Copyright related rights (hereinafter referred to as related rights) means rights of an organization or individual to performances, audio and visual fixation, and broadcasts and satellite signals carrying coded programmes.
Related rights shall arise at the moment a performance, audio and visual fixation, broadcast or satellite signal carrying coded programmes is fixed or displayed without causing loss or damage to copyright.
1. Documents, samples, information identifying a mark registered for protection in a mark registration application include:
a/ A sample of the mark and a list of goods or services bearing the mark;
b/ Regulation on use of collective marks or regulation on use of certification marks.
2. The sample of the mark must be described in order to clarify elements of the mark and the comprehensive meaning of the mark, if any; where the mark consists of words or phrases of hieroglyphic languages, such words or phrases must be transcribed; where the mark consists of words or phrases in foreign languages, such words or phrases must be translated into Vietnamese.
3. Goods or services listed in a mark registration application must be classified into appropriate groups in accordance with the Classification List under the Nice Agreement on International Classification of Goods and Services for the purpose of mark registration, and published by the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights.
4. The regulation on use of collective marks consists of the following principal contents:
a/ Name, address, grounds of establishment and operations of the collective organization being the owner of the mark;
b/ Criteria for becoming a member of the collective organization;
c/ List of organizations and individuals permitted to use the mark;
d/ Conditions for use of the mark;
e/ Measures for handling acts violating the regulation on use of marks.
5. The regulation on use of certification marks consists of the following principal contents:
a/ The organization or individual being the mark owner;
b/ Conditions for using the mark;
c/ Characteristics of goods or services certified by the mark;
d/ Methods of evaluating characteristics of goods or services and methods of controlling the use of the mark;
e/ Expenses to be paid by the mark user for the certification and protection of the mark, if any.
1. Documents identifying an industrial design registered for protection in an industrial design
registration application include a description and a set of photos or drawings of such industrial design.
The industrial design description consists of a section of description and a scope of protection of such
industrial design.
2. The section of description of an industrial design must satisfy the following conditions:
a/ Fully disclosing all features expressing the nature of the industrial design and clearly identifying
features which are new, different from the least different known industrial design, and consistent with
the set of photos or drawings;
b/ Where the industrial design registration application consists of variants, the section of description
must fully show these variants and clearly identify distinctions between the principal variant and other
variants;
c/ Where the industrial design stated in the registration application is that of a set of products, the
section of description must fully show features of each product of the set.
3. The scope of protection of industrial designs must clearly define features which need to be
protected, including features which are new and different from similar known industrial designs.
4. The set of photos and drawings must fully define features of the industrial design
1. A protection of trade mark shall be entirely invalidated in the following cases:
a/ The registration applicant has neither had nor been assigned the right to register an invention,
industrial design, layout-design or mark;
b/ The subject matter of industrial property fails to satisfy the protection conditions at the time the
protection title is granted.
2. A protection of trade shall be partly invalidated when that part fails to satisfy the protection conditions.
3. The statute of limitations for trade mark shall be 5 years from the grant date, except where the protection title has been granted due to the applicant’s dishonesty.
– Its owner fails to pay the validity maintenance or prolongation fee as prescribed;
– Its owner declares to relinquish the industrial property rights;
– Its owner no longer exists or the owner of a certificate of registered mark is no longer engaged in business activities without any lawful heir;
– The mark has not been used by its owner or his/her licensee without justifiable reasons for 5 consecutive years prior to a request for termination of validity, except where the use is commenced or resumed at least 3 months before the request for termination;
– The owner of a certificate of registered collective mark fails to supervise or ineffectively supervises the implementation of the regulation on use of collective marks;
– The owner of a certificate of registered certification mark violates the regulation on use of certification marks or fails to supervise or ineffectively supervises the implementation of such regulation;
– The geographical conditions decisive to reputation, quality or special characteristics of products bearing a geographical indication have changed resulting in the loss of such reputation, quality or characteristics of products.
1. An applicant for registration of a trade mark may claim priority on the basis of the first application for registration of protection of the same subject matter if the following conditions are fully satisfied:
a/ The first application has been filed in Vietnam or in a country being a contracting party to a treaty containing provisions on priority right to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is also a contracting party, or in a country having agreed with Vietnam to apply such provisions;
b/ The applicant is a citizen of Vietnam or of a country defined at Point a of this Clause, who resides or has a production or business establishment in Vietnam or in a country
c/ The claim for the priority right is clearly stated in the application and a copy of the first application certified by the receiving office is enclosed;
d/ The application is filed within the time limit provided for in a treaty to which Vietnam is contracting party.
