Circular No. 16/2016/TT-BKHCN amending and supplementing several articles of Circular No. 01/2007/TT-BKHCN dated February 14, 2007 guiding the implementation of Decree No. 103/2006/NĐ-CP dated September 22, 2006 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Intellectual Property Law on industrial property, which has been amended and supplemented by Circulars No. 13/2010/TT-BKHCN dated July 30, 2010, No. 18/2011/TT-BKHCN dated July 22, 2011, and No. 05/2013/TT-BKHCN dated February 20, 2013.

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 01/2007/TT-BKHCNdated February 14, 2007 guiding the implementation of Decree No. 103/2006/NĐ-CP dated September 22, 2006 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Intellectual Property Law on industrial property,which has been amended and supplemented pursuant toCircular No. 13/2010/TT-BKHCN dated July 30, 2010,Circular No. 18/2011/TT-BKHCN dated July 22, 2011 andCircular No. 05/2013/TT-BKHCN dated February 20, 2013Circular No. 05/2013/TT-BKHCN dated February 20, 2013

Pursuant to the Intellectual Property Law dated November 29, 2005 and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Intellectual Property Law dated June 19, 2009;

Pursuant to the Law on Petition dated November 11, 2011;

Pursuant to Decree No. 103/2006/NĐ-CP dated September 22, 2006 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Intellectual Property Law on industrial property and Decree No. 122/2010/NĐ-CP dated December 31, 2010 amending and supplementing some articles of Decree No. 103/2006/NĐ-CP;

Pursuant to Decree No. 20/2013/NĐ-CP dated February 26, 2013 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Science and Technology;

the Director At the proposal of the Director of the National Office of Intellectual Property The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment issues this Circular regulating the preparation, procedures, and processes for reviewing, confirming, and approving project investment documents under the Clean Development Mechanism within the framework of the Kyoto Protocol in Vietnam.

The Minister of Science and Technology promulgates this Circular amending and supplementing somearticles of Circular No. 01/2007/TT-BKHCN dated February 14, 2007 guiding the implementation of Decree No. 103/2006/NĐ-CP dated September 22, 2006 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Intellectual Property Law on industrial property, which has been amended and supplemented pursuant to Circular No. 13/2010/TT-BKHCN dated July 30, 2010, Circular No. 18/2011/TT-BKHCN dated July 22, 2011 and Circular No. 05/2013/TT-BKHCN dated February 20, 2013.

 

Article 1. Amending and supplementing some registered articles of Circular No. 01/2007/TT-BKHCN dated February 14, 2007 guiding the implementation of Decree No. 103/2006/NĐ-CP dated September 22, 2006 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Intellectual Property Law on industrial property, which has been amended and supplemented pursuant to Circular No. 13/2010/TT-BKHCN dated July 30, 2010, Circular No. 18/2011/TT-BKHCN dated July 22, 2011 and Circular No. 05/2013/TT-BKHCN dated February 20, 2013 as follows:

1. Amending and supplementing Point 1 as follows:

a) Amending and supplementing Point 1.1 as follows:

“1.1 Industrial property rights arising or established based on the grounds stipulated in Clause 3, Article 6 of the Intellectual Property Law, Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4, Article 6 of Decree No. 103/2006/NĐ-CP dated September 22, 2006 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Intellectual Property Law on industrial property, amended and supplemented by Decree No. 122/2010/NĐ-CP (hereinafter referred to as "Decree No. 103/2006/NĐ-CP") and as specifically provided for in this point.”

b) Amending and supplementing Point 1.4 as follows:

“1.4 Industrial property rights for international trademarks registered under the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol (hereinafter referred to as "international trademark") are established based on the decision accepting protection of the international trademark issued by the National Office of Intellectual Property together with a copy of the International Trademark Bulletin of the international registration issued by the International Bureau, or a certificate confirming the international trademark protected in Vietnam issued by the National Office of Intellectual Property at the request of the trademark owner. Such decisions and certificates have the same effect as the intellectual property protection certificates granted to the trademark applicant in Vietnam.”

2. Amending and supplementing Point 2 as follows:

“2. The applicant for industrial property

2.1 The applicant for industrial property (hereinafter referred to as "applicant") is an organization or individual filing applications for patents, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks, and geographical indications. When intellectual property protection certificates for patents/utility models, industrial designs, trademarks are issued, the applicant will be recorded as the holder of the protection certificate. When the protection certificate for geographical indications is issued, the applicant will be recorded as the registrant of that geographical indication.

2.2 The applicant must meet the conditions for registering industrial property rights as prescribed in Articles 86, 87, and 88 of the Intellectual Property Law and Articles 7, 8, and 9 of Decree No. 103/2006/NĐ-CP. If these conditions are not met, the application for industrial property registration shall be deemed invalid.”

3. Supplementing Point 3.4 as follows:

“3.4 Granting authority to organizations or individuals who are not authorized to represent or authorize simultaneously multiple organizations or individuals, including those who are not authorized to represent, shall be deemed void.”

4. Amending and supplementing Point 4 as follows:

“4. Delegation of representation to carry out procedures for registering industrial property

4.1 The delegation of representation and the execution of such delegation to carry out procedures for registering industrial property (hereinafter referred to as "delegation") must comply with the legal regulations on delegation under the Civil Code and the provisions of this Circular.

The applicant may change the representative (replace the delegation). Replacing the delegation terminates the delegation relationship between the applicant and the current delegate, and the applicant must declare this in writing.

The delegate may sub-delegate to a third party, subject to the written consent of the applicant. Sub-delegation creates a secondary delegation relationship between the delegate and the sub-delegate, existing concurrently with the delegation relationship between the applicant and the delegate.

Sub-delegation may be carried out multiple times, provided that both the delegate and the sub-delegate are organizations or individuals authorized to represent.

4.2 The delegation must be documented in writing (power of attorney or delegation contract, collectively referred to as power of attorney) and must include the following main contents:

a) Full name/address of the delegator and the delegate;

b) Full name/address of the replaced delegate or the sub-delegate (if applicable);

c) Scope of delegation and volume of work delegated;

d) Term of delegation (a power of attorney without a term only ceases to be effective when the delegator declares termination of the delegation);

e) Date of signing the power of attorney;

f) Signature, full name, position, and stamp (if any) of the authorized representative of the delegator and of the replaced delegate or the sub-delegate (in case of replacement of delegation or sub-delegation).

4.3 The date when the power of attorney becomes legally valid in transactions with the National Office of Intellectual Property is determined as follows:

a) The date when the National Office of Intellectual Property receives a valid power of attorney;

b) The date when the National Office of Intellectual Property receives a valid request for replacement of delegation or sub-delegation.

c) The date on which the Intellectual Property Office receives the request to amend information related to the change in the scope of authorization, termination of authorization before the due date, or change of address of the authorized party;

d) The power of attorney may be submitted later than the filing date but not more than one month from the filing date; for protest applications, the above period is ten working days.

Prior to the acceptance of the application as valid, the Intellectual Property Office conducts transactions with a person claiming to represent the applicant (as stated in the declaration form) to carry out formal examination procedures to conclude whether the application is valid or invalid, including conclusions regarding the legality of the representative's status.

4.4 Any transaction made by any authorized party within the scope of authorization at any time shall be deemed to be conducted on behalf of the applicant, thereby generating rights and obligations of the applicant. In cases of substitution of authorization or re-authorization, the substituted authorized party or the re-authorized party shall continue representation for all issues arising from the previous transactions made by the prior authorized party with the Intellectual Property Office.

At any point during the processing of the application, the Intellectual Property Office will only conduct transactions with the final substituted authorized party or the final re-authorized party for each specific task or procedural step authorized to be represented, if the applicant has authorized two or more representatives to perform different tasks or procedural steps.

4.5 If the power of attorney includes multiple independent procedures and the original power of attorney has been submitted to the Intellectual Property Office, when proceeding with subsequent procedures, the authorized party must submit a copy of the power of attorney and accurately indicate the application number corresponding to the original power of attorney.”

5. Amend and supplement Clause 5.1 as follows:

“5.1 The applicant and the representative of the applicant are responsible for ensuring the truthfulness of the information and documents provided to the Intellectual Property Office during the industrial property registration process as stipulated below:

a) All transaction documents must be self-certified by the applicant or the representative of the applicant through their signature and stamped with the confirmation seal of the organization (if applicable). Where laws require certification by a notary or another competent authority, such certification must be carried out according to the regulations;

b) All translations of foreign language documents into Vietnamese must be accompanied by a commitment from the applicant or the representative guaranteeing that they are accurate translations of the originals;

c) In cases where the representative of the applicant is an industrial property representation service organization, the person representing the organization who signs the transaction documents must have a certificate of practice for industrial property representation services.”

6. Amend and supplement Clause 6 as follows:

“6. Handling third-party opinions before issuing a protection certificate

6.1 From the date of publication of the industrial property application in the Industrial Property Gazette until the decision to issue the protection certificate, any organization or individual has the right to submit written opinions to the Intellectual Property Office regarding the registration right, priority right, conditions for protection, and other issues related to the industrial property application as prescribed in Article 112 of the Intellectual Property Law. Those opposing the issuance of the protection certificate must pay the fee for resolving objections to the industrial property application as prescribed. The document containing the third-party opinion is considered a source of information for the processing of the industrial property application.

6.2 In cases where the Intellectual Property Office considers the third-party opinion to be well-founded, it will notify the applicant about the opinion and set a maximum deadline of one month from the date of notification for the applicant to respond in writing. After receiving the applicant's response, if necessary, the Intellectual Property Office will notify the third party about the response and set a maximum deadline of one month from the date of notification for the third party to respond in writing to the response. After the said deadline, the Intellectual Property Office will handle the opinions of the applicant and the third party based on the evidence and arguments provided by both parties and the documents contained in the application. The third party will also be notified of the result of the application examination.

6.3 In cases where the Intellectual Property Office considers the third-party opinion to be unfounded, it does not need to notify the applicant about the opinion, but must notify the third party about the rejection of the opinion, clearly stating the reasons.

6.4 In cases where the third-party opinion relates to the registration right, if it cannot be determined whether the opinion is well-founded or not, the Intellectual Property Office will notify the third party to file a lawsuit with the competent court according to civil procedure law. Within one month from the date the Intellectual Property Office issues the notification, if the third party does not submit a copy of the case acceptance notice from the court to the Intellectual Property Office, the Intellectual Property Office will consider the third party to have withdrawn the opinion and proceed with the application as if there were no third-party opinion. If the Intellectual Property Office receives a copy of the case acceptance notice from the court from the third party within the specified period, the Intellectual Property Office will suspend the processing of the application to await the resolution of the dispute by the court. Upon receipt of the resolution from the court, the processing of the application will be carried out in accordance with the resolution.

6.5 The Intellectual Property Office organizes direct dialogue between the third party and the applicant to clarify the issue of opposition if deemed necessary or upon request of both parties.

6.6 The time allocated for the applicant to respond to the third-party opinion is not included in the time allocated for the Intellectual Property Office to carry out related procedures as prescribed.”

7. Amend and supplement Clause 7 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Clause 7.1.a (ii) as follows:

“(ii) Documents, samples, information reflecting the subject matter of the registered industrial property.”

