Filing the Vietnam Industrial design application is carried out as following:
In order to obtain right for industrial design in Viet Nam,you must file the application for granting an industrial design patent,directly or by mail,to the National Office of Intellectual Property of Viet Nam (NOIP) or its brand offices in Ho Chi Minh City or Da Nang.
Organizations,individuals of Viet Nam,foreign individuals permanently residing in Viet Nam and foreign organizations and individuals having a production or trading establishment in Viet Nam may file applications for an industrial design patent either directly or though a lawful representative in Viet Nam.
Foreign individuals not permanently residing in Viet Nam,foreign organizations and individuals not having a production or trading establishment in Viet Nam shall file applications for an industrial design patent through a lawful representative in Viet Nam.
The first to file principle
Viet Nam has adopted the first-to-file system,i.e. where two or more applications are filed by many different parties for protection of the same design,the patent may only be granted to the valid application with the earliest priority or filing date among
applications that satisfy all required conditions; where there are two or more applications satisfying all the conditions and having the same earliest priority or filing date,the industrial design patent may only be granted to a single application out of these applications under an agreement by all applicants. Without such an agreement,all these applications shall be refused for the grant of the industrial design patent.
Accordingly,it is advisable to file an application for an industrial design patent as soon as possible after the design was invented and not to make the design public before filing the application.
