Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of the Intellectual Property Law No. 131/2025/QH15

LAW

AMENDMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTS TO CERTAIN ARTICLES OF THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW

Pursuant to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam amended and supplemented by Resolution No. 203/2025/QH15;

The National Assembly enacts this Law amending and supplementing certain articles of the Intellectual Property Law No. 50/2005/QH11 which has been amended and supplemented by Laws No. 36/2009/QH12, No. 42/2019/QH14, No. 07/2022/QH15, and No. 93/2025/QH15.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing certain articles of the Intellectual Property Law

1. Amending and supplementing certain Clauses of Article 4 as follows:

a) Amending and supplementing Clause 1 as follows:

“1. Intellectual property rights are the rights of organizations and individuals over objects of copyright and related rights to copyright, industrial property rights, and rights to plant varieties.”

b) Amending and supplementing Clause 13 as follows:

“13. Industrial design is the external appearance of all or part of a product in physical or non-physical form, expressed through shape, lines, colors, or combinations thereof, and visible during the exploitation of the product’s utility.”

2. Supplementing Clause 5 following Clause 4 of Article 6 as follows:

“5. Based on the provisions of this Law, the Government shall prescribe the generation and establishment of intellectual property rights as stipulated in Clauses 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this Article in cases where intellectual property objects are created using artificial intelligence systems.”

3. Amending and supplementing Clause 2 and Clause 3; supplementing Clause 4 and Clause 5 following Clause 3 of Article 7 as follows:

“2. The exercise and protection of intellectual property rights must not infringe upon the interests of the State, public interest, lawful rights and interests of other organizations and individuals, and must comply with the provisions of this Law and other relevant laws. Organizations and individuals exercising intellectual property rights related to the National Flag, Emblem, and National Anthem of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam may not obstruct the dissemination and use of the National Flag, Emblem, and National Anthem.

3. In cases where it is necessary to ensure national defense, security, social order, public safety, social morality, and community health as prescribed in this Law, the State has the right to prohibit or restrict the Subject of intellectual property rights from exercising their rights or compel them to allow other organizations or individuals to use one or more of their rights under appropriate conditions; restrictions on patents classified as state secrets shall be implemented according to regulations of the Government; restrictions on intellectual property objects that are results of scientific and technological tasks and innovation funded by the state budget shall be carried out according to the provisions of the Science, Technology, and Innovation Law.

4. Where multiple intellectual property rights arise or are established for a single object pursuant to Article 6 of this Law, the later arising or established intellectual property right shall be compelled to cease its exercise when such exercise conflicts with the normal exploitation of the earlier arising or established intellectual property right. The cessation of the exercise of the intellectual property right as provided in this clause shall be decided by the Court. The Government shall provide detailed regulations for this clause.

5. Organizations and individuals may use texts and data about intellectual property objects that have been legally published and accessible to the public for the purpose of scientific research, testing, training artificial intelligence systems, provided that such use does not unreasonably affect the rights and lawful interests of the author or the owner of the intellectual property rights as stipulated in this Law.

For texts and data protected by copyright and related rights, the use of such texts and data as provided in this clause shall also be carried out in accordance with the regulations of the Government.”

4. Amending and supplementing certain Clauses of Article 8 as follows:

a) Amending and supplementing Clause 2 as follows:

“2. Encouraging and promoting activities of innovation, exploitation, and development of intellectual property objects through financial support, tax incentives, credit facilities, and other investment incentives in accordance with the law to enhance national competitiveness, contribute to economic and social development, and improve the material and spiritual life of the people.”

b) Supplementing Clause 3a following Clause 3 as follows:

“3a. Supporting the creation, protection, exploitation, management, and development of intellectual property objects, particularly those of ethnic minority groups; supporting Vietnamese organizations and individuals in determining the value of intellectual property rights, applying models for transferring and licensing the use of intellectual property objects, and contributing capital through intellectual property rights; promoting mechanisms for cooperation and sharing of intellectual property rights between the State, scientists, scientific and technological organizations, and businesses.”

c) Amending and supplementing Clause 4 and Clause 5 as follows:

“4. Prioritizing the development of a synchronized and effective intellectual property ecosystem, especially investing resources in state agencies responsible for intellectual property management and intellectual property rights protection; promoting the formation and development of intermediary organizations to support activities related to the development, exploitation, use, and protection of intellectual property rights.

5. Formulating and implementing a national program to support the creation, protection, exploitation, management, and development of intellectual property objects to serve economic and social development, particularly in rural and mountainous areas.”

5. Supplementing Article 8a following Article 8 as follows:

“Article 8a. Management and Exploitation of Intellectual Property Rights

1. The owner of intellectual property rights shall be responsible for establishing a separate list for internal management in cases where such intellectual property rights have not met the conditions to record their value in accounting books in accordance with the provisions of the Accounting Law.

2. The owner of intellectual property rights may use such intellectual property rights to carry out civil transactions, commercial activities, investments, and other activities as prescribed by relevant laws on science and technology, innovation, intellectual property, state management and use of public assets, and other related laws.

3. The State encourages the exploitation of intellectual property rights and the use of such rights to contribute capital or provide collateral for loans in accordance with the provisions of the Investment Law, Enterprise Law, Credit Law, and other related laws.

4. The Government shall specify the details of this Article.

6. Add Article 11a and Article 11b following Article 11 as follows:

"Article 11a. Conditions for Ensuring State Management Activities on Intellectual Property Rights

The State shall ensure funding, infrastructure conditions, equipment, and other necessary resources for state management activities on intellectual property rights, including activities within the framework of committees, subcommittees, working groups under international treaties on intellectual property or those containing provisions on intellectual property in which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member; international cooperation in handling industrial property registration applications; handling industrial property registration applications; supporting organizations and individuals in protecting intellectual property rights.

