How to register a patent in Vietnam?

Law on Intellectual Property of Vietnam had come into effect from 2005 to keep up with the considerable development of the world. One of the most important subject of Intellectual property is patent which contribute a huge part for the mankind development. According to Vietnamese law, to be granted patent title, a patent must fulfill 3 conditions which are: (i) novelty; (ii) inventive nature; (iii) susceptible of industrial application.

Register Patent in Vietnam

Firstly, a patent shall be deemed novel if it has not yet been publicly disclosed by use or by means of a written description or any other form either inside or outside Vietnam before the filing date or the priority date, as applicable, of the invention registration application. Besides, a patent shall not be deemed to have lost its novelty if it is published in the following cases, provided that the invention registration application is filed within six (6) months from the date of publication:

-It is published by another person without permission from the person having the right to register it;

-It is published in the form of a scientific presentation by the person having the right to register it;

-It is displayed at a national exhibition of Vietnam or at an official or officially recognized international exhibition by the person having the right to register it

Secondly, An invention shall be deemed to be of an inventive nature if, based on technical solutions already publicly disclosed by use or by means of a written description or any other form either inside or outside Vietnam prior to the filing date or the priority date as applicable of the application for registration of the invention, the invention constitutes inventive progress and cannot be easily created by a person with average knowledge in the art.

Thirdly, an invention shall be deemed to be susceptible of industrial application if it is possible to realize mass manufacture or production of products or repeated application of the process which is the subject matter of the invention, and to achieve stable results.

If a patent fulfills the above criteria then it is granted patent title.

What is the process of registration a patent in Vietnam?

After submitting the patent application into Noip (Intellectual Property office of Vietnam), it shall gone through 2 phases of examination which are formal examination and substantial examination.

Formal examination of applications means examination of observance of regulations on formalities applicable to applications, serving as a basis for concluding whether applications are valid or invalid, this phase would take from 1-3 months. All applications accepted as valid shall be published by the Noip in the Industrial Property Official Gazette.

After the publication, if there are no third parties object the application, then it go to substantial examination. The purpose of substantive examination of applications is to assess the protectability of objects stated in those applications under the protection conditions and corresponding protection coverage (volume). This phase would take from 12 months to 16 months. If it does meet protection criteria, NOIP will grant Patent for Invention.

However, in practice, the time from the filing to granting will be 18 months to 20 months due to huge load of work.

It is wise to consult the advice of a patent attorneys in Vietnam to help assist you with your patent. We are a legal marketplace with quality lawyers who are knowledgeable in various areas of the law—including patents.

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Can you resell patents? Is there a platform for this?

A patent is a business asset, just like machinery or great processes - therefore it can be sold. A patent is simply a legal document granted by the USPTO that grants ownership of an invention for a period of 20 years (in most cases). However, in order to actually profit from a brilliant idea in which you’ve patented you must either sell the patent, license the usage rights, or market/create the product yourself. With a creative idea and strong patent, that list definitely goes from easiest to most difficult.

Patent Attorney in Vietnam

If you have full rights to patent and have made the decision to sell, there are a few ways to make this happen. Unfortunately, there is not some online exchange for this. However, you can still find the right person or company to sell your invention to. I recommend making direct contact with businesses that are in the same market and may be interested in your product. Additionally, you can attend trade shows to further network.

Sometimes it does take some money on the part of the patent holder in order to sell a patent. You may have some success buying ad space in industry magazines or trade publications to reach additional potential buyers. If all of these steps still don’t offer any leads, it may be necessary to use a broker to sell the patent. They will take a percentage of the total sale for their efforts.

Source: Raad Ahmed - Quora

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Can an invention be patented if it isn't new?

While you can’t patent an invention that has already been patented, you may be able to patent a particular function or design of it.

Patent Attorney in Vietnam

A utility patent is appropriate for new or improved inventions. Of course, in your situation, it would be for an improvement on an existing invention and not a patent for a brand new idea.