Specifically: for a patent application, it is the description of the invention; for a design application, it is a set of photographs or drawings and the description of the industrial design; for a trademark application, it is the trademark specimen and the list of goods and services bearing the trademark (which must be included in the declaration form); for a geographical indication application, it is the name of the product bearing the geographical indication (which must be included in the declaration form) and the description of the characteristics, quality, reputation of the product bearing the geographical indication and the map of the corresponding geographical area.

b) Amend and supplement point 7.1.b (iv) as follows:

"(iv) The document from the People's Committee of the province or centrally governed city permitting the use of place names or other signs indicating the geographical origin of local specialties to register trademarks in accordance with point 37.7.a of this Circular (if the trademark being registered is a collective mark or certification mark containing a place name or other sign indicating the geographical origin of local specialties)."

c) Amend and supplement point 7.2.b (iii) as follows:

"(iii) All documents in the application must be presented in portrait orientation (except for drawings, diagrams, and tables which may be presented in landscape orientation) on A4 size paper (210mm x 297mm), except for maps of the geographical area which may be presented on A3 size paper (420mm x 297mm), leaving margins of 20mm on all four sides, using Times New Roman font, with characters not smaller than size 13, except for supplementary documents whose original source was not intended to be included in the application;"

d) Amend and supplement point 7.2.b (vii) as follows:

"(vii) Terminology used in the application must be consistent and common (do not use local dialects, rare words, or self-created terms). Symbols, units of measurement, electronic fonts, and spelling rules used in the application must comply with Vietnamese standards;"

đ) Amend and supplement point 7.2.d as follows:

"d) The declaration form and other documents of the application must ensure that all required information is complete and consistent; the Vietnamese translation of the application documents must correspond to the original; the power of attorney must include the contents prescribed in point 4.2 of this Circular."

e) Amend and supplement point 7.2.e as follows:

"e) The subject matter mentioned in the application must be accurately classified according to the international classification specified in points 23.5, 33.4, and 37.4.e of this Circular. If the applicant does not classify or classifies inaccurately, the National Office of Intellectual Property will perform this task and the applicant must pay the international classification fee as prescribed."

g) Amend and supplement point 7.3.c as follows:

"c) Documents proving the basis for claiming priority: Part confirming by the receiving office of the copy of the first application (applications), except for international applications for patents under the Patent Cooperation Treaty - PCT; list of goods and services covered by the first trademark application; assignment of priority rights, if such rights are derived from another person."

8. Amend and supplement point 8 as follows:

"8. Fees and charges for filing industrial property rights

8.1 Applicants and users of intellectual property services must pay fees and charges as prescribed by the Ministry of Finance and other service fees as prescribed.

8.2 Collection of fees and charges

a) When accepting an application or request to proceed with procedures requiring payment of fees and charges, the National Office of Intellectual Property requires the applicant to pay the prescribed fees and charges (issue a receipt).

b) When collecting fees and charges, the National Office of Intellectual Property issues two copies of the fee and charge receipt as proof of payment, clearly stating the amounts and rates of fees and charges collected, one copy issued to the payer and one copy retained in the application file for formal examination purposes and issue a financial invoice to the payer in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Finance.

c) In cases where fees and charges are paid through postal services or directly deposited into the account of the National Office of Intellectual Property, the applicant must submit a copy of the payment receipt together with the application file or submitted documents.

d) If the prescribed fees and charges have not been fully paid, the National Office of Intellectual Property will notify the applicant.

8.3 Refund of fees and charges

a) Except for the cases stipulated in point 8.3.b below, fees and charges paid for each procedure during the processing of the application will not be refunded once the deadline for performing the procedure has begun. Application filing fees will not be refunded under any circumstances.

b) Fees and charges can be refunded at the request of the applicant in cases where the National Office of Intellectual Property has collected them incorrectly (overcharged, overpaid...).

c) Upon acceptance of the refund request, the National Office of Intellectual Property will notify the refund amount and send it to the applicant.

d) In cases where the refund request is not accepted, the National Office of Intellectual Property will notify the applicant and specify the reasons."

9. Amend and supplement point 9 as follows:

"9. Time limits

9.1 Time limits prescribed in the Law on Intellectual Property, Decree No. 103/2006/ND-CP, and in this Circular shall be calculated in accordance with the time limit provisions of the Civil Code.

9.2 The time limit granted to applicants and interested parties to submit, amend, or supplement documents or provide comments may be extended once for the exact period specified in the notification of the National Office of Intellectual Property, provided that the party requesting the extension submits a request for extension before the end of the specified period and pays the prescribed extension fee.

9.3 If the applicant fails to amend, supplement documents or provide feedback within the specified time limit (including any extension allowed under this provision), the National Office of Intellectual Property will issue a decision rejecting the corresponding procedure, and the applicant will lose the right to amend, supplement documents or provide comments, except in the cases stipulated in point 9.4 below."

9.4 The period shall not include the time during which an event of force majeure or an objective obstacle occurs, preventing the organization or individual with rights and obligations from performing their rights and obligations within the period if such organization or individual has a request and credible evidence to prove that condition. If the request is accepted, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall issue a decision or notification to revoke the previously issued decision or notification on the grounds that the organization or individual did not perform their rights and obligations within the prescribed period and restore the processing procedure to its status before the deadline expired.

9.5 An event of force majeure is an event occurring objectively and unforeseeably (for example, natural disasters, enemy attacks...) and cannot be overcome despite the application of necessary measures within the permitted capabilities.

An objective obstacle is an impediment caused by external circumstances (for example: illness, business trips, studying far away...) making it impossible for the person with rights and obligations to know about the infringement of their legitimate rights and interests, or to perform their rights and obligations.

9.6 The applicant may request the National Office of Intellectual Property to process the procedures ahead of the prescribed time when submitting a written request and paying the service fee as stipulated if the request is accepted. In case the National Office of Intellectual Property does not accept the request, it must notify the applicant and specify the reasons.

10. Amend and supplement Point 11 as follows:

“11. Common Procedures

All types of industrial property registration applications shall be processed by the National Office of Intellectual Property according to the following sequence: receiving the application; examining the form of the application; publishing the valid application; examining the content of the application (except for design layout application which does not undergo content examination); issuing or refusing to issue a protection certificate; registering and publishing the decision to issue the protection certificate. For international trademark registration applications designating Vietnam, the procedural rules are specified in Point 41.6 of this Circular.”

11. Amend and supplement Point 12.1 as follows:

“12.1 Applications can be submitted at the National Office of Intellectual Property or at other application reception locations established by the National Office of Intellectual Property. Applications can also be sent by post to these reception locations. The National Office of Intellectual Property will not return submitted documents (except for original documents submitted for verification when compared with copies).”

12. Amend and supplement Point 13 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Point 13.2.b as follows:

“b) In the declaration, there is insufficient information about the author (for patent application, design application, and layout-design application), about the applicant, about the representative, lacking signature and/or seal (if applicable) of the applicant or the representative;”

b) Add Point 13.2.h as follows:

“h) Applications submitted contrary to the security control regulations for patents before being registered abroad as stipulated in Clause 2 Article 23b of Decree No. 103/2006/NĐ-CP, including direct submissions of international applications to the International Bureau.”

c) Amend and supplement Point 13.3 as follows:

“13.3 Deficiencies of the application during the formal examination stage

The application shall be considered deficient in the following cases:

a) The application does not meet the requirements set out in Point 7.2 of this Circular (insufficient number of copies of any required document; the application does not satisfy consistency; the application does not meet the requirements for presentation format; trademark registration application does not clearly state the type of trademark being registered, lacks a description of the trademark; missing classification of inventions, designs, goods, services bearing trademarks, or incorrect classification; missing priority document translation (if required); inconsistent information about the applicant in various documents or altered or unconfirmed information according to the regulations...);

b) Insufficient payment of application fees, publication fees, examination fees, and information retrieval fees for examination, except for substantive examination fees for patent applications if no substantive examination request is made in the application;

c) Lack of power of attorney or invalid power of attorney (if the application is submitted through a representative).”

d) Amend and supplement Point 13.5.c as follows:

“c) Determining the priority date based on the first application(s) filed in Vietnam according to the principles stipulated in Article 91 of the Intellectual Property Law and corresponding provisions in Points b, c, and d Clause 1 Article 10 of Decree No. 103/2006/NĐ-CP.”

đ) Amend and supplement Point 13.6 as follows:

“13.6 Notification of the result of formal examination, decision to accept valid applications

a) If the application falls under any of the cases specified in Point 13.2 of this Circular or still contains deficiencies as specified in Point 13.3 of this Circular, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall send the applicant a notification of the result of the formal examination, with the intention of rejecting the acceptance of the application due to its invalidity. The notification must clearly state the name and address of the applicant; the name of the industrial property service representation organization (if the application is submitted through such an organization); the subject matter stated in the application; the date of submission and application number; the reasons and deficiencies that could lead to rejection of the application and set a two-month deadline from the date of the notification for the applicant to provide comments or correct deficiencies.

Specifically for priority right basis proof documents, the applicant is allowed to submit supplementary documents within three months from the date of application submission.

b) In case the application is valid, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall issue a decision to accept the valid application, specifying the name and address of the applicant, the name of the authorized representative (if any), and the information about the subject matter stated in the application, the date of submission, application number, priority date, and send it to the applicant. If the priority right claim is not accepted, the application is still accepted as valid, except in cases where other deficiencies affect the validity of the application and the decision must specify the reason for not accepting the priority right.”

e) Amend and supplement Point 13.7 as follows:

“13.7 Rejection of acceptance of the application

In the case where the applicant has been notified by the Intellectual Property Office of the results of the formal examination with the intention to reject the application due to its non-compliance with the requirements stipulated in Point 13.6.a of this Circular, and the applicant fails to correct the deficiencies or does not meet the required standards, or does not provide comments or provides comments that are not reasonable within the prescribed time limit, the Intellectual Property Office shall issue a decision to reject the application and send it to the applicant.

13. Amend and supplement Point 14 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Point 14.1 as follows:

"14.1 Information related to applications accepted as valid shall be published in the Industrial Property Gazette. The applicant must pay the publication fee for the application."

b) Amend and supplement Point 14.3 as follows:

"14.3 Content of the publication of the application

a) Information related to valid applications, including those resulting from division, shall be published in the Industrial Property Gazette, including: information related to the valid application regarding the formal aspects recorded in the decision accepting the valid application; the name and nationality of the inventor of the invention, design, or layout-design; information related to the valid application (assignment of the application, division of the application, original application number of the divided application...); summary of the invention accompanied by drawings (if any); photographs or drawings of the design; samples of the trademark and list of goods and services; summary of the characteristics of the product bearing a geographical indication and the name of the product bearing a geographical indication.

b) Any amendments, supplements to the application, and changes related to the information mentioned in Point a above shall also be published in the Industrial Property Gazette."

c) Amend and supplement Point 14.4 as follows:

"14.4 Access to information on published valid applications

Anyone can access detailed information about the subject matter stated in the published application in the Industrial Property Gazette or request the Intellectual Property Office to provide such information and must pay the search fee for information according to the regulations."

14. Amend and supplement Point 15 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Point 15.2.a as follows:

"15.2 Use of search results

a) During the substantive examination of patent applications/design applications claiming priority, the Intellectual Property Office may use the search results and refer to the examination results of corresponding applications filed abroad."

b) Amend and supplement Point 15.3 as follows:

"15.3 Correction of deficiencies, explanation of the content of the application, provision of information

a) In cases where the application contains deficiencies or does not fully disclose the nature of the subject matter, the Intellectual Property Office shall notify the applicant of the deficiencies or require the applicant to explain the content of the application and provide information within the scope of the nature of the subject matter stated in the application to fully disclose the nature of the subject matter, and set a deadline of three months from the date of issuance of the notification for the applicant to rectify.

b) Any amendments or supplements to deficient application documents must be carried out by the applicant themselves. The Intellectual Property Office may only carry out such amendments or supplements if requested in writing by the applicant. The applicant must pay the examination fee for the amendment request according to the regulations. The document requesting the amendment or supplement shall be attached to the relevant application document and considered as an official document of the application."

c) Amend and supplement Point 15.7 as follows:

"15.7 Final tasks of the substantive examination

a) Notification of the result of the substantive examination of the application

At the latest on the last day of the period for the substantive examination of the application as stipulated in Point 15.8 of this Circular, the Intellectual Property Office shall send the applicant one of the following notifications:

(i) If the subject matter stated in the application does not meet the conditions for protection, the Intellectual Property Office shall issue a notification of the result of the substantive examination, stating the intention to refuse the grant of the protection certificate, the reasons for refusal, and may guide the modification of the scope (volume) of protection and set a deadline of three months from the date of issuance of the notification for the applicant to submit comments;

(ii) If the subject matter stated in the application meets the conditions for protection but the application still has deficiencies, the Intellectual Property Office shall issue a notification of the result of the substantive examination, stating the intention to refuse the grant of the protection certificate, the deficiencies of the application, and set a deadline of three months from the date of issuance of the notification for the applicant to submit explanations or corrections to the deficiencies;

(iii) If the subject matter stated in the application meets the conditions for protection or the applicant has corrected the deficiencies satisfactorily or provided reasonable explanations within the deadlines specified in Points 15.7.a(i) and (ii) above, the Intellectual Property Office shall issue a notification of the result of the substantive examination of the application, stating:

- For applications falling under the cases stipulated in Point 15.6.d of this Circular: The notification states the intention to grant the protection certificate and sets a deadline of three months from the date of issuance of the notification for the applicant to pay the registration fee for the protection certificate, the publication fee for the decision granting the protection certificate, the registration fee for the decision granting the protection certificate, the maintenance fee, and the first-year usage fee for the protection certificate for inventions.

