, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights or the local state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a decision to grant the certificate of assessment organization, specifying the full name, business name, address, and code of the organization and its assessment specialty corresponding to the assessment specialty of its assessors and the list of industrial property assessors that are its members; record the grant to the National Register of Industrial Property Assessment and disclose the information on the Official Gazette of Industrial Property and its portal within 2 months from the decision grant date;

c2) In the case where the dossier has deficiencies, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall issue a notification of the intended refusal to accept the dossier, clearly stating the reasons and setting a time limit of 01 month from the notification date for the applicant to amend the deficiencies or object to the refusal. After the set time limit, if the applicant fails to amend deficiencies or provides inadequate amendments, does not have any objection or provides inadequate objections, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights and the local state management agency in charge of industrial property shall issue a decision to refuse to grant the certificate of industrial property assessment organization, clearly stating the reasons;

c3) A certificate of industrial property assessment organization shall be made using Form No. 07 provided in Appendix VI to this Decree.

3. The re-grant of certificates of industrial property assessment organizations shall be performed as follows:

a) In the following cases, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights or the local state management agency in charge of industrial property shall decide to re-grant certificates of industrial property assessment organizations if the organizations submit requests and have paid the fees and charges according to regulations:

a1) The certificate of industrial property assessment organization is lost, defective, or damaged (torn, dirty, faded, etc.) to the point of being unusable;

a2) The information in the certificate of industrial property assessment organization specified at Point c1, Clause 2 of this Article has been changed.

b) The industrial property assessment organization shall perform the procedure for requesting the agency that has issued the certificate of industrial property assessment organization to re-grant the certificate for the recording of changes specified at Point c1, Clause 2 of this Article;

c) A dossier of request for re-grant of a certificate of industrial property assessment organization, submitted to the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights or the local state management agency in charge of industrial property, shall include a set of the following documents:

c1) A declaration of request for re-grant of the certificate of industrial property assessment organization, made using Form No. 06 provided in Appendix VI to this Decree;

c2) Copies of the amended business registration certificate or amended certificate of operation registration of the industrial property assessment organization in the case of changing the information on the organization (the original shall be produces for comparison, unless the copies have been certified), excluding the case where the enterprise identification number is declared in the declaration of request for re-grant of the certificate of industrial property assessment organization;

c3) Copies of the recruitment decision or labor contract or decision to terminate the labor contract between the organization and the industrial property assessor working for such organization in the case where the industrial property assessor is changed (the original shall be produced for comparison, unless the copies have been certified);

c4) Copies of fee and charge receipts (in cases of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the agency competent to settle this procedure).

d) The processing of a dossier for re-grant of the certificate of industrial property assessment organization shall be performed as follows:

d1) Within 20 days after receiving a dossier for re-grant of the certificate of industrial property assessment organization, the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights or the local state management agency in charge of industrial property shall assess the dossier in the same procedure as applicable for grant of the certificate of industrial property assessment organization specified at Point c, Clause 2 of this Article;

d2) In the case where the certificate of industrial property assessment organization is defective due to an error of the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights or the local state management agency in charge of industrial property, the mentioned agency shall re-grant the certificate within 5 working days from the date of receipt of the request of the industrial property assessment organization without charging any fee.

4. The revocation of certificates of industrial property assessment organizations shall be performed as follows:

a) A certificate of industrial property assessment organization shall be revoked in the following cases:

a1) There is evidence confirming that the certificate of industrial property assessment organization has been issued contrary to laws;

a2) The organization no longer satisfies the requirements specified in Clause 2, Article 201 of the Law on Intellectual Property;

a3) The industrial property assessment organization terminates its assessment operations;

a4) The industrial property assessment organization violates the law provisions and is requested by a competent state agency to handle it by revoking the certificate of industrial property assessment organization.