Article 11b. Digital Transformation of Intellectual Property Activities

1. The State shall promote comprehensive digital transformation of intellectual property activities through prioritizing the development of synchronized digital infrastructure, providing online public services, digital platforms serving intellectual property operations, including databases on intellectual property protection and transaction price databases, ensuring security and user-friendliness.

2. The State shall invest in automating business processes using technology, including big data and artificial intelligence, to enhance efficiency and transparency in intellectual property activities.

3. The Government shall specify the details of Clause 1 of this Article."

7. Add Clause 4 following Clause 3 of Article 15 as follows:

"4. Ideas; slogans; titles of works independently."

8. Amend and supplement Clause 3 of Article 16 as follows:

"3. An organization or individual initiating and responsible for shaping the initial sound or image of a performance or other sounds or images, or reproductions thereof on any medium (hereinafter referred to as the producer of sound or visual recordings)."

9. Amend and supplement Clause 1 of Article 22 as follows:

"1. A computer program is a collection of instructions expressed in the form of commands, code, diagrams, or other forms, when embedded in a device operated by programming language, it has the ability to make a computer or device perform specific tasks or achieve specific results. Computer programs are protected as literary works, regardless of whether they are expressed in source code or object code.

The author and copyright owner of a computer program may agree in writing with each other regarding the modification and upgrading of the computer program. Organizations and individuals have the right to use legally a backup copy of the computer program to replace it when that copy is deleted, damaged, or unusable but may not transfer it to another organization or individual. In cases where the computer program is provided as a service or through online platforms, the creation of a backup copy shall be carried out according to the terms of use or licensing agreement between the parties."

10. Add Clause 3a following Clause 3 of Article 26 as follows:

"3a. Radio and television service providers shall implement the provisions at point a of Clause 1 of this Article in accordance with the Government's regulations."

11. Add Clause 2a following Clause 2 of Article 33 as follows:

"2a. Radio and television service providers shall implement the provisions at point a of Clause 1 of this Article in accordance with the Government's regulations."

12. Amend and supplement some points and clauses of Article 42 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Point a of Clause 1 as follows:

"a) Works, performances, sound recordings, video recordings, broadcast programs created using state budget funds through commissioning, assignment, or bidding;"

b) Amend and supplement Clauses 3 and 4 as follows:

"3. Determine the agency representing the owner, the agency representing the management of copyright and related rights:

a) The agency using state budget funds through commissioning, assignment, or bidding to create works, performances, sound recordings, video recordings, broadcast programs as stipulated in Point a of Clause 1 of this Article;

b) The agency receiving the transfer of copyright and related rights as stipulated in Point b of Clause 1 of this Article;

c) The agency managing state affairs on copyright and related rights in the following cases: as stipulated in Point c of Clause 1 of this Article, except where otherwise provided by law; as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article.

4. The Government shall specify the details of Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article; and set royalty fees in the cases stipulated in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article."

13. Amend and supplement some clauses of Article 49 as follows:

a) Add Clause 2a following Clause 2 as follows:

"2a. The author, copyright owner, and related rights owner must bear responsibility for the information stated in the application for copyright registration and related rights registration;"

b) Amend and supplement Clause 5 as follows:

"5. The Government shall specify the details regarding the components of the application, conditions, procedures, formalities, and time limits for issuing, reissuing, amending, and revoking the effect of the Certificate of Copyright Registration and the Certificate of Related Rights Registration."

14. Amend and supplement some points and clauses of Article 50 as follows:

a) Amending and supplementing Clause 1 as follows:

"1. The author, copyright owner, related rights owner may themselves or authorize a legitimate representative to submit the application for copyright registration, related rights registration to the state management agency for copyright and related rights in accordance with the provisions of the Government."

b) Amend and supplement point a clause 2 as follows:

"a) The declaration form for copyright registration, related rights registration.

The declaration form shall be signed or marked by the author, copyright owner, related rights owner, except in cases where they are physically unable to sign or mark;"

c) Add clause 4 after clause 3 as follows:

"4. The Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism shall prescribe the forms of documents in the activities of copyright registration, related rights registration."

15. Amend and supplement Article 51 and clause 2 thereof as follows:

a) Amend and supplement the name of the Article as follows:

"Article 51. Competence to issue, reissue, replace, and revoke the effect of the Certificate of Copyright Registration, Certificate of Related Rights Registration;"

b) Amend and supplement clause 2 as follows:

"2. The competent state agency issuing the Certificate of Copyright Registration, Certificate of Related Rights Registration has the right to reissue, replace, and revoke the effect of the Certificate of Copyright Registration, Certificate of Related Rights Registration that have been issued."

16. Amend and supplement clause 2 of Article 54 as follows:

"2. Information on the author's name; work title, performance, sound recording, film recording, broadcast program; copyright owner's name, related rights owner's name shall be published in the Annual Register of Copyright and Related Rights Registration."

17. Amend and supplement some clauses of Article 55 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement clause 1 and add clause 1a after clause 1 as follows:

"1. In case the Certificate of Copyright Registration, Certificate of Related Rights Registration is lost or damaged, the competent state agency prescribed in clause 2 of Article 51 of this Law shall proceed to reissue the Certificate of Copyright Registration, Certificate of Related Rights Registration.

1a. In case of requesting to change the copyright owner, related rights owner; work title, information of the author, copyright owner; object of related rights, information of the related rights owner, the competent state agency prescribed in clause 2 of Article 51 of this Law shall proceed to replace the Certificate of Copyright Registration, Certificate of Related Rights Registration."

b) Amend and supplement clause 3 as follows:

"3. The state management agency for copyright and related rights decides to revoke the effect of the Certificate of Copyright Registration, Certificate of Related Rights Registration in cases of inaccurate or dishonest information in the application for copyright registration, related rights registration prescribed in this Law based on requests, provision of information from organizations, individuals, or self-discovery by such agency."