- In cases where trademarks contain elements that cannot be protected separately: The notification states the intention to grant the protection certificate while specifying the intention and reasons for not protecting these elements separately and setting a deadline of three months from the date of issuance of the notification for the applicant to submit comments.

- For applications not falling under the cases stipulated in Point 15.6.d of this Circular: The notification continues to process the application according to the provisions of Point 15.6.e of this Circular.

b) If the deadline specified in Points 15.7.a(i) and (ii) above expires and the applicant has not corrected the deficiencies or has not met the required standards, or has not submitted comments or has submitted comments that are not reasonable, then within fifteen working days from the end of the deadline, the Intellectual Property Office shall issue a decision refusing the grant of the protection certificate.

In cases where the applicant discovers or provides new circumstances (not considered during the examination process) that could affect the examination results, upon the applicant's request, the Intellectual Property Office will consider revoking the decision refusing the grant of the protection certificate already issued and restoring the examination process.

c) If the applicant fails to pay the registration fee for the grant of the protection certificate, the publication fee for the decision on granting the protection certificate, and the registration fee for the decision on granting the protection certificate within the time limit specified in point 15.7.a (iii) above, then within fifteen working days from the end of the corresponding period, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall issue a decision to refuse the grant of the protection certificate. However, for patent applications, if within the time limit specified in point 15.7.a (iii) above, the applicant has paid all the registration fees for the grant of the protection certificate, the publication fee for the decision on granting the protection certificate, and the registration fee for the decision on granting the protection certificate but has not paid the maintenance fee and the first-year usage fee of the Patent Certificate or the Utility Solution Certificate, then such protection certificate shall still be granted but its validity shall be terminated immediately upon issuance.

d) Amend and supplement point 15.8.b as follows:

“b) In cases where the National Office of Intellectual Property issues notifications according to points 15.7.a (i) and (ii) of this Circular, the time period for the applicant to respond to the notification shall not be counted towards the examination period. This period means:

(i) The time from the date of issuance of the notification to the date the applicant responds to the notification; or

(ii) The deadline set in the notification (including any extension according to regulations), in cases where the applicant does not respond to the notification.”

15. Amend and supplement point 16 as follows:

“16. Re-examination of applications

16.1 Re-examination of applications due to objections after the issuance of a notice of intention to grant/reject the protection certificate

a) The re-examination of applications as stipulated in Clause 4 of Article 117 of the Intellectual Property Law shall be carried out in the cases specified in point (i) and must meet the conditions specified in points (ii) and (iii) below:

(i) There is a written objection submitted by the applicant to the National Office of Intellectual Property during the period from the date of issuance of the notice of intention to grant/reject the protection certificate to the date of issuance of the decision on granting/rejecting the protection certificate related thereto; or there is a written objection submitted by a third party opposing the intention to grant the protection certificate together with a reasonable explanation for why it was not possible to oppose earlier;

(ii) The objection referred to in point 16.1.a (i) above is based on reasonable grounds, accompanied by evidence or references to reliable sources of information;

(iii) The reasoning and evidence proving the objection referred to in point 16.1.a (i) above must differ from the reasoning and evidence (if any) presented in previous stages, or although the reasoning and evidence are the same, they have not been responded to by the National Office of Intellectual Property according to point 6.2 of this Circular.

b) The re-examination period for applications as stipulated in Clause 3 of Article 119 of the Intellectual Property Law is as follows:

(i) For patents, not exceeding twelve months;

(ii) For trademarks, not exceeding six months;

(iii) For industrial designs, not exceeding four months and twenty days;

(iv) For geographical indications, not exceeding four months.

For complex cases requiring verification of many details or requiring expert opinions, the re-examination period may be extended but shall not exceed the initial examination period as stipulated in Clause 2 of Article 119 of the Intellectual Property Law.

c) The content and procedures for re-examination shall be implemented according to the provisions at points 15.6 and 15.7 of this Circular.

d) Re-examination of applications shall only be conducted once for each applicant and for each third party.

16.2 Re-examination of applications due to requests to narrow the scope of protection by the owner of the protection certificate

In cases where the owner of the protection certificate requests to narrow the scope of protection of intellectual property rights according to Clause 3 of Article 97 of the Intellectual Property Law, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall conduct a re-examination of the corresponding application according to the content and procedures stipulated at points 15.6 and 15.7 of this Circular, provided that the requester pays the examination fee for the request to narrow the scope of protection and other fees and charges as prescribed.

16. Amend and supplement point 17 as follows:

“17. Amendment/supplement/division/conversion/change of applicant/withdrawal of application

17.1 Amendment/supplement of applications

a) Before the National Office of Intellectual Property issues a decision to reject acceptance of the application, a decision to reject the grant of the protection certificate, or a decision to grant the protection certificate, the applicant may proactively or upon request of the National Office of Intellectual Property amend or supplement the application documents.

The person requesting amendment or supplementation of the application must pay the examination fee for the request to amend the application as prescribed, except in the case stipulated in point h below. Where the amendment or supplementation must be published according to point 14.3.b of this Circular, the requester must pay the publication fee for the amended application information as prescribed. In cases where the request is to correct errors made by the National Office of Intellectual Property, the requester is not required to pay the aforementioned fees.

b) For requests to amend or supplement the following documents, the applicant must submit the corresponding amended or supplemented document along with a detailed description of the amendments or supplements compared to the originally submitted document:

(i) The description and summary of the invention for patent applications;

(ii) Four sets of photographs or drawings, and the integrated circuit layout design description for layout design applications;

(iii) Four sets of drawings or photographs, and the description for industrial design applications;

(iv) Five samples of the trademark, list of goods and services bearing the trademark for trademark applications;

(v) The description of the characteristics, quality, reputation of the product, and the map of the geographical area corresponding to the geographical indication for geographical indication applications.

c) Amendments or supplements to the application shall not extend the scope (volume) of protection disclosed in the description for patent applications, in the description and drawings for industrial design applications, or in the samples and list of goods and services for trademark applications, nor shall they alter the nature of the subject matter described in the application. If the amendments extend the scope (volume) of protection or alter the nature of the subject matter, they shall not be accepted, and the applicant must file a new application and all procedures shall be restarted from the beginning.

d) The applicant may request corrections to errors regarding the name and address of the applicant, and the name and nationality of the inventor of the invention, design layout, or industrial design.

đ) All requests for amendments and supplements must be made in writing according to Form 01-SDD as prescribed in Appendix B of this Circular. Requests for amendment with the same content related to multiple applications can be made, provided that the requester pays the examination fee for amending the application corresponding to the number of applications.

e) In cases where the applicant proactively amends or supplements the application documents after the Intellectual Property Office has issued a decision accepting the application as valid, such amendments or supplements shall be carried out in accordance with Points 13.2, 13.3, and 13.6 of this Circular. The content of the amendments or supplements will be published in the Industrial Property Gazette as prescribed in Point 14 of this Circular, and the applicant must pay the publication fee as prescribed.

g) Requests for amending the application submitted after receiving a notice of intention to grant a protection certificate shall be reviewed again in the following cases:

(i) Amending information related to the essence of the subject matter described in the application: the description of the invention; the description, photographs/drawings of the industrial design; trademark samples, lists of goods and services bearing trademarks, collective trademark usage regulations, certification trademark usage regulations; the description of the characteristics, quality, reputation of products bearing geographical indications, corresponding geographical areas.

(ii) Changing the applicant of the trademark.

Amendments and supplements to the application, including changes in the person authorized, must be made in writing, clearly stating the content of the amendments or supplements, and accompanied by proof of payment of fees as prescribed. Documents for amending or supplementing the application must comply with the provisions at Points 7 and 10 of this Circular.

17.2 Splitting Applications

a) Before the Intellectual Property Office issues a decision to reject acceptance of the application, a decision to grant or refuse a protection certificate, the applicant may proactively or upon request of the Intellectual Property Office split the application (split one or more technical solutions in the patent application, one or more industrial designs in the industrial design application, one or more components of the trademark or part of the list of goods and services in the trademark application into one or more new applications, called split applications).

b) Split applications will have new application numbers and will take the filing date of the original application or (the) priority dates of the original application (if any); they will be published according to the provisions of Point 14 of this Circular after a decision to accept the application as valid is issued.

c) For each split application, the applicant must pay the application fee and all other fees and charges for procedures carried out independently from the original application (except for procedures already completed in the original application that do not need to be repeated in the split application), but does not need to pay the examination fee for claiming priority (except in cases of splitting industrial design applications due to lack of unity). Split applications will be examined for formality and continue to be processed according to the unfinished procedures of the original application. Split applications must be republished, and the applicant must pay the publication fee if the split is done after the Intellectual Property Office has issued a decision to accept the original application as valid.

d) The original application (after being split) will continue to be processed according to the procedure for amending the application. After completing the procedure for amending the original application, the Intellectual Property Office will issue a notice recording the amendment of the application, publish the amended content if the original application has been accepted as valid, and the applicant must pay the examination fee for amending the application.

17.3 Conversion of Applications

a) Before the Intellectual Property Office issues a decision to reject acceptance of the application, a decision to grant or refuse a protection certificate, the applicant of a patent application may convert the request for granting a Patent Certificate into a request for granting a Utility Model Certificate or vice versa, as prescribed in Point đ Clause 1 Article 115 of the Intellectual Property Law, provided that the applicant must pay the application fee for the converted application as prescribed.

b) Upon receipt of a valid request to convert the application, the Intellectual Property Office will continue to process the converted application according to the relevant provisions, but will not repeat procedures already conducted on the original application before the conversion request was made.

17.4 Request to Record Change of Applicant

a) Before the Intellectual Property Office issues a decision to reject acceptance of the application, a decision to grant or refuse a protection certificate, the applicant may request the Intellectual Property Office to record the change of applicant based on assignment, inheritance, succession, or a decision of an authorized authority.

b) Assignment of Application

(i) The assignment document of the industrial property application (original or certified copy by a notary or authorized agency) must include the following main contents:

- Name and address of the assignor and assignee;

- Number of the assigned application or sufficient information to identify the application;

(ii) The request to record the assignment of the application must be made according to Form 02-CGD as prescribed in Appendix B of this Circular. The applicant may request the assignment of multiple applications of the same applicant in one declaration, provided that the examination fee for assigning the application is paid as prescribed according to the number of applications;

(iii) If the request to assign the trademark application is submitted after receiving a notice of intention to grant a protection certificate, the trademark application must be re-examined and the assignment content published. The requester must pay the examination fee and publication fee as prescribed.

c) Change of applicant due to inheritance, succession, or a decision of an authorized authority

(i) The applicant may proactively request to change the applicant of the industrial property application based on inheritance or succession of assets when merging, consolidating, dividing, separating legal entities, joint ventures, associations, establishing new legal entities of the same owner, changing business forms, or according to a court decision or a decision of another authorized authority;

(ii) The procedure set forth in Point 17.4.c(i) above shall be carried out in accordance with the procedure for amending an application as provided for in Point 17.1 of this Circular.

17.5 Withdrawal of Application

a) The withdrawal of an application must be made by the applicant themselves or by a representative authorized by the applicant through a written declaration. In cases where the application was submitted through a representative, the power of attorney must clearly state the authority to withdraw the application or must be accompanied by a letter specifying the application number to be withdrawn.

b) Within two months from the date of receipt of the request, the National Office of Intellectual Property: 

(i) Shall issue a notice accepting the withdrawal of the application if the withdrawal request complies with the provisions of Point 17.5.a of this Circular, thereby terminating the processing of the application and recording the withdrawal in the application file. An industrial property registration application that has been withdrawn cannot be reinstated but may serve as a basis for claiming priority rights under Clause 3 of Article 116 of the Intellectual Property Law; or

(ii) Shall issue a notice refusing to accept the withdrawal of the application due to non-compliance with the provisions of Point 17.5.a above.”