b) The state management agency in charge of industrial property rights or the local state management agency in charge of industrial property shall, proactively or upon a request of an organization or individual, revoke the certificate of industrial property assessment organization if there are grounds confirming that the concerned industrial property assessment organization falls into one of the cases specified at Point a of this Clause;

c) A dossier of request for the revocation of a certificate of industrial property assessment organization, submitted to the agency that issued such certificate, shall include a set of the following documents:

c1) An application for the revocation of the certificate of industrial property assessment organization;

c2) Evidence proving the grounds to request for the revocation of the certificate of industrial property assessment organization;

d) The procedure for revoking the certificate of industrial property assessment organization shall be performed as follows:

d1) In the case where an organization or individual requests the revocation of the certificate of industrial property assessment organization specified at Point c of this Clause, within 1 month from the date of receipt of the request, the certificate grant agency shall provide a written notification of such a request for the organization with the granted certificate of industrial property assessment organization and set a time limit of 01 month from the notification date for the organization to provide any suggestion. The certificate grant agency shall, based on the suggestions of concerned parties, issue a decision to revoke the certificate of industrial property assessment organization or refuse the revocation of the certificate of industrial property assessment organization and send it to the concerned parties;

d2) In the case where there are grounds confirming that the organization granted the certificate of industrial property assessment organization no longer satisfies the requirements specified in Clause 2, Article 201 of the Law on Intellectual Property, the certificate grant agency shall issue a written notification of the intended revocation of the certificate of industrial property assessment organization to the mentioned organization and set a time limit of 01 month from the notification date for it to provide any suggestion. The certificate grant agency shall, based on the suggestions of the organization with the granted certificate, issue a decision to revoke the certificate or a notification of not revoking the certificate to the organization;

d3) In case of a decision to revoke the certificate of industrial property assessment organization of a competent agency, within 1 month from the receipt date of the mentioned decision, the certificate grant agency shall issue a decision to revoke the certificate;

d4) The state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall record the decision on revocation of the certificate of industrial property assessment organization to the National Register of Industrial Property Assessment and disclose it on the Official Gazette of Industrial Property and its portal within 2 months after the decision is granted.

5. The preparation and disclosure of the list of industrial property assessment organizations shall be performed as follows:

a) The state management agency in charge of industrial property rights shall prepare the list of industrial property assessment organizations, including the information recorded according to decisions on grant, re-grant, and revocation of certificates of industrial property assessment organizations and disclose or update it on its portal annually;

b) The local state management agency in charge of industrial property shall notify the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights on grant, re-grant, and revocation of certificates of industrial property assessment organizations within 1 month after the decision is granted to serve the preparation of the list of industrial property assessment organizations specified in this Clause.

SECTION 3. STATE MANAGEMENT ON ASSESSMENT OF RIGHTS TO PLANT VARIETIES

Article 111. Professional examination of assessment of rights to plant variety

1. The professional examination of the assessment of rights to plant varieties shall be performed to assess the capacity for using knowledge and specialty to assess and conclude matters concerning rights to plant varieties.

2. The organization of the professional examination of the assessment of rights to plant varieties shall be performed as follows:

a) The state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties is the agency competent to organize the professional examination of the assessment of rights to plant varieties;

b) The state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties shall disclose notifications on its portal, specifying the conditions for participating in the examination, procedures for filing dossiers, contents, and expected time and location of the examination;

c) The examination shall be organized within 3 months from the date when at least 5 participants have their applications approved in accordance with Clause 3 of this Article;

d) The examination results are notified to examination participants by the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties. The examination participants have the right to request the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties to review the examination results;

dd) The results of the inspection shall have a validity of 5 years for requesting the People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city to issue plant variety right assessor cards.

3. The Council for professional examination of plant variety rights assessment established by the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties shall organize the examination in accordance with the regulation on examination on professional examination of plant variety rights assessment issued by the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties.

The registration for participation in the professional inspection of assessment of rights to plant varieties shall be performed as follows:

a) Individuals meeting the following requirements shall be eligible for registering for participation in the examination according to this Article:

a1) Being Vietnamese citizens with full capacity for civil acts;

a2) Residing permanently in Vietnam;

a3) Having good moral qualities;

a4) Having at least bachelor’s degrees with specialties suitable for the field registered for examination;

a5) Having professionally worked in the field registered for examination for at least 5 years.

b) A dossier of request for participation in the professional examination of assessment of rights to plant varieties, submitted to the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties, shall include a set of the following documents:

b1) A declaration of registration for participation in the professional examination of assessment of rights to plant varieties, made using Form No. 08 provided in Appendix VI to this Decree;

b2) Certified copies of the bachelor’s degree or post-university degree;

b3) Certified copies of the recruitment decision, labor contract, or other documents proving the actual professional operations;

b4) 2 photos sized 3 x 4 (cm);

b5) Fee and charge receipts (in cases of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the agency competent to settle this procedure).

