Question: I want a patent registration through PCT in Vietnam. If you can, please advise me as following matters.
1) How long and how much does it cost to completion?
2) Any other documents needed?
Answer: We refer with thanks to your email concerning the above matter and we would like to advice as below:
1.The schedule of charge
From your information, the costs for entering into the national phase of the patent application are calculated based on the number of independent claim, page of Vietnamese specification, priority claim and words of specification.
Note: The above cost does not include 5% VAT (which is calculated based on our attorney’s fees) and communication costs (which will be billed on the basic of actual expenses).
No other fees are payable in case the application goes smoothly, without any objection from a third party or the NOIP’s examiner.
Fees for responding to any official action include fee for filing a response to official action (at least US$50.00 each time, including official fee and our service charge) and fee for advising, preparing and reviewing which will be charged on an hourly basis at the rate of US$300/hour.
We will obtain client’s approval of any further expenses incurred during the prosecution of the application prior to proceeding.
In the meantime, we are pleased to attach hereto the latest schedule of charge, for your reference and records.
As you can see that our fees are cost-competitive with that offered by other local firms without sacrifice in the quality of work.
Our billing policy is that we do not charge for “a learning curve” and do not charge for all hours we work, thus, lowering clients’ costs.
Similarly, we do not build any profit into expenses i.e. we charge clients exactly what it costs us for the expenses.
2.Timeframe for examination of a patent application.
A patent application will be examined through the following process:
i) Formality examination: The Patent application undergoes one-month formality examination counted from the filing date.
ii) Publication: The Patent application is published within 2 months from the date such application is accepted as being valid.
iii) Substantive examination: The result of substantive examination is expected available within 18 monthsfrom the date of filing of the request for substantive examination (if it is filed after the publication date) or from the publication date (if it is filed before the publication date).
iv) Granting: Within 01 month from the date of Notification to Grant Patent for Invention/Utility model, the Applicant shall have to pay the registration and publication fees. The Patent shall then be granted and published in the Industrial Property Gazette within 02 months from date of Notification.
3.The required documents
In order to file a patent application in Vietnam, your client is required to provide with us the following document:
i) The Power of Attorney which is only simply to be signed by the Applicant, neither notarization nor legalization is required (The copy of the POA can be accepted at the time of filing but the original one must be lodged within 01 month from the filing date). Please find enclosed the form of POA for your simple prosecution
ii) Front page of PCT application.
iii) A soft copy in word format of the English specification of the application for translation into Vietnamese is requested to provide via email at the time of instruction
4.Other information:
i) Deadline: Please be informed that the deadline for entering into Vietnamese national phase of a PCT application is 31 monthsfrom the priority date.
ii) According to our practical experience, Vietnamese examiners intend to base on examination results by their co-partners from prestigious Patent Offices, e.g. EPO, USPTO or JPO. Therefore in order to accelerate the examination procedure of patent application, the applicant should provide the Vietnamese Patent Office the granting information of the corresponding application.