17. Amend and supplement Point 18 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Point 18.2.a as follows:

“a) Within fifteen days from the date on which the applicant pays all required fees and charges in full and on time, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall proceed with the issuance of the intellectual property protection certificate in accordance with Article 118 of the Intellectual Property Law.”

b) Amend and supplement Point 18.3 as follows:

“18.3 Issuance of Duplicate Certificates and Reissuance of Certificates/Duplicate Certificates

a) In cases where industrial property rights are jointly owned, the protection certificate will only be issued to the first person listed among the joint applicants. Other co-owners may request the National Office of Intellectual Property to issue duplicate certificates, subject to payment of the corresponding service fee.

b) In cases where the protection certificate/duplicate certificate is lost, damaged, torn, soiled, faded to the point of being unusable, or separated without retaining the seal, the owner of the industrial property right who has been granted the protection certificate/duplicate certificate may request the National Office of Intellectual Property to reissue the protection certificate/duplicate certificate, subject to payment of the corresponding service fee.

c) Request for Issuance of Duplicate Certificate and Reissuance of Protection Certificate/Duplicate Certificate

Requests for issuance of duplicate certificates and reissuance of protection certificates/duplicate certificates must be made in writing except when already reflected in the application form for the industrial property object. The application file shall include one set of the following documents:

(i) A request form for issuance of duplicate certificate and reissuance of protection certificate/duplicate certificate in accordance with Form 03-PBVB/GCN stipulated in Appendix C of this Circular;

(ii) Two samples of the trademark, two sets of photographs or two sets of drawings of the design identical to those in the original protection certificate;

(iii) Power of Attorney (in case the request is submitted through a representative);

(iv) Copy of the payment receipt (in case the fees and charges are paid via postal service or directly deposited into the National Office of Intellectual Property's account).

d) Processing of Requests for Issuance of Duplicate Certificate and Reissuance of Protection Certificate/Duplicate Certificate

(i) Within one month from the date of receipt of the request, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall examine the request for issuance of duplicate certificate and reissuance of protection certificate/duplicate certificate. If the request for issuance of duplicate certificate and reissuance of protection certificate/duplicate certificate complies with the above provisions, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall issue a decision to grant the duplicate certificate and reissue the protection certificate/duplicate certificate and record it in the relevant section of the national register of industrial property protection certificates;

(ii) The content of the duplicate certificate shall fully reflect the information of the corresponding protection certificate and must be accompanied by the notation "Duplicate". The content of the reissued protection certificate/duplicate certificate shall fully reflect the information of the originally issued protection certificate/duplicate certificate and must be accompanied by the notation "Reissued";

(iii) In cases where the request for issuance of duplicate certificate and reissuance of protection certificate/duplicate certificate does not comply with the provisions of Point 18.3.c above, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall issue a notice and set a deadline of two months from the date of issuance of the notice for the applicant to correct deficiencies or submit objections. If the deadline expires without correction of deficiencies or if the corrections are inadequate, or if there are no objections or objections are not well-founded, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall issue a decision rejecting the issuance of duplicate certificate and reissuance of protection certificate/duplicate certificate, stating the reasons.”

18. Amend and supplement Point 19 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Point 19.1.b as follows:

“b) The national register prescribed in Points 19.1.a(i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), and (vi) above shall include sections corresponding to each protection certificate, each section including:

(i) Information about the protection certificate: number, date of issuance of the protection certificate; name of the protected object, scope/volume of protection, term of validity; name and address of the holder of the protection certificate/applicant for geographical indication, name and nationality of the inventor of the invention, layout design, or industrial design;

(ii) Information about the application for issuance of the protection certificate (application number, filing date, priority date of the application, name of the industrial property representation service organization (if any));

(iii) Any information about amendments to the protection certificate, status of the protection certificate (maintenance, extension, termination, cancellation of validity); transfer of ownership and use rights of the industrial property object; number of reissues, date of reissue, change of the industrial property representation service organization (if any).”

b) Amend and supplement Point 19.1.d(iii) as follows:

 “(iii) Information about changes to the list of representatives of industrial property rights (new issuance, reissuance, revocation of practice certificate, removal...).”

c) Amend and supplement Point 19.1.e as follows:

"e) The national registration books established and maintained by the Intellectual Property Office in paper form, electronic form, or other means. Any person may search the electronic registration book (if available) or request the Intellectual Property Office to issue a copy or extract of the registration book upon payment of the service fee for issuing copies or extracts of the registration book."

d) Amend and supplement Point 19.2 as follows:

"a) Every decision granting intellectual property rights, and every decision accepting international trademark registration shall be published in the Industrial Property Gazette by the Intellectual Property Office within two months from the date of issuance of the decision, provided that the applicant has paid the publication fee as prescribed."

b) The information published pursuant to Point 19.2.a above includes the information recorded in the corresponding decision: summary of the invention; set of photographs or layout drawings; set of photographs or industrial design drawings; trademark specimen and list of goods and services bearing the trademark; geographical indication and products bearing the geographical indication."

19. Amend and supplement Point 20 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Point 20.1 as follows:

"20.1 Amending information on intellectual property certificates and narrowing the scope of protection

a) Request to amend information on intellectual property certificates and change the holder of the certificate

The holder of the intellectual property certificate, or the person permitted by the State to implement the right to apply for a geographical indication according to Article 88 of the Intellectual Property Law, has the right to request the Intellectual Property Office to record changes in the information on the intellectual property certificate in the following cases:

(i) Changes in the name, address of the certificate holder; name, nationality of the inventor of the invention, industrial design, layout design; changes in the representative of the certificate holder;

(ii) Change of the certificate holder (transfer of ownership due to inheritance, succession, merger, division, spin-off, consolidation, joint venture, association, establishment of a new legal entity by the same owner, change in business form or by a court decision or by another competent authority);

(iii) Amendment of the description of the characteristics, quality, reputation of the product bearing the geographical indication, the geographical area corresponding to the geographical indication, the regulation on the use of collective trademarks, the regulation on the use of certification trademarks.

The person requesting to record changes in the information on the intellectual property certificate must pay the examination fee for amending the intellectual property certificate, the registration fee, and the publication fee for the decision recording the amendment of the intellectual property certificate.

The person requesting to record changes in the representation of the industrial property organization must submit a valid power of attorney from the certificate holder and the fee for recording changes in the representation information of the industrial property organization as prescribed.

b) Request to narrow the scope of protection

The holder of the intellectual property certificate has the right to request the Intellectual Property Office to narrow the scope of protection in accordance with Clause 3 of Article 97 of the Intellectual Property Law in the following cases:

(i) Request to amend minor details but not significantly changing the trademark design recorded in the Trademark Registration Certificate;

(ii) Request to reduce one or more goods, services, or groups of goods, services listed in the Trademark Registration Certificate without changing the trademark design;

(iii) Request to reduce one or more independent or dependent claims in the scope (claim) of protection recorded in the Patent Certificate, Utility Model Certificate;

(iv) Request to remove one or more design solutions, one or more products in the set of products in the Design Certificate.

The person requesting to narrow the scope of protection must pay the examination fee for narrowing the scope of protection, the registration fee, and the publication fee for the decision amending the intellectual property certificate.

c) Application for amendment of intellectual property certificates

Depending on the content required to be amended and supplemented under Point 20.1.a and Point 20.1.b above and under Point b, Clause 1 of Article 97 of the Intellectual Property Law, the application for amendment of intellectual property certificates shall include the following documents:

(i) Form for requesting amendment of intellectual property certificates according to Model 01-SĐVB prescribed in Appendix C of this Circular, specifying the request to record changes in the name, address of the certificate holder; name, nationality of the author for patent/utility model certificates, industrial design; change in the representative of the certificate holder; change in the certificate holder; request to amend the description of the characteristics, quality, reputation of the product bearing the geographical indication, map of the geographical area corresponding to the geographical indication, regulation on the use of collective trademarks, regulation on the use of certification trademarks; or request to narrow the scope of protection;

(ii) Original of the intellectual property certificate;

(iii) Documents confirming the change in name and address (original or certified copy by a notary or competent authority); decision to change name and address; business registration certificate noting the change in name and address; other legal documents proving the change in name and address (certified by a notary or competent authority) - if the content of the amendment request pertains to name and address;

(iv) Documents proving the transfer of ownership as stipulated in Point 20.1.a (ii) above, if the request is to change the certificate holder (documents proving inheritance, succession, merger, division, spin-off, consolidation, joint venture, association, establishment of a new legal entity by the same owner, change in business form or by a court decision or by another competent authority);

(v) Detailed explanation of the content to be amended;

(vi) Five amended trademark samples (if the amendment concerns the trademark details); five sets of photographs or industrial design drawings (if the amendment concerns the industrial design); two amended descriptions of the characteristics, quality, reputation of the product bearing the geographical indication, map of the geographical area corresponding to the geographical indication (if the amendment concerns the geographical indication); two amended regulations on the use of collective trademarks, two amended regulations on the use of certification trademarks (if the amendment concerns collective trademarks, certification trademarks);

(vii) Power of attorney (if submitted through a representative);

(viii) Copy of the payment receipt (in case of payment through postal service or direct deposit into the Intellectual Property Office's account).

A declaration requesting to amend a protection certificate may request amendments to multiple protection certificates if they have the same amendment content, provided that the applicant must pay the fee prescribed for each protection certificate.

d) Handling requests to amend protection certificates

(i) Within two months from the date of receipt of the application, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall examine the request to amend the protection certificate according to the provisions of point 20.1.a (i) and point 20.1.a (ii) of this Circular. If it finds the request to be valid, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall issue a decision to amend the protection certificate, record it in the Register, and publish the decision to amend the protection certificate in the Official Gazette of Industrial Property. In cases where the request to amend the protection certificate has deficiencies or is invalid, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall issue a notice of its intention to refuse acceptance of the amendment, stating the reasons and setting a deadline of two months from the date of issuance of the notice for the applicant to correct the deficiencies or submit objections. If, at the end of the set period, the applicant does not correct the deficiencies or the corrections made are not satisfactory, there are no objections submitted, or the objections submitted are not reasonable, then the National Office of Intellectual Property shall issue a decision to refuse the request to amend the protection certificate.

(ii) For requests to amend the protection certificate according to the provisions of point 20.1.a (iii) and point 20.1.b, the re-examination procedure of the corresponding application shall be conducted according to the content and procedures stipulated in point 15.6 and point 15.7 of this Circular. The re-examination period shall not be included in the processing time limit for the request to amend the protection certificate.”

b) Amend and supplement point 20.2.b as follows:

“b) The holder of the protection certificate must pay the examination fee for the request to amend the protection certificate as prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 97 of the Law on Intellectual Property if the deficiency is due to the fault of the holder of the protection certificate. If the deficiency is due to the fault of the National Office of Intellectual Property, the holder of the protection certificate is not required to pay such fee.”

c) Amend and supplement point 20.3 as follows:

“20.3 Maintaining the validity of the protection certificate for invention patents/useful models

a) To maintain the validity of the protection certificate for invention patents/useful models, the holder of the protection certificate must submit the Declaration Form 02-GH/DTVB, a valid power of attorney (if submitting through a representative), and the examination fee for the request to maintain validity, maintenance fees, usage fees for the protection certificate, registration fees, and publication fees for the notice of maintaining the validity of the protection certificate within six months from the end of the term of validity. The procedure to maintain validity can be carried out later than the above-mentioned time limit, but not more than six months from the end of the term of validity, and the holder of the protection certificate must pay an additional 10% late maintenance fee for each month delayed.

b) The National Office of Intellectual Property shall examine the request to maintain validity within one month from the date of receipt of the request and the fees and charges prescribed in point 20.3.a above. If the request is valid, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall record it in the National Register of Invention Patents, issue a notice regarding the maintenance of the validity of the protection certificate, and publish it in the Official Gazette of Industrial Property.