c) Within 15 days after receiving a dossier, the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties shall process the dossier according to the following regulations:

c1) In the case where the dossier is valid, the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties shall issue a notification of acceptance of the dossier, clearly stating whether the examination plan has been set or has not been set due to an insufficient number of participants according to Clause 2 of this Article;

c2) In the case where the dossier has deficiencies, the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties shall issue a notification of the intended refusal to accept the dossier, clearly stating the reasons and setting a time limit of 01 month from the notification date for the applicant to amend the deficiencies or object to the refusal. After the set time limit, if the applicant fails to amend deficiencies or provides inadequate amendments, does not have any objection or provides inadequate objections, the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties shall issue a decision to refuse the acceptance of the dossier, clearly stating the reasons.

Article 112. Grant, re-grant and revocation of plant variety right assessor cards

1. People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities are competent to grant, re-grant, and revoke plant variety right assessor cards according to the procedures specified in Clauses 2, 3, and 4 of this Article.

2. The grant of plant variety right assessor cards shall be performed as follows:

a) People’s Committees of provinces or centrally-run cities shall grant plant variety right assessor cards to persons who satisfy the requirements specified in Clause 3, Article 201 of the Law on Intellectual Property if such persons apply for the grant and have paid the fees and charges according to regulations. The requirements for eligibility for grant of plant variety right assessor cards specified in Clause 3, Article 201 of the Law on Intellectual Property shall be understood as follows:

a1) “Residing permanently in Vietnam” shall be understood as having a permanent residence in Vietnam in accordance with residence laws;

a2) “Having good moral qualities” shall be understood as not being subject to any administrative fine for violations of plant variety right laws, not committing acts of violating professional ethics, not being subject to criminal prosecution, or having unspent convictions;

a3) “Having at least bachelor’s degrees with specialties suitable for the field requested for grant of assessor cards” shall be understood as having bachelor’s degrees or post-university degrees in horticulture, agronomy, plant science, or any major concerning plant varieties;

a4) “Having professionally worked in the field requested for grant of assessor cards for at least 5 years” shall be understood as having directly engaged in the compilation of drafts and guidelines on the implementation of legislative documents on plant varieties, settlement of disputes, complaints, denunciations, and inspections of plant varieties at the state management agencies in charge of rights to plant varieties, plant variety study and teaching at research or training organizations established and operated legally, or counseling about plant variety protection laws on behalf of representatives of rights to plant varieties.

b) A dossier of request for the grant of a plant variety right assessor card shall include a set of the following documents:

b1) A declaration of request for grant of the assessor card, made using Form No. 09 provided in Appendix VI to this Decree;

b2) The original or certified copies of the qualification certificate of professional inspection of assessment of rights to plant varieties;

b3) Copies of the bachelor’s degree or post-university degree in horticulture, agronomy, or any major concerning plant varieties;

b4) Documents proving that the applicant has directly engaged in the specialty concerning plant varieties for at least 5 years with confirmation of a competent agency;

b5) 2 photos sized 3 x 4 (cm);

b6) Fee and charge receipts (in cases of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the agency competent to settle this procedure);

c) Within 1 month from the date of receipt of a dossier, the People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall assess the dossier according to the following regulations:

c1) In the case where the dossier is valid, the People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall issue a decision to grant the assessor card, specifying the name, permanent address, people identity card/citizen identity card number, and assessment specialty of the card holder;

c2) In the case where the dossier is invalid, the People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall issue a notification of the intended refusal of the acceptance of the dossier, specifying the reasons and set a time limit of 01 month from the notification date for the applicant to amend the deficiencies or object to the refusal. After the set time limit, if the applicant fails to amend deficiencies or provides inadequate amendments, does not have any objection or provides inadequate objections, the People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall issue a decision to refuse the grant of the assessor card, specifying the reasons.

c3) The plant variety right assessor card shall be made using Form No. 10 provided in Appendix VI to this Decree.