2. trade mark registration application, the applicant may claim the priority right on the basis of different earlier filed applications, provided that the corresponding contents of such earlier applications and the application are indicated.
3. An industrial property registration application enjoying priority right shall bear the priority date being the filing date of the first application.
1. An invention shall be protected by mode of grant of invention patent when it satisfies the following conditions:
a/ Being novel;
b/ Involving an inventive step;
c/ Being susceptible of industrial application
– An invention shall be protected by mode of grant of utility solution patent if it is not a common knowledge, when it satisfies the following conditions:
a/ Being novel;
b/ Being susceptible of industrial application
– Novelty of inventions
An invention shall be considered involving an inventive step if, based on technical solutions already publicly disclosed through use or by means of a written description or any other form, inside or outside the country, prior to the filing date or the priority date, as applicable, of the invention registration application, it constitutes an inventive progress and cannot be easily created by a person with average knowledge in the art.
– Susceptible of industrial inventions
An invention shall be considered susceptible of industrial application if it is possible to realize mass manufacture or production of products or repeated application of the process that is the subject mater of the invention, and to achieve stable results
– Susceptibility of industrial application of inventions
An invention shall be considered susceptible of industrial application if it is possible to realize mass manufacture or production of products or repeated application of the process that is the subject mater of the invention, and to achieve stable results.
An invention means a technical solution in form of a product or a process which is intended to solve a problem by application of laws of nature.
Industrial property rights to an invention shall be established on the basis of a decision of the competent state agency on the grant of a protection title according to the registration procedures stipulated in this Law or the recognition of international registration under treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party;
Patent is an exclusive certification of inventor or patent owner by one nation in a certain time and the content of patent shall be published.
Patent protection has a significant importance to nation, enterprises and inventors.
For the nation, patent protection under international standards shall contribute to attract foreign investment and encourage foreign technology transfer into Vietnam. In addition, the patent protection system also establishes a healthy business environment for all business sectors irrespective of State or private enterprises. Effective patent protection will encourage people to create more invention.
For enterprises (or investors in creating inventions), exclusive rights to invention within time limit, normally 20 years since the filing date allow them to prevent competitors from copying their inventions. The enterprises shall do business with more advantages than their competitors and solely exploit their inventions to make up for costs which have been invested in creation, continuously investing in other inventions and promoting technology potentials .v.v. Enterprises also benefit from granting licenses for others to utilize their patents through licensing contracts. Basically, the more value of the product basing on inventions, the more meaningful the protection for enterprises is. In order to create such inventions, it will take much time, efforts and money for research and development. Therefore, patent protection is an effective solution for enterprises to protect their investment achievements. However, it doesn’t mean that a patent protected by the State will bring direct benefits for its holder, but those benefits are only determined by capacity of the holder and market factors. In addition, enterprises who have many protected inventions shall enhance their positions and prove economic, science and technology, inventive potentials.
For inventors, patent protection created by themselves may affirm their creative capacity, acknowledge moral benefits and furthermore, they will get deserved payments as provided by law if such inventions are commercialized which means they bring direct benefits for enterprises. This encourages people to create and bring their inventions into manufacturing products and seeking partners to sign licensing contracts.
1. novel industrial design
– An industrial design shall be deemed to be new if it significantly differs from other industrial designs which have been publicly disclosed by use or by means of written descriptions or in 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 industrial design.
– Two industrial designs shall not be deemed to be significantly different from each other if they are only different in features of appearance which are not easily noticeable and memorable and which cannot be used to distinguish such industrial designs overall.
– An industrial design shall be deemed not yet publicly disclosed if it is known to only a limited number of persons who are obliged to keep it secret.
– An industrial design shall be deemed not to have lost its novelty if it is published in the following cases, provided that the application for registration of the industrial design is filed within six (6) months from the date of publication:
(a) It is published by another person without permission from the person having the right to register it as defined in article 86 of this Law;
(b) It is published in the form of a scientific presentation by the person having the right to register it as defined in article 86 of this Law;
(c) 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 as defined in article 86 of this Law.
2. Creativity of industrial designs
An industrial design shall be deemed to be creative if, based on industrial designs already publicly disclosed through use or by means of written descriptions or in any other form either inside or outside Vietnam before the filing date or the priority date, as applicable, of the application for registration of the industrial design, the industrial design cannot be easily created by a person with average knowledge in the art.
3.susceptible of industrial application
An industrial design shall be deemed to be susceptible of industrial application if it can be used as a model for mass manufacture of products with the outward appearance embodying such industrial design by industrial or handicraft methods.
Under Vietnam IP Law, Industrial design means the outward appearance of a product embodied in three dimensional configuration, lines, colours or a combination of such elements
An industrial design shall be eligible for protection when it satisfies the following conditions:
– It is novel;
– It is of a creative nature;
– It is susceptible of industrial application.