If the request to maintain validity has deficiencies or is invalid, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall issue a notice and set a deadline of two months from the date of issuance of the notice for the applicant to correct the deficiencies or submit objections. If, at the end of the set period, the applicant does not correct the deficiencies or the corrections made are not satisfactory, there are no objections submitted, or the objections submitted are not reasonable, then the National Office of Intellectual Property shall issue a decision to refuse the maintenance of the validity of the protection certificate.”

d) Amend and supplement point 20.4 as follows:

“20.4 Extending the validity of the protection certificate

a) Exclusive rights for invention patents, exclusive rights for useful models, and certificates of registration for integrated circuit layout designs cannot be extended.

Exclusive rights for industrial designs can be extended up to two consecutive times, each for five years. In cases where an industrial design protected has multiple embodiments, the exclusive right may be extended for all or some embodiments, with at least one basic embodiment.

Certificates of registration for trademarks can be extended multiple consecutive times, each for ten years for the entire or part of the list of goods and services.

b) To extend the validity of the exclusive right for industrial designs or the certificate of registration for trademarks, within six months from the date the exclusive right for industrial designs or the certificate of registration for trademarks expires, the holder of the exclusive right for industrial designs or the holder of the certificate of registration for trademarks must submit to the National Office of Intellectual Property an application for extension and the examination fee for the request for extension, extension fees for the validity of the protection certificate, usage fees for the protection certificate, registration fees, and publication fees for the decision to extend the validity of the protection certificate.

The application for extension may be submitted later than the prescribed time limit but not more than six months from the date the protection certificate expires, and the holder of the protection certificate must pay an additional 10% late extension fee for each month delayed.

c) Application for extension

An application for extending the validity of the protection certificate includes the following documents:

(i) A declaration requesting to extend the validity of the protection certificate, filled out according to Model 02-GH/DTVB specified in Appendix C of this Circular;

(ii) The original protection certificate (if requesting to record the extension in the protection certificate);

(iii) Power of attorney (if submitting the application through a representative);

(iv) Copy of the payment receipt (in case the fees and charges are paid via postal service or directly deposited into the National Office of Intellectual Property's account).

d) Handling applications for extension

The National Office of Intellectual Property shall examine the application for extension within one month from the date of receipt of the application. If the application has no deficiencies, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall issue a decision to extend, record it in the protection certificate (if requested), register it, and publish the decision to extend the validity of the protection certificate in the Official Gazette of Industrial Property within two months from the date of issuance of the decision.

After the extension procedure is completed, if the holder of the protection certificate requests the National Office of Intellectual Property to record the decision to extend the validity in the protection certificate, the holder of the protection certificate must carry out the procedure to amend the protection certificate and pay the fees and charges as prescribed.

The Intellectual Property Office shall issue a notice of its intention to refuse renewal, stating the reasons clearly and setting a deadline of two months from the date of issuance for the applicant to correct deficiencies or submit objections if the application for renewal falls under any of the following circumstances:

(i) The application for renewal is not valid or was submitted in violation of the prescribed procedures;

(ii) The applicant for renewal is not the owner of the corresponding intellectual property right certificate.

If, at the end of the set deadline, the applicant has not corrected the deficiencies or the corrections made are insufficient, there are no objections or the objections submitted are not reasonable, the Intellectual Property Office shall issue a decision refusing to renew the validity of the intellectual property right certificate.

20. Amend and supplement Point 21 as follows:

“21. Termination and revocation of the validity of intellectual property right certificates

21.1 Request for termination and revocation of the validity of intellectual property right certificates

Organizations and individuals requesting the termination or revocation of the validity of intellectual property right certificates pursuant to Clause 4, Article 95 and Clause 3, Article 96 of the Intellectual Property Law must pay the request fee and the examination fee for the request to terminate or revoke the validity of the intellectual property right certificate, registration fee, and publication fee for the decision to terminate or revoke the validity of the intellectual property right certificate.

Requests for termination and revocation of the validity of intellectual property right certificates shall be processed in accordance with Articles 95 and 96, Clause 3, Article 220 of the Intellectual Property Law and the provisions herein.

For requests to revoke the validity of intellectual property right certificates, the Intellectual Property Office shall re-examine the corresponding application according to the contents stipulated in Points 15.6 and 15.7 of this Circular.

21.2 Application for termination and revocation of the validity of intellectual property right certificates

a) In one application, it may be requested to terminate or revoke the validity of one or more intellectual property right certificates if they are based on the same grounds, provided that the applicant pays the fees and charges as prescribed for each intellectual property right certificate.

b) An application for termination or revocation of the validity of intellectual property right certificates shall include the following documents:

(i) A form for requesting termination or revocation of the validity of intellectual property right certificates, prepared according to Form 04-CDHB specified in Appendix C of this Circular;

(ii) Evidence (if any);

(iii) Power of attorney (in case the request is submitted through a representative);

(iv) A statement explaining the reasons for the request (specifying the certificate number, reasons, legal basis, and content of the request to terminate or revoke part or all of the validity of the intellectual property right certificate) and related documents as prescribed in Points 7.2, 22.2, and 22.3 of this Circular;

(v) A copy of the payment receipt (in case the fees and charges are paid via postal service or directly deposited into the Intellectual Property Office's account).

21.3 Handling requests for termination and revocation of the validity of intellectual property right certificates

a) In cases where a third party requests the termination or revocation of the validity of an intellectual property right certificate, within one month from the date of receiving the request, the Intellectual Property Office shall notify the third party's opinion in writing to the owner of the intellectual property right certificate, setting a deadline of two months from the date of issuance of the notification for the owner to provide their opinion. The Intellectual Property Office may organize direct exchanges of opinions between the third party and the owner of the intellectual property right certificate.

b) Based on reviewing the opinions of the parties, the Intellectual Property Office shall issue a decision to terminate or revoke part or all of the validity of the intellectual property right certificate or notify the refusal to terminate or revoke part or all of the validity of the intellectual property right certificate in accordance with Clause 4, Article 95 and Clause 4, Article 96 of the Intellectual Property Law.

The time limit for issuing the decision and notification mentioned above is three months from the date the two-month period specified in Point 21.3.a expires without the owner of the intellectual property right certificate providing an opinion or from the date of receiving the owner's opinion. This period may be extended by up to three additional months if the owner of the intellectual property right certificate disagrees with the applicant's request to terminate or revoke the validity of the intellectual property right certificate.

In cases where the owner of the intellectual property right certificate declares abandonment of industrial property rights in accordance with Clause 3, Article 95 of the Intellectual Property Law, the aforementioned period is ten working days from the date of receipt of the request.

The time required to complete other necessary procedures to resolve the request for termination or revocation of the validity of the intellectual property right certificate shall not be included in the aforementioned period.

c) If dissatisfied with the content of the decision or notification regarding the handling of the request for termination or revocation of the validity of the intellectual property right certificate issued in Point 21.3.b above, the applicant or organizations and individuals specified in Point 22.1.a of this Circular have the right to appeal the decision or notification according to the procedure stipulated in Point 22 of this Circular.

d) The decision to terminate or revoke the validity of the intellectual property right certificate shall be recorded in the National Register of Industrial Property Rights and published in the Official Gazette of Industrial Property within two months from the date of issuance of the decision.

21.4 Termination and revocation of the validity of international trademark registrations

a) For applications by a third party to terminate or revoke the validity of international trademark registrations under the Madrid Agreement or the Madrid Protocol, the Intellectual Property Office shall notify the content of the request to terminate or revoke the validity of the international trademark registration to the trademark owner through the International Bureau, setting a deadline of three months from the date of issuance of the notification for the trademark owner to provide their opinion.

b) The decision to terminate or revoke the validity of international trademark registrations shall be sent to the International Bureau to carry out the relevant procedures in accordance with the provisions of the Madrid Agreement or the Madrid Protocol and shall be published in the Official Gazette of Industrial Property.

c) Other relevant provisions concerning the handling of applications for termination or revocation of the validity of international trademark registrations shall be implemented as for trademark registrations filed under the national format.

21. Amend and supplement Point 22 as follows:

“22. Appeals and resolution of appeals related to the establishment of industrial property rights procedures

22.1 Persons entitled to appeal, objects of appeal, statute of limitations for appeals, and persons resolving appeals

a) Persons entitled to appeal as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 14 of Decree No. 103/2006/NĐ-CP are the applicants and organizations and individuals who have direct rights and interests in decisions and notifications of the Intellectual Property Office as specified below and believe that such decisions and notifications are contrary to the law and directly infringe upon their legitimate rights and interests.

b) The decisions and notifications that may be appealed as provided for in Clause 1, Article 14 of Decree No. 103/2006/NĐ-CP are formal decisions and notifications of the National Office of Intellectual Property regarding each procedure during the processing of industrial property registration applications in accordance with the relevant provisions of this Circular, including the following decisions and notifications:

(i) Notification of refusal to accept the application (Point 12.2.b);

(ii) Decision to accept a valid application (Point 13.6.b);

(iii) Decision to refuse acceptance of the application (Point 13.7);

(iv) Notification of acceptance or refusal of requests to amend, supplement the application/change the application/change the applicant/withdraw the application (Point 17);

(v) Decision to refuse issuance of a protection certificate (Points 15.7.b and 15.7.c); Decision to issue a protection certificate (Point 18.2.a), except where the corresponding protection certificate may be revoked according to Article 96 of the Intellectual Property Law and Point 21 of this Circular;

(vi) Decision to refuse protection of international trademark registration (Point 41.6.g); Decision to grant protection of international trademark registration (Points 41.6.b, 41.6.đ, and 41.6.e), except where the corresponding international registration may be revoked according to Article 96 of the Intellectual Property Law and Point 21 of this Circular;

(vii) Decision to issue a copy of a protection certificate, decision to reissue a protection certificate (Point 18.3.d (i)); Decision to refuse issuance of a copy of a protection certificate, decision to refuse reissuance of a protection certificate (Point 18.3.d (iii));

(viii) Notification on maintaining the validity of a protection certificate, decision to refuse maintenance of the validity of a protection certificate (Point 20.3.b);

(ix) Decision to extend the validity of a protection certificate, decision to refuse extension of the validity of a protection certificate (Point 20.4.d);

(x) Decision to amend a protection certificate, decision to refuse request to amend a protection certificate (Point 20.1.d (i));

(xi) Decision to terminate/cancel part/all of the validity of a protection certificate, notification of refusal to terminate/cancel the validity of a protection certificate (Point 21.3.b);

(xii) Decision and notification on handling applications to terminate/cancel the validity of international trademark registration (Point 21.4.b);

(xiii) Other decisions and notifications containing administrative decision content.

Notifications that are informational in nature or require completion of the dossier are not considered administrative decisions and are not subject to appeal, such as examination results notifications, deficiency notifications, amendment and supplementation requests, preliminary refusal notifications, temporary refusal to protect international trademark registration notifications.

c) The subject of the decision or notification under appeal is the industrial property registration application at the status at the time the decision or notification was issued. The following contents in the appeal application are outside the scope of appeal resolution and therefore are not accepted during the appeal resolution process:

(i) Requests to amend or supplement the industrial property registration application which is the subject of the decision or notification under appeal;

(ii) New circumstances not reported by the applicant of the industrial property registration application which is the subject of the decision or notification under appeal during the examination process, which could change the decision or notification under appeal;

(iii) New circumstances in the appeal application that are not within the scope of the search and verification responsibility of the National Office of Intellectual Property in the examination process of the industrial property registration application when the appellant is not the applicant of the industrial property registration application which is the subject of the decision or notification under appeal. In this case, the appellant may request the National Office of Intellectual Property to conduct supplementary examination of new circumstances and must pay the supplementary examination fee as prescribed.

The above cases, if meeting the conditions stipulated in Points 9.3 and 9.4 of this Circular, may be resolved according to the procedures set forth therein.

d) A decision or notification shall be deemed contrary to the law in the following cases:

(i) The decision or notification is issued in violation of regulations on formality, procedure, or procedure or beyond authority;

(ii) The decision or notification contains conclusions that are inconsistent with the circumstances or evidence of the case or incorrectly applies the law;

(iii) The decision or notification is issued based on examination results or expert opinions in which the law is incorrectly applied.