18. Add clause 3 after clause 2 of Article 57 as follows:

"3. The Government shall provide detailed regulations on the types and conditions for the operation of service organizations representing copyright and related rights."

19. Amend and supplement clause 4 and add clause 5 after clause 4 of Article 65 as follows:

"4. A design shall not be considered as having lost its novelty if it is disclosed publicly by the person entitled to file the application under Article 86 of this Law or by a person who directly or indirectly obtains information about the design from that person, provided that the application for design registration is filed within six months from the date of disclosure.

5. The provisions of clause 4 of this Article also apply to designs disclosed in applications for industrial property rights or certificates of protection of industrial property rights published by the state management agency for industrial property rights in cases where the publication does not comply with the provisions of the law or the application is filed by a person without the right to file."

20. Amend and supplement Article 67 as follows:

"Article 67. Industrial applicability of designs

1. A design shall be deemed to have industrial applicability if it can be used as a model to produce a series of products with an external shape or part of an external shape being the design, through physical product production by industrial or handicraft methods or to reproduce identically non-physical products on the internet.

2. The Minister of Science and Technology shall provide detailed regulations on this matter."

21. Amend and supplement some points and clauses of Article 74 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement point d and add point d1 after point d of clause 2 as follows:

"d) Geographical indication of goods and services, except in cases where the sign has been widely used and recognized as a trademark before the filing date or registered as a collective trademark or certification trademark under this Law; for geographical indications of Vietnam for goods and services, implement according to the provisions of point d1 of this clause;

d1) Geographical indication of Vietnam for goods and services, except in cases where the sign has been widely used and recognized as a trademark before the filing date or the sign is an element constituting a distinctive sign registered as a collective trademark or certification trademark under this Law;"

b) Add clause 3 after clause 2 as follows:

"3. The Minister of Science and Technology shall provide detailed regulations on this matter."

22. Add point c after point b of clause 1 of Article 86 as follows:

"c) Organizations entrusted with the management, use, ownership of the results of science and technology tasks and innovation funded by the state budget in accordance with the laws on science and technology and innovation have the right to register patents, designs, layout designs as the results of those tasks."

23. Amend and supplement Article 89 as follows:

"Article 89. Methods for Submitting Applications to Perform Procedures Related to Industrial Property Rights

1. Vietnamese organizations and individuals, foreign individuals residing permanently in Vietnam, and foreign organizations with production and business establishments in Vietnam may submit applications to perform procedures related to industrial property rights themselves or through their authorized representatives in Vietnam.

2. Foreign individuals not residing permanently in Vietnam and foreign organizations without production and business establishments in Vietnam must submit applications to perform procedures related to industrial property rights through their authorized representatives in Vietnam.

3. Applications in procedures related to industrial property rights must be submitted in written form on paper or electronically via the electronic filing system.

4. The Minister of Science and Technology shall provide detailed regulations for this Article."

24. Amend and supplement Clause 1 of Article 89a as follows:

"1. Inventions listed in the State Secrets Directory in technical fields affecting national defense and security, created in Vietnam and belonging to individuals who are Vietnamese citizens and reside permanently in Vietnam or organizations established under Vietnamese law, may only be submitted for invention patent registration abroad after approval by the Ministry of National Defense or the Ministry of Public Security."

25. Amend and supplement Clause 1 of Article 92 as follows:

"1. The certificate of protection records:

a) The owner of the invention patent, industrial design, layout-design, trademark, or the representative of the owner of the invention patent, industrial design, layout-design in cases where the applicant is an organization entrusted with the management and use of the results of scientific and technological tasks and innovation funded by the state budget according to the laws on science and technology and innovation (hereinafter referred to as the certificate holder);

b) The inventor of the invention patent, industrial design, layout-design;

c) The object, scope, and duration of protection."

26. Amend and supplement Clause 3; add Clause 4 after Clause 3 of Article 94 as follows:

"3. The fee and charge for maintaining and extending the validity of the certificate of protection shall be regulated by the law on fees and charges.

4. The Minister of Science and Technology shall provide detailed regulations on the procedures and formalities for maintaining and extending the validity of the certificate of protection."

27. Add Clause 8 after Clause 7 of Article 95 as follows:

"8. The Minister of Science and Technology shall provide detailed regulations on the procedures and formalities for requesting termination of the validity of the certificate of protection and the termination of the validity of the certificate of protection."

28. Amend and supplement some Points and Clauses of Article 96 as follows:

a) Add Point d after Point c of Clause 1 as follows:

"d) The inventor of the invention patent, industrial design, layout-design does not meet the provisions of Clause 1 of Article 122 of this Law;"

b) Amend and supplement Point e of Clause 2 as follows:

"e) The invention patent, industrial design, trademark does not comply with the first-to-file principle stipulated in Article 90 of this Law;"

c) Amend and supplement Clause 7 as follows:

"7. The Minister of Science and Technology shall provide detailed regulations for this Article."

29. Amend and supplement some Clauses of Article 97 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Clause 1 and Clause 2 as follows:

"1. The certificate holder, organizations and individuals implementing the right to register geographical indications according to Article 88 of this Law, and organizations managing geographical indications have the right to request corrections to the following information on the certificate of protection provided that they pay the fee and charge:

a) Changes and corrections to errors related to information about the author, certificate holder, and organization managing geographical indications;

b) Amendments to the description of the characteristics, quality, and geographical area indicated by the geographical indication; amendments to the rules for using collective trademarks and certification trademarks.