3. The re-grant of plant variety right assessor cards shall be performed as follows:

a) In the following cases, the People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall issue a decision to re-grant the plant variety right assessor card if the assessor applies for the re-grant and has paid the fees and charges according to regulations:

a1) The plant variety right assessor card is lost, defective, or damaged (torn, dirty, faded, etc.) to the point of being unusable;

a2) The information in the plant variety right assessor card specified at Point c1 Clause 2 of this Article has been changed.

b) The assessor shall request the People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city to re-grant the plant variety right assessor card for the recording of changes specified at Point a2 of this Clause.

c) The dossier of request for re-grant of the plant variety right assessor card, submitted to the People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city, shall include a set of the following documents:

c1) A declaration of request for re-grant of the assessor card, made using Form No. 09 provided in Appendix VI to this Decree;

c2) 2 photos sized 3 x 4 (cm);

c3) Fee and charge receipts (in cases of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the agency competent to settle this procedure).

d) The processing of the dossier for re-grant of the plant variety right assessor card shall be performed as follows:

d1) Within 15 days after receiving a dossier for the re-grant of the plant variety assessor card, the People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall assess the dossier in the same procedure as applicable to the grant of the plant variety right assessor card specified at Point c, Clause 2 of this Article;

d2) In the case where the plant variety right assessor card is defective due to an error of the People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city, the mentioned agency shall re-grant the plant variety right assessor card within 5 working days from the date of receipt of the request of the card holder without charging any fee.

4. The revocation of plant variety right assessor cards shall be performed as follows:

a) A plant variety right assessor card shall be revoked in the following cases:

a1) There is evidence confirming that the assessor card has been issued contrary to laws;

a2) The person who has been granted the assessor card no longer satisfies the requirements specified in Clause 3, Article 201 of the Law on Intellectual Property;

a3) The person who has been granted the assessor card no longer engages in the assessment operations;

a4) The person who has been granted the assessor card is subject to the disciplinary revocation of the assessor card under a decision of the competent agency.

b) The People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall, proactively or upon a request of an organization or individual, revoke the assessor card if there are grounds confirming that the card holder falls into one of the cases specified at Point a of this Clause;

c) A dossier of request for the revocation of a plant variety right assessor card shall include a set of the following documents:

c1) An application for the revocation of the plant variety right assessor card;

c2) Evidence proving the grounds to request the revocation of the plant variety right assessor card.

d) The procedure for revoking the plant variety right assessor card is as follows:

d1) In the case where an organization or individual requests the revocation of the plant variety right assessor card specified at Point c of this Clause, within 1 month from the date of receipt of the request, the People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall provide a written notification of such a request for the card holder and set a time limit of 01 month from the notification date for him/her to provide any suggestion. The People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall, based on the suggestions of the concerned parties, issue a decision to revoke the plant variety right assessor card or refuse the revocation of the plant variety assessor card to the concerned parties;

d2) In the case where there are grounds confirming that the person granted the plant variety right assessor card no longer satisfies the requirements specified in Clause 2, Article 201 of the Law on Intellectual Property, the People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall issue a written notification of the intended revocation of the plant variety right assessor card to the card holder and set a time limit of 01 month from the notification date for him/her to provide any suggestion. The People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall, based on the suggestions of the card holder, issue a decision to revoke the plant variety right assessor card or a notification of not revoking the plant variety assessor card to such a person;

d3) In the case where there is a decision to revoke the plant variety right assessor card from a competent state agency, within 01 month from the date of receiving the above decision, the People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall issue a decision to revoke the plant variety right assessor card.

5. The preparation and disclosure of the list of plant variety right assessors and notification of changes to information concerning assessor cards shall be performed as follows:

a) The People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall prepare a list of plant variety right assessors according to decisions on grant, re-grant, and revocation of plant variety right assessor cards and disclose the list on its portal within 2 months after the decision is granted;

b) The People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall notify the competent state agency in charge of rights to plant varieties of the list of assessors and the information on changes concerning assessor cards of assessors working for the corresponding local plant variety right assessment organizations to serve the grant, re-grant, or revocation of certificates of local assessment organizations.

Article 113. Grant, re-grant and revocation of certificates of plant variety assessment organizations

1. People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities are competent to grant, re-grant, and revoke certificates of plant variety assessment organizations, and prepare and disclose the list of plant variety right assessment organizations in accordance with Clauses 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this Article.