đ) The appeal application can only be submitted within the time limit specified in Clause 4, Article 14 of Decree No. 103/2006/NĐ-CP. In cases where the person entitled to appeal cannot carry out the appeal within the time limit due to objective obstacles or force majeure events as stipulated in Point 9.5 of this Circular, the period of such objective obstacles or force majeure events will not be counted towards the appeal time limit, provided that the appellant has convincing evidence to prove such a situation.

e) The authority responsible for resolving the first-level appeal is the Director of the National Office of Intellectual Property; the authority responsible for resolving the second-level appeal is the Minister of Science and Technology (hereinafter referred to collectively as "the appeal resolver").

22.2 Appeal Application

a) Each appeal application may appeal one or more decisions or notifications if those decisions or notifications have the same content and reasons for appeal, provided that the appellant must pay the service provision fee for resolving intellectual property appeals (if applicable), including the examination fee and information search fee as prescribed for each decision or notification being appealed.

b) An appeal application must include the following documents:

(i) An appeal application form, filled out according to Form 05-KN stipulated in Appendix C of this Circular;

(ii) A document explaining the reasons for the appeal (as prescribed in Point 22.2.c below) and evidence proving the arguments of the appeal (as prescribed in Point 22.2.d below);

(iii) A copy of the decision or notification being appealed from the National Office of Intellectual Property and a copy of the industrial property registration application which is the subject of the decision or notification (in the case of a second-level appeal application); or documentation indicating information about the aforementioned documents;

(iv) A copy of the first-level appeal resolution decision (for second-level appeals).

(v) Power of attorney (in case of filing through a representative); For second-level complaints, a copy of the power of attorney as prescribed in Point 4.5 of this Circular must be confirmed by the National Office of Intellectual Property;

(vi) Copy of payment receipt (in case of payment through postal service or direct deposit into the National Office of Intellectual Property's account).

c) The explanatory document for the complaint must clearly state:

(i) The subject of the complaint: the decision or notification being complained about (specify the number and date of issuance of the decision, notification);

(ii) The grounds for the complaint: the violated legal provisions (name of the document, article number) and the legitimate rights and interests infringed;

(iii) The content of the complaint: clearly stated and detailed explained (with attached evidence if necessary) regarding the elements contrary to the law of the decision or notification being complained about as prescribed in Point 22.1.d of this Circular;

(iv) The complainant’s request: modification, partial revocation, or total revocation of the decision or notification being complained about;

(v) List of attached evidence (if any).

d) Evidence is documentation (documentary evidence) or physical objects (material evidence) used to prove and clarify the grounds for the complaint. Evidence must meet the following requirements:

(i) Evidence may be in a foreign language provided that it is accompanied by a Vietnamese translation when requested by the authority handling the complaint;

(ii) In cases where documentary evidence is issued by individuals or organizations without a seal or by individuals or organizations from abroad, such evidence must be notarized or certified by the competent authority according to regulations;

(iii) In cases where evidence is information-carrying items (publications, video tapes...), depending on the circumstances, the origin, publication time, and release time of the mentioned documents must be clearly specified, or the origin and publication time of the information displayed on the information-carrying items must be clearly specified;

(iv) Material evidence must be accompanied by a description clearly stating the relevant characteristics directly related to the content of the complaint.

22.3 Responsibilities of the Complainant

The complainant must ensure honesty in providing information and evidence and shall bear responsibility for the consequences of providing false information and evidence.

22.4 Withdrawal of Complaint

a) At any time, the complainant may submit a written notice of withdrawal of the complaint. If the withdrawal of the complaint is made based on authorization from the applicant, the authorization to withdraw the complaint must be clearly stated in the power of attorney.

b) A withdrawn complaint is considered as not having been filed. The complainant will not be refunded the complaint form and service fees paid for resolving the complaint, except in cases where the complaint is withdrawn before the acceptance or rejection notice is issued.

c) The authority handling the complaint shall issue a decision to suspend the resolution of the complaint in the following cases:

(i) The complainant withdraws the complaint;

(ii) The authority handling the complaint has twice notified the complainant to dialogue or clarify the content of the complaint but received no response.

22.5 Acceptance of Complaint

a) Within ten days from the date of receiving the complaint, the authority handling the complaint must:

(i) Issue a notice rejecting the acceptance of the complaint for resolution if the complaint falls under one of the cases prescribed in Point 22.5.b below, specifying the reasons for rejection; or

(ii) Issue a notice accepting the complaint for resolution if the complaint does not fall under the cases prescribed in Point 22.5.b below, recording the acceptance date and determining the search fee and/or examination fee corresponding to the content of the complaint (if applicable) and setting a deadline of one month for the complainant to pay the fee.

b) A complaint will not be accepted for resolution if it falls under any of the following cases:

(i) The subject of the complaint is not a formal decision or notification as prescribed in Point 22.1.b of this Circular;

(ii) The decision or notification being complained about is not directly related to the legitimate rights and interests of the complainant;

(iii) The submission of the complaint does not comply with the regulations on representation;

(iv) The complaint lacks the signature and seal (if applicable) or fingerprint of the complainant;

(v) The complaint is submitted beyond the prescribed time limit, except in cases prescribed in Point 9.4 of this Circular;

(vi) There is already a decision resolving the second-level complaint;

(vii) The complaint has been accepted by the Court or resolved by a court judgment or decision, except for a court decision suspending the administrative case;

(viii) The complainant continues to file a complaint after the thirty-day period from the date of the decision suspending the resolution of the complaint as prescribed in Article 10 and Clause 8 of Article 11 of the Law on Complaints;

(ix) The complaint does not identify the illegal elements of the decision or notification being complained about and only requests modifications or supplements to the decision or notification.

If the request for modification or supplementation meets the conditions prescribed in Points 9.3 and 9.4 of this Circular, it may be resolved according to the procedures stipulated therein.

22.6 Time Limit for Resolving Complaints

a) The time limit for resolving complaints shall be implemented in accordance with Articles 28 and 37 of the Law on Complaints.

b) The following periods shall not be counted within the time limit for resolving complaints:

(i) The time taken by the complainant to modify and supplement the complaint dossier;

(ii) The time given to the parties by the authority handling the complaint to provide feedback as prescribed in Points 22.7 and 22.10.b of this Circular;

(iii) The time allocated for information searches, re-examinations, and other necessary services to assist in resolving the complaint, but not exceeding the re-examination period prescribed in Clause 3 of Article 119 of the Intellectual Property Law.

22.7 Related Parties

a) For complaints that have been accepted, the authority handling the complaint shall notify in writing the content of the complaint to the person directly concerned with rights and obligations (hereinafter referred to as "related party") and set a deadline of two months from the date of the notice for them to provide comments.

b) The Subject has the right to provide information and evidence to support their argument within the time limit specified in point 22.7.a above; the person handling the complaint shall be responsible for considering such information and evidence when resolving the complaint.

c) The person handling the complaint shall notify in writing the content of the opinion of the Subject and set a deadline of two months from the date of issuance of the notification for the complainant to respond to the opinion of the Subject.

d) If deemed necessary, the person handling the complaint may continue to seek opinions from the parties according to the procedures and deadlines mentioned above.

If the deadline expires without one party providing an opinion, the complaint will be resolved based on the opinion of the other party.

22.8 Independent Consultant, Advisory Board

a) Depending on the complexity level of the complaint case, the person handling the complaint may seek the opinion of an independent consultant, Advisory Board (consisting of the chairperson and members).

The independent consultant and Advisory Board play a role in advising the person handling the complaint on technical issues, legal issues related to the content of the complaint, and resolution options.

The independent consultant, the chairperson, and members of the Advisory Board are individuals with appropriate expertise, selected from the List of Intellectual Property Advisory Consultants and other sources (in cases where there is no suitable consultant in that list).

The List of Intellectual Property Advisory Consultants is established and published in the Industrial Property Gazette by the National Office of Intellectual Property, in coordination with the Inspectorate under the Ministry of Science and Technology.

b) The Advisory Board operates according to the following principles:

(i) The Advisory Board is established by the decision of the person handling the complaint;

(ii) The Advisory Board works through meetings, collective discussions, and majority voting;

(iii) The parties involved in the complaint case, those with rights and obligations related to the case, may be invited to attend Advisory Board meetings to clarify details of the case.

c) The following persons shall not participate in the Advisory Board and shall not serve as independent consultants in the complaint case:

(i) The person being complained against (the issuer of the challenged decision or notification);

(ii) The person who reviewed the application for establishing intellectual property rights related to the challenged decision or notification;

(iii) The person with direct rights or interests related to the complaint case;

(iv) The person who participated in the initial resolution of the complaint (for the Advisory Board of the second complaint resolution);

(v) The person who may not be impartial in the complaint case, if there is evidence to determine this.

Those mentioned in points 22.8.c (i), (ii), (iii), and (iv) above shall be responsible for explaining, clarifying, and providing information related to the work they have performed within the scope of the complaint.

d) The opinion of the independent consultant, the opinion of the chairperson and members of the Advisory Board, and the results of the Advisory Board's work must be documented in writing.

22.9 Dialogue Organization

a) The person handling the complaint organizes a dialogue session in accordance with Article 30 of the Law on Complaints.

b) The independent consultant, member of the Advisory Board (if any) may be invited to attend the dialogue session.

22.10 Decision Resolving the Complaint

a) Based on the results of reviewing the challenged decision or notification, the person handling the complaint issues a decision resolving the complaint.

b) Before issuing the decision resolving the complaint, the person handling the complaint shall notify the complainant and the relevant parties about the arguments and evidence of the other side used to resolve the complaint, as well as the conclusion regarding the content of the complaint and set a deadline of one month from the date of issuance of the notification for the complainant and the relevant party to provide comments.

c) The decision resolving the complaint must include the contents prescribed in Clause 2 of Article 31 (for the first complaint) or Clause 2 of Article 40 (for the second complaint) of the Law on Complaints.

d) For complaints falling under the cases specified in point 22.1.c of this Circular, the person handling the complaint shall issue a decision including the following contents:

(i) Maintaining or requiring the maintenance of the challenged decision or notification;

(ii) Setting a deadline of one month from the date of signing the decision for the complainant to submit additional review requests for new circumstances stated in the complaint under point 22.1.c (iii) of this Circular;

(iii) Notifying the complainant of their right to file a request to revoke the validity of the protection document and their right to initiate administrative litigation proceedings in accordance with the law.

The National Office of Intellectual Property shall conduct additional reviews of new circumstances as stipulated in point 22.10.d (ii) above according to the procedure for re-examining applications for establishing intellectual property rights when receiving third-party opinions. The procedures and deadlines for additional reviews shall be applied in accordance with points 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, and point 16 of this Circular. Based on the results of the additional review, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall issue a decision to maintain, amend, or replace the corresponding decision or notification.

22.11 The decision resolving the complaint shall be published on the electronic portal of the complaint resolution agency within fifteen days and on the Industrial Property Gazette within two months from the date of issuance of the decision.

22.12 Effectiveness of the challenged decision or notification and the decision resolving the complaint

a) The challenged decision or notification remains effective during the complaint resolution period, except in cases where its implementation is temporarily suspended pursuant to the written decision of the person handling the complaint in accordance with Article 35 of the Law on Complaints.

b) The National Office of Intellectual Property shall immediately enforce the legally binding decision resolving the complaint:

(i) The first-level complaint resolution decision of the Director of the National Office of Intellectual Property becomes legally binding thirty days after the date of signature, provided that the complainant does not file a second-level complaint; for remote areas with difficult access, the deadline may be extended but not exceed forty-five days;

(ii) The Decision on the second appeal resolution of the Minister of Science and Technology shall take legal effect thirty days after the date of signing; for remote areas with difficult access, this period may be extended but shall not exceed forty-five days.

          c) The Inspectorate of the Ministry of Science and Technology shall notify the National Office of Intellectual Property about the acceptance of the second appeal within ten days from the date of acceptance. In this case, the decision on the first appeal resolution of the Director of the National Office of Intellectual Property shall not have legal effect. The appealed decision and notification shall remain effective until the second appeal resolution decision takes legal effect.

d) The person filing the second appeal shall immediately notify the National Office of Intellectual Property about the submission of the appeal.

22.13 Appeals and appeal resolutions regarding other administrative decisions in the field of industrial property

Appeals and appeal resolutions concerning other administrative decisions in the field of industrial property (including those related to representation of industrial property, industrial property examination, transfer of industrial property rights, etc.) shall be carried out in accordance with the Law on Appeals and shall apply similarly to the provisions on appeals and appeal resolutions set forth in this Circular.