2. Upon request from the certificate holder, organizations and individuals implementing the right to register geographical indications, and organizations managing geographical indications, the competent state management agency for industrial property rights shall be responsible for correcting errors in the certificate of protection caused by that agency. In this case, the certificate holder, organizations and individuals implementing the right to register geographical indications, and organizations managing geographical indications do not need to pay the fee and charge."

b) Add Clause 4 after Clause 3 as follows:

"4. The Minister of Science and Technology shall provide detailed regulations for this Article."

30. Amend and supplement Article 99 as follows:

"Article 99. Publication of Decisions Related to Certificates of Protection

Decisions on granting, terminating, revoking, and amending certificates of protection for industrial property rights shall be published in the Official Gazette of Industrial Property within thirty days from the date of issuance of the decision."

31. Amend and supplement Article 100 as follows:

"Article 100. General Requirements for Industrial Property Registration Applications

1. An industrial property registration application includes documents regarding the protected object and other related documents.

2. The industrial property registration application and transaction documents between the applicant and the competent authority handling the application must be made in Vietnamese, except for certain documents which may be in another language but must be translated into Vietnamese upon request.

3. Each industrial property registration application may only request the issuance of one certificate of protection for one unique industrial property object, except in the cases specified in Clauses 4, 5, and 6 of this Article.

4. Each application may request the issuance of one Patent Certificate for an Invention or one Utility Model Certificate for a group of closely related inventions aimed at achieving a single inventive purpose.

5. Each application may request the issuance of one Design Certificate for multiple designs in the following cases:

a) Designs of a set of products consisting of multiple products expressing a single common creative idea, used together or to achieve a common purpose;

b) A design accompanied by one or more variants that are minor variations of that design based on a single creative concept, without significant differences from the original design.

6. Each application may request registration for a trademark used for one or more different goods or services.

7. The applicant is responsible for the information provided in the application. In cases where it is determined that the information in the application is inaccurate or not truthful, the competent state agency that granted the intellectual property right certificate shall revoke the decision to grant such certificate.

8. The Minister of Science and Technology shall provide detailed regulations for this Article.”

32. Amend and supplement Article 107 as follows:

“Article 107. Power of Attorney in Procedures Related to Industrial Property Rights

1. Organizations and individuals may authorize other organizations or individuals to represent them in procedures related to industrial property rights. The authorization to conduct procedures related to industrial property rights must be documented in writing.

2. The power of attorney document shall include the following main contents:

a) Full name and address of the principal and the agent;

b) Scope of authority;

c) Term of authority;

d) Date of issuance of the power of attorney;

đ) Signature and seal (if any) of the principal.

3. If the power of attorney document does not specify a term of authority, the term of authority shall be determined according to the provisions of the Civil Code. In cases where either the principal or the agent unilaterally terminates the power of attorney, a written declaration of termination of the power of attorney must be issued.

4. The Minister of Science and Technology shall provide guidance on the implementation of powers of attorney in procedures related to industrial property rights.”.

33. Amend and supplement Article 108 as follows:

“Article 108. Filing Date and Conditions for Acceptance of Applications for Industrial Property Rights

1. The filing date for applications for industrial property rights is the date the application is accepted by the competent state agency or, for international applications, the date of filing under an international agreement. An application will only be accepted if it meets the conditions set forth by the Minister of Science and Technology, except in cases stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. Applications for confidential inventions shall be processed in accordance with government regulations.”.

34. Amend, supplement, and abolish certain points and clauses of Article 109 as follows:

a) Add point c1 after point c of Clause 2 as follows:

“c1) There is a basis to affirm that the inventor of the invention, design, or layout does not meet the provisions of Clause 1 of Article 122 of this Law;”

b) Abolish Clause 3; amend and supplement Clauses 4 and 5; add Clause 6 after Clause 5 as follows:

“4. Applications for industrial property rights that do not fall within the cases stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article shall be considered valid in form and published in accordance with the provisions of Article 110 of this Law and their content shall be examined in accordance with the provisions of Article 114 of this Law, or the procedure for granting protection certificates and recording in the National Register of Industrial Property Rights shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 118 of this Law for layout design applications. The date the application is transferred for publication is the date it is considered valid in form.

5. Applications for patents, designs, and trademarks that are refused protection due to being invalid in form shall be deemed not filed but can serve as grounds for claiming priority.

6. The Minister of Science and Technology shall provide detailed regulations on the examination of the form of applications for industrial property rights.”.

35. Amend and supplement Clauses 1a, 1, 2, and 3 of Article 110 as follows:

“1a. Trademark applications shall be made public immediately upon acceptance.

1. Legitimate applications for industrial property rights shall be published in the Official Gazette of Industrial Property Rights in accordance with the provisions of this Article.

2. Legitimate patent applications in terms of form shall be published in the nineteenth month from the filing date or from the priority date for applications claiming priority. If the applicant requests early publication, the application shall be published within one month from the date of the request for early publication or from the date the application is considered valid, whichever is later.

3. Design applications, trademark applications, and geographical indication applications shall be published within one month from the date they are considered valid. Design applications may be published at a later time upon the applicant's request at the time of filing, but not later than seven months from the filing date.”.

36. Amend and supplement Article 111 as follows:

“Article 111. Confidentiality of Patent Applications and Design Applications Before Publication

1. Prior to the publication of patent applications and design applications in the Official Gazette of Industrial Property Rights, the information contained in the applications must be kept confidential.

2. Staff members who disclose confidential information in patent applications or design applications during the processing of the applications shall be subject to disciplinary action; if the disclosure causes damage to the applicant, compensation shall be provided in accordance with the law.”.