2. The grant of certificates of plant variety right assessment organizations shall be performed as follows:

a) People’s Committees of the provinces or centrally-run cities shall issue certificates of plant variety right assessment organizations to organizations that satisfy the requirements specified in Clause 2, Article 201 of the Law on Intellectual Property if such organizations apply for the grant and have paid the fees and charges according to regulations;

b) A dossier of request for the grant of a certificate of plant variety right assessment organization shall include a set of the following documents:

b1) A declaration of request for the grant of the certificate of plant variety right assessment organization, made using Form No. 11 provided in Appendix VI to this Decree;

b2) Certified copies of the recruitment decision or labor contract between the organization and its plant variety right assessor;

b3) Fee and charge receipts (in cases of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the agency competent to settle this procedure).

c) Within 1 month from the date of receipt of a dossier, the People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall assess the dossier according to the following regulations:

c1) In the case where the dossier is valid, the People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall issue a decision on the grant of the certificate of assessment organization, specifying the full name, business name, and address of the organization and the list of plant variety right assessors that are its members; record the information to the list of assessment organizations and disclose it on its portal within 5 working days after the decision is granted;

c2) In the case where the dossier has deficiencies, the People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall issue a notification of the intended refusal of the acceptance of the dossier, specifying the reasons and setting a time limit of 01 month from the notification date for the applicant to amend the deficiencies or object to the refusal. After the set time limit, if the applicant fails to amend deficiencies or provides inadequate amendments, does not have any objection or provides inadequate objections, the People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall issue a decision to refuse the grant of the certificate of plant variety right assessment organization, specifying the reasons.

c3) The certificate of plant variety right assessment organization shall be made using Form No. 12 provided in Appendix VI of this Decree.

3. The re-grant of certificates of plant variety right assessment organizations shall be performed as follows:

a) In the following cases, the People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall issue a decision to re-grant the certificate of plant variety right assessment organization if the assessment organization applies for the re-grant and has paid the fees and charges according to regulations:

a1) The certificate of plant variety assessment organization is lost, defective, or damaged (torn, dirty, faded, etc.) to the point of being unusable;

a2) The information in the certificate of plant variety right assessment organization specified at Point c1, Clause 2 of this Article has been changed.

b) The plant variety right assessment organization shall perform the procedure for requesting the agency that has issued the certificate of plant variety right assessment organization to re-grant the certificate if it wishes to continue its assessment operations;

c) A dossier of request for re-grant of the certificate of plant variety right assessment organization shall include a set of the following documents:

c1) A declaration of request for the re-grant of the certificate of plant variety right assessment organization, made using Form No. 11 provided in Appendix VI to this Decree;

c2) Certified copies of the amended business registration certificate or amended certificate of operation registration of the plant variety right assessment organization in the case of changing the information on the organization, excluding the case where the enterprise identification number is declared in the declaration of request for the re-grant of the certificate of plant variety right assessment organization;

c3) Certified copies of the recruitment decision, labor contract, or decision on the termination of the labor contract between the organization and its plant variety right assessor in case of changes to the plant variety right assessor;

c4) Fee and charge receipts (in cases of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly to the account of the agency competent to settle this procedure).

d) The processing of a dossier for the re-grant of the certificate of plant variety right assessment organization shall be performed as follows:

d1) Within 15 days after receiving a dossier for the re-grant of the certificate of plant variety right assessment organization, the People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall assess the dossier in the same procedure as applicable to the grant of the certificate of plant variety right assessment organization specified at Point c, Clause 2 of this Article;

d2) In the case where the certificate of plant variety assessment organization is defective due to an error of the People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city, the mentioned agency shall re-grant the certificate within 5 working days from the date of receipt of the request of plant variety right assessment organization without charging any fee.