22.14 Measures to limit the occurrence of appeals

a) The National Office of Intellectual Property shall apply the provisions of point 22.8 of this Circular to the procedure for handling requests to terminate or revoke the validity of protection certificates.

b) The National Office of Intellectual Property shall be responsible for reviewing and reconsidering any decisions and notifications already issued if there are signs of violation of the law, promptly correcting and remedying them to prevent the occurrence of appeals.

For decisions and notifications that are currently subject to appeal, any changes to their content and effectiveness can only be made when the appeal resolution decision has taken legal effect.

c) During the appeal process, the appeal resolver shall encourage and facilitate the parties in dispute to reconcile according to the provisions of the law.”

22. Amend and supplement point 23 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement point 23.5 as follows:

“23.5 Requirements for the application form

The applicant must submit two copies of the application form according to Form 01-SC stipulated in Appendix A of this Circular. In the section "International Patent Classification" of the application form, the applicant needs to state the classification code of the technical solution to be protected according to the latest International Patent Classification Table (under the Strasbourg Agreement) published in the Industrial Property Gazette (full classification, including part, class, subclass, group (main group or sub-group)). If the applicant does not classify or classifies inaccurately, the National Office of Intellectual Property will classify it, and the applicant must pay the classification fee as prescribed.”

b) Amend and supplement point 23.6 as follows:

“23.6 Requirements for the patent description

The applicant must submit two copies of the patent description. The patent description must include the description section and the scope of patent protection. The patent description may include drawings (if necessary) to illustrate the invention.

a) The description section of the patent description must fully disclose the essence of the technical solution being sought for protection. The description must contain sufficient information such that anyone with average knowledge in the relevant technical field can implement the solution based on it; it must clarify the novelty, inventive level, and industrial applicability of the technical solution (if the protection certificate requested is a Patent Certificate); clarify the novelty and industrial applicability of the technical solution (if the protection certificate requested is a Certificate of Utility Solution).

An individual with average knowledge in the relevant technical field is understood as someone with ordinary technical skills and familiar with common knowledge in the relevant technical field.

b) The description must include the following contents in the following sequence:

(i) Title of the invention: briefly express the object or objects to be protected (hereinafter referred to as "object"); the title of the invention must be concise, accurate, and not promotional or advertising;

(ii) Field of use of the invention: the field in which the object is used or related. If the invention is used or related to multiple fields, all such fields must be indicated. These fields must be consistent with the results of the invention classification;

(iii) Technical background of the invention: the technical situation in the field of use of the invention at the time of filing (similar objects known (if any)). If there is no information on the technical situation of the invention, this must be clearly stated;

(iv) Purpose of the invention: clearly indicate the purpose that the invention aims to achieve or the task (problem) that the invention aims to solve (for example, to overcome the shortcomings or limitations of the technical solutions mentioned in the Technical Background of the Invention section). The purpose or task of the invention must be presented objectively, specifically, without being promotional or advertising;

(v) Technical essence of the invention: the essence of the object to be protected, which must clearly state:

- The technical problem to be solved (purpose of the invention);

- The technical features constituting the object to be protected, i.e., the technical features forming the solution to achieve the purpose of the invention (called basic technical features); and must indicate new technical features compared to similar known technical solutions;

- Any benefits (effects) that can be achieved compared to the technical background (if applicable). This content may be described separately as provided in point 23.6.b (ix) below:

(vi) Brief description of accompanying drawings (if any);

(vii) Detailed description of implementation options of the invention: detailed description of one or more implementation options of the invention so that an individual with average knowledge in the relevant technical field can implement the invention;

(viii) Example of implementing the invention (if applicable): it must clearly indicate one or several specific implementation schemes of the invention. If the invention is characterized by quantitative features, specific values of such features must be indicated; if they cannot be quantified, their definite states must be specified. Additionally, there must be specific results related to the function and purpose that the corresponding object allows to achieve.

(ix) Benefits (effects) that can be achieved (if applicable and not already mentioned in the technical nature section of the invention): these may be expressed in terms of increased productivity, quality, accuracy, or efficiency; reduced energy consumption, raw material usage; simplified or created convenience in handling, operation, management, or use; environmental pollution mitigation... If the benefits (effects) achievable refer to statistical results from experimental data, the applicant must provide the necessary conditions and methods for conducting the experiments.

c) Scope of protection of the invention (hereinafter referred to as "scope of protection" or "protection claim")

The scope (claim) of protection is used to determine the scope of industrial property rights over the invention. The scope (claim) of protection must be briefly and clearly presented, consistent with the description and drawings, specifying the new features of the protected object (hereinafter referred to as "object") and must comply with the following provisions:

(i) The scope (claim) of protection must be fully illustrated by the description, including the basic technical features necessary and sufficient to identify the object, to achieve the intended purpose, and to distinguish the protected object from known objects;

(ii) Technical features in the scope (claim) of protection must be clear, accurate, and accepted in the relevant technical field; terms used in the scope (claim) of protection must be clear and consistent with those used in the description;

(iii) The scope (claim) of protection shall not refer to the description and drawings, except where reference is made to parts that cannot be accurately described in words, such as nucleotide sequences and amino acid sequences, diffraction patterns, state diagrams...

(iv) If the application includes illustrative drawings for the protection claim, the features stated in the scope (claim) of protection may be accompanied by reference numbers, but they must be placed in parentheses. These reference numbers shall not be considered as limiting the scope (claim) of protection;

(v) The scope (claim) of protection should (but is not required) be expressed in two parts: "Limiting Part" and "Differentiating Part," wherein: "Limiting Part" includes the name of the object and its features that coincide with the features of the nearest known object, connected to the "Differentiating Part" by phrases such as "differentiated in that" or "characterized in that" or equivalent expressions; "Differentiating Part" includes the distinguishing features of the object compared to the nearest known object, which together with the features of the "Limiting Part" form the protected object;

(vi) The scope (claim) of protection may include one or more points. In cases where the scope (claim) of protection consists of multiple points, it may be used to express a single object to be protected, with the first point (called the independent point) and subsequent points (dependent points) used to further specify the independent point; or to express a group of objects to be protected, with several independent points, each representing an object to be protected within the group, each independent point may have dependent points. Each protection claim point must refer to only one object to be protected and must be expressed in a single sentence;

(vii) Points of the scope (claim) of protection must be consecutively numbered using Arabic numerals, ending with a period;

(viii) For a scope (claim) of protection consisting of multiple points used to express a group of objects, the requirements are: independent points must represent separate objects and shall not refer to other points in the scope (claim) of protection, except where such references allow avoiding complete repetition of another point's content; dependent points must immediately follow the independent point they depend on."

c) Amend and supplement Clause 23.7 as follows:

“23.7 Requirements for the abstract of the invention

The applicant must submit two copies of the abstract of the invention. The abstract of the invention is used to briefly describe (not exceeding 150 words) the invention being sought to be protected. The abstract must reveal the main contents about the technical solution's essence solely for informational purposes. The abstract may contain illustrations, characteristic formulas. All illustrations, characteristic formulas (if any) must be presented on half an A4 page and must be clear.”

d) Amend and supplement Clause 23.8.a as follows:

“a) In addition to the general requirements for the description of the invention stipulated in Clause 23.6 of this Circular, for patent applications concerning gene sequences or part thereof, the description must include a list of gene sequences presented according to WIPO ST.25 Section 2 (ii) (Standard for presenting lists of nucleotide and amino acid sequences in patent applications). The list of sequences must be presented as a separate section and placed at the end of the description.”

đ) Amend and supplement Clause 23.9.d as follows:

“d) Submission of biological material samples and confirmation documents for international patent applications shall be carried out in accordance with the Implementation Regulations of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).”

23. Amend and supplement Clause 25 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Clause 25.1.a (ii) and (iii) as follows:

“(ii) Time limit for filing a request for substantive examination of a patent application:

- For applications requesting grant of a Patent: 42 months from the date of filing or from the priority date in case of priority claim;

- For applications requesting grant of a Utility Model Certificate: 36 months from the date of filing or from the priority date in case of priority claim.

In case of force majeure or objective obstacles, the time limit for filing the request for substantive examination mentioned above may be extended according to the provisions of Clause 9.4 of this Circular, but not exceeding six months;

(iii) The person requesting the examination of the content of the patent application registration must pay the search fee and the content examination fee as prescribed; if the document requesting the examination of the content is submitted late as provided for in point 25.1.a (ii) of this Circular, the applicant must pay the additional extension fee as prescribed; if the required fees and surcharges are not fully paid, the request for examination of the content shall be deemed invalid and the National Office of Intellectual Property will not proceed with the examination of the content of the application.”

b) Amend and supplement point 25.3.a as follows:

“25.3 Evaluation of the compatibility between the subject matter stated in the application and the type of patent/utility model protection certificate

a) The subject matter stated in the patent application shall be considered incompatible with the type of patent/utility model protection certificate requested by the applicant (Patent Certificate/Utility Model Certificate) if it is not a technical solution, specifically not a product or process. The identification of technical solutions is defined in point 25.3.b below.”

c) Amend and supplement point 25.3.b (i) as follows:

“b) Technical solution - the object protected under the name of patent - is a set of necessary and sufficient information about the technical method and/or technical means (application of natural laws) aimed at solving a specific task (problem).

A technical solution may belong to one of the following types:

(i) Physical product in the form of an object, such as tool, machine, equipment, component, electronic circuit..., expressed by a set of information defining an artificial product characterized by technical features (characteristics) regarding structure, which has a function (utility) as a means to meet certain human needs; or physical product in the form of a substance (including single substance, compound, and mixture), such as material, material, food, drug..., expressed by a set of information defining an artificial product characterized by technical features (characteristics) regarding the presence, ratio, and state of elements, which has a function (utility) as a means to meet certain human needs; or biological material product, such as gene, genetically modified plant/animal..., expressed by a set of information about a product containing genetic information that has been changed under human influence, capable of self-reproduction;”

d) Amend and supplement point 25.4.a (ii) as follows:

“(ii) The creation, production, use, exploitation, or implementation of the above technical solution is repeated with the same result and similar to the result described in the patent description.”

đ) Amend and supplement point 25.4.b (iv) as follows:

“(iv) It can only be implemented according to the instructions on the object in a limited number of times (not repeatable);”

e) Amend and supplement point 25.5.a (ii) as follows:

“(ii) Patent applications or patent protection certificates published by other organizations or countries within 25 years from the filing date or priority date of the application being examined (if the application enjoys priority rights) are stored in the patent database maintained by the National Office of Intellectual Property and other sources of information specified by the National Office of Intellectual Property, with the scope of search as prescribed in point 25.5.a (i) above.

In case of necessity and possibility, the search may be extended to the national database on science and technology.”

g) Amend and supplement point 25.5.d (i) as follows:

“(i) The basic feature of the technical solution may be the structural feature of the object (detail, detail assembly, connection...) or the composition of the substance (component (presence, ratio), state of elements...) together with other basic features forming a set of necessary and sufficient information to determine the nature (content) of the object.

The above technical feature may be expressed in the form of a functional feature of a component in the structure or composition of the product (called a functional feature), provided that this expression is sufficient for an average specialist in the field to easily understand the technical means or technical method to implement that function under normal conditions without requiring creativity. The function, utility of the object seeking protection is not a technical feature, but may be the purpose or result achieved by that object;”

h) Supplement point 25.5.đ as follows:

“đ) To avoid being deemed to have lost novelty in relation to a published patent in the exceptional cases prescribed in Clause 3 of Article 60 of the Intellectual Property Law, the applicant must submit relevant documents related to publication to prove eligibility for the exception. The above documents must be submitted together with the application or supplemented according to the regulations on amending and supplementing the application.”

i) Amend point 25.7.d as follows:

“d) Among the applications referred to in point 25.7.b above, if there are multiple applications having the earliest filing date or priority date, then the Patent Certificate or Utility Model Certificate can only be granted to one application among those applications by mutual agreement of all applicants; if no agreement is reached, all those applications will be refused grant of the protection certificate.”