37. Amend and supplement certain clauses of Article 112a as follows:

a) Amending and supplementing Clause 1 as follows:

“1. Any third party has the right to oppose the grant of a protection certificate during the following periods:

a) Six months from the date of publication of the patent application or three months from the date of publication of the patent application in cases where the patent application is examined quickly in accordance with Clause 2a of Article 119 of this Law;

b) Three months from the date of publication of the design application, trademark application, or geographical indication application.”;

b) Amend and supplement clause 3 as follows:

“3. The Minister of Science and Technology shall provide detailed regulations on the procedures and formalities for handling objections as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article.”.

38. Amend and supplement certain clauses of Article 113 as follows:

a) Amending and supplementing Clause 1 as follows:

"1. Within thirty-six months from the date of filing the application or from the priority date in cases where the application claims priority, the applicant for a patent or any third party has the right to request substantive examination of the application provided that the fee for substantive examination is paid."

b) Add Clause 4 after Clause 3 as follows:

"4. The Minister of Science and Technology shall provide detailed regulations on the procedures, requirements, and handling of requests for substantive examination of patent applications."

39. Add Clause 3a following Clause 3; amend and supplement Clause 4 of Article 114 as follows:

"3a. An industrial property application shall be temporarily suspended from substantive examination in the following cases:"

"a) The applicant submits a request to suspend the substantive examination of the application to terminate or revoke the effect of the Certificate of Registration of Trademark according to the exception cases stipulated in Point e and Point h, Clause 2, Article 74 of this Law. Substantive examination of the application will continue upon receipt of the result of the request to terminate or revoke the effect of the Certificate of Registration of Trademark;"

"b) There is a notice from the competent court regarding the initiation of a lawsuit by a third party concerning the registration rights of industrial property objects or trademarks registered with malicious intent. Substantive examination of the application will resume immediately upon receipt of the final judgment or decision of the court with legal effect."

"4. The Minister of Science and Technology shall provide detailed regulations on substantive examination of industrial property applications; the use of results from substantive examination of patent applications as stipulated in Clause 3 of this Article."

40. Add Clause 5 following Clause 4 of Article 115 as follows:

"5. The Minister of Science and Technology shall provide detailed regulations on this matter."

41. Add Clause 4 following Clause 3 of Article 116 as follows:

"4. The Minister of Science and Technology shall provide detailed regulations on this matter."

42. Amend and repeal some Points and Clauses of Article 117 as follows:

"a) Add Point e following Point đ, Clause 1 as follows:"

"e) The application is deemed invalid under Clause 2, Article 109 of this Law."

"b) Add Clause 1b following Clause 1a as follows:"

"1b. In addition to the cases stipulated in Clause 1 and Clause 1a of this Article, patent applications and design applications shall be refused protection if there is sufficient basis to determine that the inventor of the patent or the designer of the design does not meet the requirements set out in Clause 1, Article 122 of this Law."

"c) Repeal Clause 3."

43. Amend and supplement Article 118 as follows:

"Article 118. Granting Protection Certificates, Registering in the National Register of Industrial Property

An industrial property application which does not fall within the refusal grounds specified in Points a, b, c, d, and đ, Clause 1, Clauses 1a, 1b, and 2 of Article 117 of this Law, and the applicant has paid all required fees and charges as prescribed by law, the competent state management agency for industrial property rights shall issue a decision granting protection certificates and record them in the National Register of Industrial Property."

44. Amend and supplement Clause 2; add Clause 2a following Clause 2 of Article 119 as follows:

"2. An industrial property application shall be subject to substantive examination within the following timeframes:"

"a) For patents: within twelve months from the date of publication of the application if the request for substantive examination is filed before the publication date or from the date of receipt of the request for substantive examination if it is filed after the publication date;"

"b) For trademarks, designs, and geographical indications: within five months from the date of publication of the application."

"2a. In cases as prescribed by the Government, the applicant has the right to request expedited substantive examination of patent applications and trademark applications. Expedited substantive examination shall be conducted within three months from the date specified in Point a or Point b, Clause 2 of this Article."

45. Amend and supplement some Clauses of Article 119a as follows:

"a) Amend and supplement Clause 1 and Clause 2 as follows:"

"1. The applicant and organizations or individuals directly interested in decisions or notifications related to the processing of applications for establishing rights, maintaining, extending, amending, terminating, or revoking the effect of industrial property protection certificates, or registering contracts transferring industrial property rights have the right to lodge complaints or initiate lawsuits at the court in accordance with this Law and other relevant laws."

"2. Vietnamese organizations or individuals, foreign individuals residing in Vietnam, and foreign organizations or individuals having production or business establishments in Vietnam may file complaints themselves or through their authorized representatives in Vietnam. Foreign individuals not residing in Vietnam and foreign organizations or individuals without production or business establishments in Vietnam must file complaints through their authorized representatives in Vietnam. The authorization for the representative to file complaints must be in writing. Such authorization does not necessarily need to be notarized or certified."

"b) Amend and supplement Clause 5 as follows:"

"5. The time limit for resolving complaints shall be applied in accordance with the law on complaints. The time taken to re-examine cases as stipulated in Clause 4 of this Article, the time for the complainant, the respondent, and relevant agencies, organizations, or individuals to provide opinions, information, documents, and evidence regarding the complaint, the time for conducting expert appraisals (if any), and the time for the complainant to amend or supplement the complaint dossier shall not be counted towards the time limit for resolving the complaint."

"c) Add Clause 7 following Clause 6 as follows:"

"7. The Minister of Science and Technology shall provide detailed regulations on complaints and their resolution related to industrial property procedures."

46. Amend and supplement Clause 3 of Article 120 as follows:

"3. The Minister of Science and Technology shall provide detailed regulations on international applications and the procedures and requirements for handling international applications under relevant international treaties consistent with the principles of this Chapter."