4. The revocation of a certificate of plant variety right assessment organization shall be performed as follows:

a) A certificate of plant variety right assessment organization shall be revoked in the following cases:

a1) There is evidence confirming that the certificate of plant variety right assessment organization has been granted contrary to laws;

a2) The organization no longer satisfies the requirements specified in Clause 2, Article 201 of the Law on Intellectual Property;

a3) The plant variety right assessment organization terminates its assessment operations;

a4) There is evidence confirming that the plant variety right assessment organization violates the laws and is subject to a revocation of the certificate of plant variety right assessment organization requested by the competent agency.

b) The People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall, proactively or upon a request of an organization or individual, revoke the certificate of plant variety right assessment organization if there are grounds confirming that the plant variety right assessment organization falls into one of the cases specified at Point a of this Clause;

c) A dossier of request for the revocation of a certificate of plant variety right assessment organization shall include a set of the following documents:

c1) An application for the revocation of the certificate of plant variety right assessment organization;

c2) Evidence proving the grounds to request the revocation of the certificate of plant variety right assessment organization;

d) The procedure for revoking the certificate of plant variety right assessment is performed as follows:

d1) In the case where an organization or individual requests the revocation of the certificate of plant variety right assessment organization specified at Point c of this Clause, within 1 month from the date of receipt of the request, the certificate grant agency shall provide a written notification of such a request for the organization granted the certificate of plant variety right assessment organization and set a time limit of 01 month from the notification date for the organization to provide any suggestion. The certificate grant agency shall, based on the suggestions of concerned parties, issue a decision to revoke the certificate of plant variety right assessment organization or refuse the revocation of the certificate of plant variety right assessment organization and send it to the concerned parties;

d2) In the case where there are grounds confirming that the organization granted the certificate of plant variety right assessment organization no longer satisfies the requirements specified in Clause 2, Article 201 of the Law on Intellectual Property, the certificate grant agency shall issue a written notification of the intended revocation of the certificate of plant variety right assessment organization to the mentioned organization and set a time limit of 01 month from the notification date for it to provide any suggestion. The certificate grant agency shall, based on the suggestions of the organization with the granted certificate, issue a decision to revoke the certificate or a notification of not revoking the certificate to the organization;

d3) In case of a decision to revoke the certificate of plant variety right assessment organization of a competent agency, within 1 month from the receipt date of the mentioned decision, the certificate grant agency shall issue a decision to revoke the certificate;

d4) The People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall disclose the decision to revoke the certificate of plant variety right assessment organization on its portal within 2 months after the decision is granted.

5. The People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall prepare a list of plant variety right assessment organizations specified in this Article under the decisions on grant, re-grant, and revocation of certificates of plant variety right assessment organizations. The list of plant variety right assessment organizations shall be disclosed on the portal of the People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city. The People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city shall notify the state management agency in charge of rights to plant varieties of the list of plant variety right assessment organizations and changes concerning the corresponding local plant variety right assessment organizations to serve the recording of information to the National Register of List of Plant Variety Right Assessment Organizations.

SECTION 4. ASSESSMENT OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY AND RIGHTS TO PLANT VARIETIES

Article 114. Contents and fields of assessment of industrial property and rights to plant varieties

1. The assessment of industrial property and rights to plant varieties includes the following contents:

a) Determining the scope of protection of subjects of industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties;

b) Determining if the assessment subject satisfies the requirements to be considered elements of infringement on industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties in accordance with Article 74 through Article 80 of this Decree;

c) Determining if there is any identicalness or similarity that causes confusion or indistinguishability or copy between the assessment subject and the subject under protection;

d) Evaluating industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties following the pricing methods prescribed in prices laws; evaluating damage in accordance with Article 204 and Article 205 of the Law on Intellectual Property.

2. The assessment of industrial property and rights to plant varieties by the fields specified in the Law on Intellectual Property includes:

a) The field of industrial property assessment includes the following specialties:

a1) Assessment of inventions and topographies;

a2) Assessment of industrial designs;

a3) Assessment of marks and geographical indications;

a4) Assessment of other industrial property rights.

b) Field of assessment of rights to plant varieties.

Article 115. Rights and obligations of persons requesting assessment of industrial property and rights to plant varieties

1. A person requesting assessment of industrial property and plant variety rights has the following rights:

a) Requesting the assessment organization or the assessor to provide answers for the assessment conclusion following his/her requested content and time limit;

b) Requesting the assessment organization or the assessor the explain the assessment conclusion;

c) Requesting additional assessment or re-assessment in accordance with Article 120 of this Decree;

d) Negotiating the assessment service price.