A design patent doesn’t focus on the use of the product at all. Instead, it focuses on the ornamental features of it. So, if you are creating a brand new look to an existing invention, then this may be protectable under this type of patent.

Source: Quora

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Intellectual Property Law: What makes a patent valid?

The validity of a patent can be relevant in two ways:

First, someone can challenge the validity of your patent and second, you can question the validity of theirs. Patent validity is an important question when litigation is being brought or considered.

Patent Attorney in Vietnam

A patent is a set of rights granted by a government that protects an invention. If a patent is given to the applicant, they have the right to block others from making, selling or importing their invention into the country for twenty years from the date of filing.

Prior Art is any evidence of your invention existing before the date you filed your patent application. Prior art can be evidence that an invention – the same or similar to yours – has been demonstrated to the public, written about in a magazine or that there are existing patents related to your invention.

Any references used to invalidate a patent must be from before the date of priority. The date of priority is when you filed your application. For prior art to be relevant, it must have existed before this date.

When you apply for a patent, you are obliged by law to report all known relevant references. Your patent application will also prompt the patent office to perform a prior art search to determine if the invention is novel and non-obvious.

If another inventor or company believes that prior art exists, which would invalidate your patent, they may start litigation against you.

After Infringement:

If you have infringed someone else’s patent, there are a few options open to you depending on how willing the patent holder is to negotiate. The patent holder may agree to sell you the patent or license it out to you for a fee.

Intellectual property laws have been constructed to encourage companies to cross license and come up with solutions to infringement that result in innovations and products. If you have infringed a patent, particularly in error, you stand a good chance of coming to an agreement with the patent owner.

A Blocking Patent:

 If no agreement can be reached with the patent owner, then their patent becomes a blocking patent. It blocks or prevents you from manufacturing or selling your invention. In this case, you need to take steps to invalidate their patent.

Patent Validity Search:

A patent validity search is a search of prior art designed to examine all possible areas where information might be found. The search is guided by information about the target patent; the patent which is stopping you from operating.

Claims Mapping:

Claims chart mapping is an infringement analysis. This process involves examining the claims in a patent.

Unlike the invention description, the patent claims can change throughout the process of the application. Inventors usually start off claiming a lot of protection across broad ideas and are told they can’t get that level of coverage. They then narrow down what they are claiming legal protection for in the patent.

An examination of the claims is essential to understand where the prior art may be relevant. This is true whether you are seeking to prove that your patent does not infringe anyone else’s rights or if you think someone else has infringed yours.

Infringement of Your Patent:

A patent validity search can interchangeably be called an invalidity search. The same extensive search for prior art is undertaken but with a view to proving a rival patent invalid rather than ensuring the validity of your own.

In this case, you want to examine any prior art that may invalidate the claims made in the target patent.

NPE Demand Letters:

A demand letter is a letter putting forward a legal claim and demand for restitution. This could come from a rival company who think you have infringed their intellectual property rights, or it could be from a non-practicing entity or NPE.

NPE companies have no products or services. They make money by acquiring intellectual property rights such as patents and using them as a basis for legal action.

NPE companies are bad news because they are only after financial gain and cannot be appealed to on any other grounds. The best way to counter these companies is to deter them from choosing to go after you.

Having a strong and well-protected intellectual property portfolio is central to this strategy. A good claims chart mapping process is in important in this case also.

The Importance of Validity Searching:

Validity searching improves your business on some levels. It can help you to prove infringements and refute accusations of infringements. Both of these actions build the strength of your intellectual property portfolio and make it more valuable. This is true whether you want to use, sell or license your intellectualproperty.

A strong reputation can be built upon this strong intellectual property portfolio. If rivals and NPEs think you are a soft target, they will commit resources and time to trying to find a problem with your patents. If you have a highly defensible patent portfolio, you will reduce the amount of people who see you as a worthwhile target.

Conduct a Patent Validity Search to:

- Invalidate a blocking patent

- Establish deterrents to demand letters from NPEs

- Carry out due diligence on a patent, patent portfolio or pending patent application.

Source: Quora

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