47. Amend and supplement Clause 2 of Article 120a as follows:

“2. The publication of international requests, the handling of third-party opinions, and the assessment of protection conditions for geographical indications in international requests shall be carried out in accordance with the relevant provisions of this Law for geographical indications in applications for registration of geographical indications submitted under the procedures stipulated in this Law.”

48. Supplement Clause 3 following Clause 2 of Article 123 as follows:

“3. An organization recorded as the representative of the owner on the certificate of protection may represent the owner to exercise rights over inventions, industrial designs, and layout-designs in compliance with the provisions of this Law and other related laws.”

49. Amend and supplement some points of Clause 2 of Article 124 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Point a as follows:

“a) Producing a product or part of a product with an outer shape that is an industrial design protected;”

b) Supplement Point d following Point c as follows:

“d) Circulating digital copies of non-physical products with an outer shape or part of an outer shape that is an industrial design protected.”

50. Amend and supplement Point d of Clause 1 of Article 146 as follows:

“d) The person to whom the right to use the invention is transferred must pay the holder of the exclusive right to use the invention a reasonable compensation amount depending on the economic value of the use of that right in each specific case as prescribed by the Government, except in cases where the right to use the invention is transferred pursuant to a compulsory decision for importing pharmaceutical products under an international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party, and the compensation for using the invention transferred pursuant to a compulsory decision has already been paid in the exporting country;”

51. Amend and supplement Clause 1 of Article 147 as follows:

“1. The People's Committee of provinces and centrally governed cities shall issue decisions transferring the right to use inventions based on reviewing requests for the transfer of the right to use inventions as provided for in Points b, c, and d of Clause 1 of Article 145 of this Law.

Ministries and ministerial-level agencies shall issue decisions transferring the right to use inventions within their respective areas of state management as provided for in Points a and d of Clause 1 of Article 145 of this Law.”

52. Amend and supplement Clause 3 of Article 148 as follows:

“3. Contracts for the use of industrial property objects as provided for in Clause 2 of this Article, except contracts for the use of trademarks, must be registered with competent state authorities to have legal effect against third parties.”

53. Amend and supplement Article 150 as follows:

“Article 150. Handling of Registration Applications for Contracts Transferring Industrial Property Rights

1. The Government shall prescribe the application dossier for contracts for the use of industrial property objects, the procedure, and the process for receiving and handling such registration applications.

2. The Minister of Science and Technology shall prescribe the application dossier for contracts transferring ownership rights of industrial property, the procedure, and the process for receiving and handling such registration applications.”

54. Amend and supplement Clause 3 of Article 155 as follows:

“3. The Government shall provide detailed regulations on the inspection of business operations and issuance of Certificates of Practice in industrial property representation services. The Minister of Science and Technology shall prescribe training programs on industrial property law.”

55. Amend and supplement the name of the Article and some clauses of Article 156 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement the name of the Article as follows:

“Article 156. Recording, Removing Names of Industrial Property Representatives, and Revoking Certificates of Practice in Industrial Property Representation Services”

b) Amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 2 as follows:

“1. Organizations and individuals meeting the business and practice conditions for industrial property representation services as stipulated in Articles 154 and 155 of this Law shall be recorded in the National Register of Industrial Property Representatives by the competent state agency for industrial property rights.

2. In cases where an industrial property representative no longer meets the business and practice conditions for industrial property representation services as stipulated in Articles 154 and 155 of this Law, the competent authority shall revoke the Certificate of Practice in Industrial Property Representation Services and remove the name of the representative from the National Register of Industrial Property Representatives.”

c) Supplement Clause 5 following Clause 4 as follows:

“5. The Government shall provide detailed regulations on the procedures and processes for recording, removing names of industrial property representatives, and revoking Certificates of Practice in Industrial Property Representation Services.”

56. Supplement some points and clauses of Article 164 as follows:

a) Supplement Point b1 following Point b of Clause 2 as follows:

“b1) An organization entrusted with the management, use, and ownership rights of the results of scientific and technological tasks and innovation funded by the state budget, as prescribed by laws on science, technology, and innovation, has the right to apply for the protection of plant varieties resulting from those tasks;”

b) Supplement Clause 2a following Clause 2 as follows:

“2a. Where multiple organizations or individuals jointly create, discover, and develop plant varieties or invest in the creator’s work to create or discover and develop plant varieties, all such organizations and individuals shall have the right to apply for protection, and such right can only be exercised if agreed upon by all such organizations and individuals.”

57. Amend and supplement some clauses of Article 165 as follows:

a) Amending and supplementing Clause 1 as follows:

“1. Vietnamese organizations and individuals; foreign organizations and individuals permanently residing in Vietnam or having production and business establishments for plant varieties in Vietnam, either directly or through their production and business establishments for plant varieties or through service organizations representing rights to plant varieties, submit applications for rights to plant varieties; other organizations and individuals as prescribed in Article 157 of this Law shall submit applications through service organizations representing rights to plant varieties.”

b) Amend and supplement Clause 7 as follows:

"7. The Government shall provide detailed regulations on the business practice inspection for representation of plant variety rights; issuance, reissuance, and revocation of the Certificate of Professional Services for Representation of Plant Variety Rights; registration, reregistration, and deletion of service organizations representing plant variety rights. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development shall stipulate the training program on laws related to plant variety rights."

58. Amend and supplement Clause 3 of Article 170 as follows:

"3. In the case provided for in Point b, Clause 1 of this Article, the Plant Variety Protection Certificate shall automatically be suspended from its effective date of the first year if the maintenance fee has not been paid. Within sixty days from the date the Plant Variety Protection Certificate is suspended, the competent state management agency on plant variety rights shall notify about the suspension of the Plant Variety Protection Certificate according to Clause 5 of this Article."