2. A petitioner for assessment of industrial property or rights to plant varieties shall:

a) Provide complete and truthful documents, evidence, and information related to the assessment subject at the request of the assessment organization and assessor;

b) Clearly and specifically present issues or difficulties in content requiring assessment;

c) Pay the agreed assessment cost or advance the assessment cost upon request from the assessment organization or assessor;

d) Receive the assessment subject upon request of the assessment organization or assessor.

Article 116. Requests for assessment of industrial property and rights to plant varieties

1. Organizations and individuals that may request the assessment of industrial property and rights to plant varieties include:

a) Holders of industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties;

b) Organizations and individuals that are requested for infringement handling or subject to complaints or denunciations of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties;

c) Other organizations and individuals with benefits and rights concerning the dispute, infringement, complaint, or denunciation of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties.

2. Organizations and individuals specified in Clause 1 of this Article may request the assessment organization or the assessor of industrial property or rights to plant varieties to perform the assessment or authorize other organizations or individuals to carry out such request.

3. Independent assessors or assessment organizations receiving the dossiers of request for assessment shall estimate the assessment cost and negotiate and conclude assessment contracts with the requesting organizations or individuals, except for cases of refusing the assessment according to regulations.

4. A request for assessment must be made into an assessment service contract between the assessment requester and the assessment organization or assessor.

5. An assessment service contract may include:

a) Name and address of the assessment requester;

b) Name and address of the assessment organization or the assessor;

c) Content requested for assessment;

d) Relevant documents, evidence, and items;

dd) Time limit for returning the assessment conclusion;

e) Rights and tasks of parties;

g) Location and time of assessment;

h) Assessment cost and payment methods;

i) Acceptance and liquidation of the contract;

k) Liability to compensate for damage and dispute settlement methods.

Article 117. Delivery, receipt, and return of assessment subjects of industrial property and rights to plant varieties

If the assessment request is enclosed with the assessment subject, the delivery, receipt, and return of such a subject shall be made into minutes with the following contents:

1. Time and location of the delivery, receipt, and return of the assessment subject.

2. Names and addresses of the delivering party and the receiving party or the representative.

3. Name of the assessment subject and relevant documents and items.

4. Condition and methods of preserving the assessment subject during the delivery, receipt, and return.

5. Signatures of the delivering and receiving parties or the representative in case of authorizing a third party to request the assessment.

Article 118. Sampling for assessment of industrial property and rights to plant varieties

1. The assessment organization or assessor may collect assessment samples (specific items that are elements of infringement and subjects of industrial property or rights to plant varieties under protection) or request the petitioner to provide assessment samples. The collection of assessment samples shall be made into minutes with the witness and signatures of concerned parties.

2. The delivery, receipt, and return of assessment samples shall be carried out in accordance with Article 117 of this Decree.

Article 119. Performance of assessment of industrial property and rights to plant varieties

1. The assessment of industrial property and rights to plant varieties may be performed by one or several assessors of industrial property and rights to plant varieties. An individual assessment is an assessment performed by an assessor. A collective assessment is an assessment performed by two or more assessors.

2. In the case of an individual assessment, the assessor shall perform the whole assessment and take responsibility for his/her assessment conclusion. In the case of a collective assessment concerning matters subject to the same professional field, the assessors shall jointly perform the assessment, sign the document on the general assessment conclusion, and take responsibility for the conclusion. If there are different opinions, each assessor shall write his/her opinion on the conclusion to the minutes of the general assessment conclusion and take responsibility for such an opinion. In the case of a collective assessment concerning matters subject to different professional fields, each assessor shall perform his/her part of the work and take responsibility for his/her assessment conclusion.

Article 120. Additional assessment and re-assessment of industrial property and rights to plant varieties

1. An additional assessment shall be performed in the case where the assessment conclusion is incomplete or unclear about the content subject to assessment or in the case of new details requiring clarification. Any request for additional assessment and the performance of such assessment shall comply with regulations on first-time assessment.

2. A re-assessment shall be performed in the case where the petitioner disagrees with the assessment result or in the case of conflicts among assessment conclusions on the same matter subject to assessment. The re-assessment may be performed by the assessment organization or the assessor that performed the previous assessment or by another assessment organization or assessor following the request of the petitioner.

3. In the case of differences among assessment conclusions or between the assessment conclusion with the professional suggestion of a state management agency in charge of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties on the same matter subject to assessment, the petitioner may continue to request the assessment organization or the assessor to perform the re-assessment.