– Appropriating copyright in a literary, artistic or scientific work.
– Impersonating an author.
– Publishing or distributing a work without permission from the author.
– Publishing or distributing a work of joint authors without permission from the co-authors.
– c, editing or distorting a work in any way which prejudices the honour and reputation of the author.
– Copying a work without permission from the author or copyright holder, except in the cases stipulated in sub-clauses (a) and (dd) of article 25.1 of Intellectual Property Law.
– Making a derivative work without permission from the author or copyright holder of the work used for making such derivative work, except in the case stipulated in sub-clause (i) of article 25.1 of Intellectual Property Law.
– Using a work without permission from the copyright holder and without paying royalties, remuneration or other material benefits in accordance with law, except in the cases stipulated in article 25.1 of Intellectual Property Law.
– Leasing out a work without paying royalties, remuneration or other material benefits to the author or copyright holder.
– Duplicating, producing copies of, distributing, displaying or communicating a work to the public via a communications network or digital means without permission from the copyright holder.
– Publishing a work without permission from the copyright holder.
– Deliberately destroying or de-activating the technical solutions applied by the copyright holder to protect copyright in his or her work.
– Deliberately deleting or modifying electronic information in a work regarding management of the rights to such work.
– Manufacturing, assembling, transforming, distributing, importing, exporting, selling or leasing out equipment when knowing, or having grounds to know, that such equipment may de-activate technical solutions applied by the copyright holder to protect copyright in his or her work.
– Making and selling a work with a forged signature of the author of such work. – Importing, exporting or distributing copies of a work without permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright in works regulated in this Law shall comprise moral rights and economic rights.
The moral rights Law shall be protected for an indefinite term:
– To give titles to their works
– To attach their real names or pseudonyms to their works; to have their real names or pseudonyms acknowledged when their works are published or used
– To protect the integrity of their works; and to forbid other persons to modify, edit or distort their works in whatever form, causing harm to the honour and reputation of the author.
The moral rights to publish their works or to authorize other persons to publish their works and the economic rights shall enjoy the following terms of protection:
– Cinematographic works, photographic works, stage works, applied art works and anonymous works shall have a term of protection of fifty (50) years as from the date of first publication. If a cinematographic work or stage work has not been published within fifty (50) years from the date of its formulation, the term of protection shall be calculated from the date of its formulation. When information on the author of an anonymous work appears, the term of protection of such work shall be calculated pursuant below;
– Any work not stipulated in sub-clause above shall be protected for the whole life of the author and for fifty (50) years after his or her death. In the case of a work of joint authors, the term of protection shall expire in the fiftieth year after the death of the last surviving co-author;
– The term of protection stipulated in sub-clauses above of this clause shall expire at 24:00 hours on 31 December of the year of expiration of the copyright protection term.
Subject matter outside the category of copyright protection
– News of the day as mere items of information.
– Legal instruments, administrative and other documents in the judicial domain, and official translations of such documents.
– Processes, systems, operational methods, concepts, principles and data
1. Who is protected by copy right?
Organizations and individuals with works which are protected by copyright comprise persons who directly create such works and copyright holders stipulated. copyright holders stipulated can be an organization or individual who holds one, several or all of the economic rights stipulated, includes: authors, co-authors, organizations and individuals who assign tasks to authors or who enter into contracts with authors, heirs, assignees of rights, the State.
Authors and copyright holders stipulated which are protected, shall comprise Vietnamese organizations and individuals; foreign organizations and individuals with works published for the first time in Vietnam and not yet published in any other country, or with works also published in Vietnam within thirty days after publication for the first time in another country; and foreign organizations and individuals with works which are protected in Vietnam pursuant to an international treaty on copyright of which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.
2.What subjects are protected by copyright?
Copyright is protected for subjects: Literary, artistic and scientific works, Derivative works if such protection is not prejudicial to the copyright in the works used to create such derivative works. All of these subjects are only protected if they are created personally by authors through their intellectual labour and without copying the works of others Literary, artistic and scientific works which are protected by copyright comprise:
– Literary works, scientific works, textbooks, teaching courses and other works expressed in written language or other characters;
– Lectures, addresses and other speeches;
– Press works;
– Musical works;
– Stage works
– Cinematographic works and works created by a process analogous to cinematography (hereinafter all referred to as cinematographic works);
– Plastic art works and applied art works;
– Photographic works;
– Architectural works;
– Sketches, plans, maps and drawings related to topography or scientific works;
– Folklore and folk art works;
– Computer programs and data collections.