59. Amend and supplement Point d, Clause 3 of Article 176 as follows:

"d) Notify acceptance of the application and request the applicant to send samples of the plant variety to the testing site for technical testing within thirty days before the first planting season, starting from the date of notification of acceptance of the application for protection of the plant variety, except in cases where the plant variety is self-tested by the applicant according to Clause 2 of Article 178 of this Law if the application is valid or the applicant corrects deficiencies satisfactorily or there is a reasonable objection to the notification provided for in Point b of this Clause. If the applicant conducts the technical testing themselves, the testing must begin within twenty-four months from the date the application is accepted as valid. If the applicant does not start the self-testing within the above period, the application for protection of the plant variety shall be deemed withdrawn at the end of that period."

60. Amend and supplement Clause 3 of Article 178 as follows:

"3. The period for reviewing the results of technical testing is sixty days, starting from the date of receipt of the technical testing results."

61. Amend and supplement Article 183 as follows:

"Article 183. Issuance of Plant Variety Protection Certificates"

"1. In cases where the application for protection is not rejected according to Article 182 of this Law and the applicant pays the fee, the competent state management agency on plant variety rights shall decide to issue a Plant Variety Protection Certificate and record it in the National Register of Protected Plant Varieties."

"2. Organizations and individuals who register plant variety rights according to Clause 2 of Article 164 of this Law and are granted a Plant Variety Protection Certificate by the competent authority are the owners of the plant variety rights, except in the cases provided for in Clause 3 of this Article."

"3. Organizations entrusted with the management and use of the results of science and technology tasks and innovation funded by the state budget, which register plant variety rights according to Point b1, Clause 2 of Article 164 of this Law and are granted a Plant Variety Protection Certificate by the competent authority, represent the rights of the owner of the plant variety."

62. Amend and supplement Clause 5 of Article 191 as follows:

"5. Pay the maintenance fee for the Plant Variety Protection Certificate to the competent state management agency on plant variety protection within three months before the first day of the next effective year."

63. Amend and supplement Clause 1 of Article 196 as follows:

"1. The People's Committee of provinces and centrally governed cities shall issue decisions to transfer the right to use plant varieties based on the examination of requests for transfer of the right to use as provided for in Clause 1 of Article 195 of this Law."

64. Amend and supplement the name of the Article and some clauses of Article 198b as follows:

a) Amend and supplement the name of the Article as follows:

"Article 198b. Legal Liability for Intellectual Property Rights of Intermediary Service Providers and Platform Managers"

b) Amend and supplement Clause 1 as follows:

"1. An intermediary service provider is a business providing technical means and digital platforms for organizations and individuals to use services to upload digital information content onto the internet; providing online connections for the public to access and use digital information content on the internet."

c) Supplement Clause 5a after Clause 5 as follows:

"5a. Platform managers have the responsibility to implement measures to protect intellectual property rights on the internet in accordance with the provisions of the law on intellectual property, e-commerce, cybersecurity, and other relevant laws."

65. Amend and supplement some clauses of Article 200 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Clause 1 as follows:

"1. Within their scope of duties and powers, courts and authorities authorized to impose administrative penalties under the law on handling administrative violations shall handle acts infringing upon intellectual property rights."

b) Amend and supplement Clause 3 as follows:

"3. The application of administrative measures within the authority of the authority authorized to impose administrative penalties under the law on handling administrative violations. In necessary cases, the authority authorized to impose administrative penalties may apply preventive measures and ensure the handling of administrative violations in accordance with the law on handling administrative violations."

66. Amend and supplement some points and clauses of Article 201 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

"2. Enterprises, cooperatives, public service units, and law firms established and operating in accordance with the law must have at least one individual holding an intellectual property expert certificate to conduct intellectual property expert activities, except in cases provided for in Clause 2a of this Article."

b) Amend and supplement Point d and supplement Point đ after Point d, Clause 3 as follows:

"d) Have a bachelor's degree or higher in a relevant field suitable for the area applying for the expert certificate;

d) Belongs to one of the following cases: having engaged in practical activities in the field for which the intellectual property expert identification card is requested for at least five years and certified as meeting the requirements of specialized training on intellectual property identification; directly participating in resolving intellectual property disputes at courts and arbitration organizations for at least fifteen years with no more than two years of interruption (if any) counted up to the time of requesting the intellectual property expert identification card; directly participating in providing professional support in intellectual property identification work at identification organizations for at least fifteen years with no more than two years of interruption (if any) counted up to the time of requesting the intellectual property expert identification card.”

c) Supplement Clause 3a after Clause 3 as follows:

“3a. In the case where the holder of the intellectual property expert identification card no longer meets the conditions stipulated in Clause 3 of this Article, the competent state agency shall revoke the intellectual property expert identification card.”

d) Amend and supplement Clause 5 as follows:

“5. The subject of intellectual property rights and other organizations and individuals related thereto have the right to request intellectual property identification to protect their legitimate rights and interests. State agencies authorized to handle acts of infringing intellectual property rights have the right to request intellectual property identification when settling cases under their jurisdiction. The conclusion of identification is one of the sources of evidence for the competent authority to handle and settle cases. The conclusion of identification does not determine acts of infringing intellectual property rights or determine disputes.”

67. Amend and supplement Clause 5; supplement Clause 6 and Clause 7 after Clause 5 of Article 202 as follows:

“5. Order the destruction or distribution or use without commercial purpose of goods, raw materials, materials, and means primarily used to produce and trade in goods infringing intellectual property rights, provided that it does not affect the ability to exploit the rights of the subject of intellectual property rights, except in the cases provided for in Clause 6 of this Article.