4. In case of necessity, during the assessment of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties, the assessment organization may establish a counseling council for assessment of industrial property rights or rights to plant varieties to collect professional suggestions on matters subject to assessment. Matters related to the assessment counseling council shall be handled as follows:

a) The assessment organization shall select council members related to the assessment specialty and issue a decision to establish the counseling council for assessment of industrial property and rights to plant varieties. The council for assessment of industrial property and rights to plant varieties shall include the chairperson and members. The number of its members shall be an odd number consisting of at least 3 members.

b) The counseling council for assessment of industrial property and rights to plant varieties shall operate under democratic principles and organize public voting on professional suggestions. Members shall jointly conduct professional discussions, and their suggestions shall be recorded in the minutes of meetings of the council.

c) The whole process of assessment counseling of the counseling council for assessment of industrial property and rights to plant varieties shall be adequately specified under the form of working minutes. The minutes shall bear the signatures of the president and the members of the council and be stored in the assessment dossier.

Article 121. Conclusions on assessment of industrial property and rights to plant varieties

1. Conclusions on assessment of industrial property and rights to plant varieties specified in Clause 5, Article 201 of the Law on Intellectual Property shall be made in writing.

2. A written conclusion on assessment of industrial property and rights to plant varieties specified in Clause 1 of this Article must contain the following main contents:

a) Name and address of the assessment organization or the assessor;

b) Name and address of the assessment requester;

c) Subject, content, and scope of assessment;

d) Assessment method;

dd) Assessment conclusion;

e) Assessment time, location, and completion.

3. The independent assessor or assessment organization shall send a document on the assessment conclusion to the organization or individual requesting the assessment according to the agreed time limit prescribed in the assessment contract. In the case of an independent assessment, the assessor performing the assessment shall sign the document on the assessment conclusion and take responsibility for his/her assessment conclusion. In the case where the assessment is performed by an organization, the assessor in charge of the assessment and the legal representative of the assessment organization shall jointly sign and stamp the document on the assessment conclusion and take responsibility for such a conclusion.

4. In the case where the assessment needs more time, the independent assessor or the assessment organization shall promptly notify the assessment requester of such matter in writing.

Article 122. Price for assessment services of industrial property or rights to plant varieties

The price for assessment services of industrial property or rights to plant varieties shall be agreed on by the concerned parties.

PART FIVE. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 123. Transitional provisions

1. The processing of applications for classified patent submitted before the effective date of this Decree but there is not any decision to grant or refuse to grant a protection title shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Articles 48 through 52 of this Decree.

2. The processing of Hague applications designating Vietnam disclosed by the International Office before the effective date of this Decree but there is not any decision to accept or refuse to accept the protection shall comply with this Decree and the Hague Agreement.

3. The processing of Hague applications designating Vietnam that are submitted to the state management agencies in charge of industrial property rights before the effective date of this Decree but have not yet sent to the International Office shall comply with this Decree and the Hague Agreement.

Article 124. Effect

1. This Decree takes effect on August 23, 2023.

2. This Degree replaces the Decree No. 103/2006/ND-CP dated September 22, 2006, detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Intellectual Property regarding industrial property, regulations on the protection of rights concerning industrial property rights, rights to plant varieties, and state management of intellectual property specified in Decree No. 105/2006/ND-CP dated September 22, 2006, detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Intellectual Property regarding protection of intellectual property rights and state management of intellectual property, Decree No. 119/2010/ND-CP dated October 30, 2010 amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 105/2006/ND-CP dated September 22, 2006, detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Intellectual Property regarding protection of intellectual property rights and state management of intellectual property, Decree No. 122/2010/ND-CP dated October 31, 2010 amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 103/2006/ND-CP dated September 22, 2006, detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Intellectual Property regarding industrial property and Article 1 of Decree No. 154/2018/ND-CP dated November 9, 2018 amending, supplementing and abolishing a number of regulations on investment and business conditions in sectors under the state management of the Ministry of Science and Technology and a number of regulations on specialized inspections.

Article 125. Implementation responsibilities

Ministers, directors of ministerial agencies, directors of governmental agencies, and chairpersons of People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities shall implement this Decree.

* All Appendices are not translated herein.