6. Order the destruction of counterfeit goods bearing trademarks and unauthorized reproductions, except for certain special cases prescribed by the Government; order the destruction or distribution or use without commercial purpose of raw materials, materials, and means used to produce counterfeit goods bearing trademarks and unauthorized reproductions, provided that it does not affect the ability to exploit the rights of the subject of intellectual property rights.

7. Order the removal, concealment, or deactivation of access to information, content, accounts, web pages, applications, or internet domain names related to acts of infringing intellectual property rights.”

68. Amend and supplement some Points and Clauses of Article 205 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Point d Clause 1 as follows:

“d) In the case where it is impossible to determine the amount of compensation for material damage based on the grounds specified in Points a, b, and c of this Clause, the amount of compensation for material damage shall be decided by the Court depending on the extent of the damage, but not exceeding one billion dong.”

b) Amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

“2. In the case where the plaintiff proves that the act of infringing intellectual property rights has caused emotional damage to him/her, he/she has the right to request the Court to decide the amount of compensation within the limit from ten times to one hundred times the basic wage prescribed by the State, depending on the extent of the damage. At the time when the basic wage is abolished, the reference level for determining the amount of compensation shall be prescribed by the Government according to the principle of not being lower than the provisions of this Clause.”

69. Supplement Point đ after Point d Clause 1 of Article 207 as follows:

“đ) Conceal or temporarily deactivate access to information, content, accounts, web pages, applications, or internet domain names related to acts of infringing intellectual property rights.”

70. Amend and supplement some Points and Clauses of Article 211 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Point b Clause 1 as follows:

“b) Producing, importing, storing, transporting, trading in goods infringing intellectual property rights as prescribed in Article 213 of this Law or entrusting others to carry out such acts;”

b) Amend and supplement Clause 3 as follows:

“3. Organizations and individuals engaging in unfair competition acts concerning intellectual property rights shall be subject to administrative penalties in accordance with the laws on handling administrative violations.”

71. Supplement and replace phrases in the name of Chapter and some Articles as follows:

a) Supplement the phrase "encrypted cable signals" before the phrase "encrypted satellite signals" in Clause 1 Article 3, Clauses 3, 10c, and 10d Article 4, Clause 2 Article 6, Clauses 3 and 4 Article 17, Clauses 9 and 10 Article 35;

b) Supplement the phrase ", rebroadcasting, transmitting to the public" after the phrase "for broadcasting" in Point a Clause 1 Article 26 and Point a Clause 1 Article 33;

c) Replace the phrase "Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development" with the phrase "Ministry of Agriculture and Environment" in Clauses 2, 3, and 5 Article 11, Clause 2 Article 178;

d) Replace the phrase "ORGANIZATIONS REPRESENTING COLLECTIVE RIGHTS, ADVISING AND PROVIDING SERVICES" with the phrase "COLLECTIVE MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATIONS, REPRESENTATIVE SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS" in the name of Chapter VI;

đ) Replace the phrase "organizations representing collective rights of authors and related rights" with the phrase "collective management organizations of authors' and related rights" in Article 56;

e) Replace the phrase "organizations advising and providing services for authors' and related rights" with the phrase "representative service organizations for authors' and related rights" in Article 57;

g) Replace the phrase "Point b Clause 3 Article 117" with the phrase "Point a Clause 3a Article 114" in Point e and Point h Clause 2 Article 74;

h) Replace the phrase "power of attorney" with the phrase "authorization document" in Point c Clause 2 Article 50, Clause 1 Article 116, Point c Clause 1 and Point a Clause 2 Article 174;

i) Replace the phrase "telecommunication network environment and Internet network" with the phrase "cyberspace" in point b clause 1 Article 198, clause 2 and clause 3 Article 198b.

72. Repeal Articles 52, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106 and 149.

Article 2. Effective Date

This Law shall take effect from April 1, 2026.

Article 3. Transitional Provisions

1. Industrial property registration applications and intellectual property certification card application requests submitted before this Law takes effect shall be processed in accordance with the provisions of the then-effective laws, except for the following contents which shall be governed by the provisions of this Law:

a) Formal examination of industrial property registration applications that have not been accepted as valid by the competent state agency for industrial property rights management;

b) The opposition period for published industrial property registration applications shall commence from the date this Law takes effect;

c) The substantive examination period for published industrial property registration applications shall commence from the date this Law takes effect.

2. For plant variety protection registration applications submitted before this Law takes effect but have not yet undergone technical testing, the twenty-four-month period prescribed in point d clause 3 Article 176 of the Intellectual Property Law No. 50/2005/QH11, amended and supplemented by Laws No. 36/2009/QH12, No. 42/2019/QH14, No. 07/2022/QH15, and No. 93/2025/QH15, as amended and supplemented by clause 59 Article 1 of this Law, shall be calculated from the date this Law takes effect.

3. For plant variety protection certificates with due dates for maintenance fees for the next year falling within thirty days prior to or after the date this Law takes effect, the payment of maintenance fees shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Intellectual Property Law No. 50/2005/QH11, amended and supplemented by Laws No. 36/2009/QH12, No. 42/2019/QH14, No. 07/2022/QH15, and No. 93/2025/QH15.

4. The grounds for revoking the validity of protection certificates shall be applied according to the provisions of the then-effective laws governing the issuance of such certificates.

5. Cases of intellectual property rights infringement that have been accepted for handling by authorized agencies before this Law takes effect but have not yet been resolved shall continue to be governed by the provisions of the Intellectual Property Law No. 50/2005/QH11, amended and supplemented by Laws No. 36/2009/QH12, No. 42/2019/QH14, No. 07/2022/QH15, and No. 93/2025/QH15 for resolution.

This Law was passed by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the 10th Session of the 15th Term, on December 10, 2025.

 SPEAKER OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY


Tran Thanh Man