24. Amend and supplement point 26 as follows:

“26. Decision on Grant, Registration, and Publication of the Decision on Grant of Patent Certificate, Utility Model Certificate

The procedures for issuing the decision on grant, registration, and publication of the decision on grant of Patent Certificate, Utility Model Certificate shall be carried out according to the general procedures prescribed in points 18 and 19 of this Circular.”

25. Amend and supplement point 27 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement point 27.1.e as follows:

“e) Determine the subject matter of the protection claim: if the subject matter of the protection claim of the application is classified as a state secret, no further actions will be taken and the fees paid by the applicant will be refunded, except for the preliminary formality examination fee;”

b) Amend and supplement point 27.2 as follows:

“27.2 Language

International applications originating from Vietnam submitted to the National Office of Intellectual Property must be made in English. Each application must be made in three copies.

In case the number of copies is insufficient, the National Office of Intellectual Property will make additional copies to meet the required number and the applicant must pay the service fee for making international application copies.”

c) Amend and supplement Point 27.3 as follows:

“27.3 International Search Authorities and International Preliminary Examination Authorities

For international applications originating from Vietnam, the competent authorities for international search and international preliminary examination shall be patent offices, industrial property or intellectual property offices at the national or international level recognized by the International Bureau, such as Australia, Austria, the Russian Federation, Sweden, South Korea, Singapore, the European Patent Office, etc.”

d) Amend and supplement Point 27.4 as follows:

“27.4 International Applications Designating Vietnam

If an international application designates Vietnam, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall be the designated authority. In this case, to enter the national phase within thirty-one months from the date of filing the international application or from the priority date (if the application claims priority), the applicant must submit to the National Office of Intellectual Property the following documents:

a) Two Application Forms for Patent Registration, in accordance with Form 01-SC stipulated in Appendix A of this Circular;

b) A copy of the international application (in cases where the applicant requests entry into the national phase before the international publication date);

c) One Vietnamese translation of the description and abstract in the international application (the published version or the original filed version, if the application has not yet been published, and the amended version and explanation of the amendments, if the international application has been amended under Article 19 of the Treaty);

d) A copy of the fee payment receipt (in cases where fees are paid through postal services or directly deposited into the National Office of Intellectual Property's account);

đ) Power of attorney (in cases where the application is submitted through a representative). The applicant may submit the power of attorney within the time limit specified in Point 27.7.a of this Circular, and the supplementary period for submitting the power of attorney will not be counted towards the examination period.”

đ) Amend Point 27.5 as follows:

“27.5 International Applications Electing Vietnam

If an international application elects Vietnam, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall be the elected authority. The election of Vietnam must be made within twenty-two months from the priority date or three months from the date the international search report is transmitted to the applicant or the date of publication pursuant to Article 17.2(a) of the Treaty or the issuance of an official opinion under Rule 43bis of the Regulations Implementing the Treaty, whichever expires later. To enter the national phase within thirty-one months from the date of filing the international application or from the priority date (if the application claims priority), the applicant must submit to the National Office of Intellectual Property the following documents:

a) Two Application Forms for Patent Registration, in accordance with Form 01-SC stipulated in Appendix A of this Circular;

b) One Vietnamese translation of the description and abstract in the international application (the published version or the original filed version, if the application has not yet been published, and the amended version and explanation of the amendments, if the international application has been amended under Article 19 and/or Article 34.2(b) of the Treaty);

c) One Vietnamese translation of the annexes of the international preliminary examination report (when requesting examination of the content of the application);

d) A copy of the fee payment receipt (in cases where fees are paid through postal services or directly deposited into the National Office of Intellectual Property's account);

đ) Power of attorney (in cases where the application is submitted through a representative). The applicant may submit the power of attorney within the time limit specified in Point 27.7.a of this Circular, and the supplementary period for submitting the power of attorney will not be counted towards the examination period.”

e) Amend and supplement Point 27.6 as follows:

“27.6 Priority Claim

To claim priority, the applicant must restate it in the application form, pay the fee for examining the priority claim, and, upon request by the National Office of Intellectual Property, submit a Vietnamese translation of the documents submitted to the International Bureau and any necessary documents according to Rule 17.1(a) of the Regulations Implementing the Treaty.

For PCT applications, the handling of priority claims shall comply with the PCT Treaty and the Regulations Implementing the Treaty.”

26. Amend and supplement Point 30.3 as follows:

“30.3 Refusal to Accept the Application

If the applicant has received a notification of the result of the formal examination from the National Office of Intellectual Property indicating deficiencies and the intention to refuse acceptance of the application in accordance with Point 13.6.a of this Circular, but the applicant does not correct the deficiencies or the corrections are not satisfactory, or does not provide comments or provides comments that are not reasonable within the prescribed time limit, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall issue a decision refusing to accept the application for registration of layout-design.”

27. Amend and supplement Point 32.1 as follows:

“32. Decision on Grant, Registration, and Publication of the Decision on Grant of Layout-Design Registration Certificate

32.1 Notification of Intention to Grant the Layout-Design Registration Certificate

If, within three months from the date of publication of the layout-design in the Industrial Property Gazette, there are no third-party objections to the registration of the layout-design or although objections have been raised, the results of the handling show that the objections are not reasonable, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall notify the applicant of its intention to grant the layout-design registration certificate for the subject matter mentioned in the application and set a deadline of three months from the date of the notification for the applicant to pay the publication fee, registration fee, and fee for granting the protection certificate.”

28. Amend and supplement Point 33 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Point 33.2 as follows:

“33.2 The application for registration of a design must ensure consistency as provided for in Clause 1 and Clause 3 of Article 101 of the Law on Intellectual Property and in accordance with the provisions of this point.

a) An application for registration of a design shall be considered consistent if:

(i) It seeks protection for a single design of a product; or

(ii) It seeks protection for designs of multiple products in a set of products, each product having a corresponding design; or

(iii) It seeks protection for a single design of a product accompanied by one or more variants of that design. The first variant must be the basic variant.

The variants of a design must not differ significantly from the basic variant and must not differ significantly from each other.

b) Product means an object, tool, equipment, means, or part used to assemble or form such products, produced by industrial or handicraft methods, with clear structure and function, capable of independent circulation.”

b) Amend and supplement Point 33.3 as follows:

“33.3 Request for Information Provision”

a) In case there is a basis (information, evidence) to doubt the authenticity of the information in the industrial design application, the Intellectual Property Office may require the applicant to submit verification documents for such information within two months, particularly documents confirming the lawful registration right if the applicant enjoys the application right from another person (certificates of inheritance rights, certificates or agreements on the transfer of application rights; contracts for work or employment contracts...).

b) The Intellectual Property Office may also require the applicant to submit documents confirming ownership or lawful usage rights of trade marks (brands, geographical indications, trade names), protected industrial designs of others within two months, if there is a basis to suspect that the industrial design mentioned in the application contains such objects.

c) In case the applicant does not provide information or provides information that does not meet the requirements set out in points 33.3.a and 33.3.b above, the application will be deemed invalid or refused protection.

c) Amend and supplement point 33.5 as follows:

“33.5 Requirements for the description of the industrial design

The applicant must submit one copy of the description of the industrial design, including the following contents:

a) Name of the industrial design: the name of the product bearing the industrial design, expressed concisely using common terms, without promotional characteristics, and without symbols, annotations, or trade marks;

b) Field of use of the industrial design: the specific field of use of the product bearing the industrial design, specifying the purpose of use, function, and utility of the product;

c) Nearest similar industrial design: indicate whether there is a similar industrial design or not, if there is, specify the least different industrial design of the same type of product mentioned in the application, which has been widely known before the filing date or priority date (if the application claims priority rights), and must indicate the source of public disclosure of the nearest similar industrial design;

d) List photographs or drawings: list sequentially the photographs, perspective views (three-dimensional), projections, cross-sections... of the industrial design, corresponding to the numbering of the photographs and drawings;

đ) The description of the industrial design must comply with the provisions of Clause 2 Article 103 of the Intellectual Property Law, and must be described in detail as follows:

(i) Fully disclose the essence of the industrial design sought for protection, including all characteristic features expressing the essence of the industrial design, while pointing out new characteristic features different from the nearest similar industrial design specified in point 33.5.c above, consistent with the characteristic features shown in the photographs and drawings;

(ii) The characteristic features of the industrial design sought for protection shall be presented in sequence: shape features, line features, relationships between shape and/or line features, color features (if any);

(iii) For products with different states of use (for example, products with lids or foldable products...), describe the industrial design of the product in different states;

(iv) If the industrial design includes multiple options, then the basic option must be specified and each variant option must be numbered sequentially, clearly indicating the different characteristic features of each variant option compared to the basic option;

(v) If the industrial design is the design of a set of products, describe the design of each product in the set.

e) Scope of protection of the industrial design (or "protection claim"): must fully list the characteristic features necessary and sufficient to determine the essence of the industrial design sought for protection and the scope of industrial property rights over the industrial design, as shown in the photographs and drawings in the application, including new characteristic features different from the known similar industrial design.

d) Amend and supplement point 33.6 as follows:

“33.6 Requirements for the set of photographs or drawings of the industrial design

The applicant must submit four sets of photographs or four sets of drawings of the industrial design reflecting the object sought for protection consistently and accurately printed or attached on A4 paper without frames. The photographs or drawings must fully reflect the characteristic features of the industrial design sought for protection to the extent that anyone with average knowledge in the relevant field can identify it, according to the following guidelines:

a) Photographs or drawings must be clear and sharp; the industrial design must be depicted with continuous lines; the background color of the photographs or drawings must be uniform and contrast with the color of the industrial design; on the photographs or drawings, only the product bearing the industrial design sought for protection should be shown (without other products), except in cases specified in points 33.6.g and 33.6.h below, and must not contain technical drawing instructions or explanations about the industrial design, except for brief and necessary instructions to indicate cross-sections, enlarged views, closed or open states.

b) Photographs or drawings must depict the industrial design at the same scale. The size of the industrial design in the photographs or drawings must not be smaller than 90mm x 120mm and not larger than 190mm x 277mm.

c) Photographs or drawings must depict the industrial design from the same angle and be numbered sequentially in the following order: perspective view (three-dimensional) of the industrial design, front projection, rear projection, right side projection, left side projection, top-down projection, bottom-up projection; the projections must be depicted frontally.

d) Photographs or drawings similar or symmetrical to existing photographs or drawings, photographs of the underside of large-sized and heavy products, photographs or drawings of surfaces with excessively thin thickness of the industrial design do not need to be included in the application, provided that this is clearly stated in the list of photographs or drawings in the description.

đ) For industrial designs of products that can be unfolded in a planar form (for example, boxes, packaging items...), the projections of the industrial design may be replaced by photographs, drawings of the industrial design in its unfolded state.

e) Depending on the complexity of the industrial design, additional photographs, perspective views from different angles, cross-sections, magnified details, separate parts or components of the product, photographs or illustrations showing the installation or usage position of the part on the complete product may be required to clarify the nature and distinctive features of the industrial design (without using them to establish industrial property rights for the industrial design of that part).

g) For industrial designs of products assembled or composed of multiple different parts, photographs or drawings of each of these parts may be provided but only for illustrative purposes and not to establish industrial property rights for the industrial design of that part.

h) The photographs or drawings must show the industrial design in the same state of use selected; photographs or drawings showing other states may be provided to clarify the nature of the industrial design.

i) For applications with multiple options, the basic option must be shown first. Each option of the industrial design must be shown by a complete set of photographs or drawings according to the provisions of this point.

k) For sets of products, there must be a perspective view of the entire set and a set of photographs or drawings of each product within the set according to the provisions of this point.”

đ) Amend and supplement Clause 33.7 as follows:

“33.7 Distinctive features of an industrial design

a) The distinctive features of an industrial design are elements expressed in the form of lines, shapes, colors, positional relationships, or size relationships, which when combined with other characteristics (signs) form a sufficient set to create that industrial design.

b) Basic distinctive features are distinctive features that are easily recognizable/memorable, necessary and sufficient to determine the nature of the industrial design and distinguish the industrial design from other industrial designs used for similar products.

Similar products are products with the same or similar intended uses or functions. Complete products and parts used to assemble or compose complete products are different types of products.

c) The following factors shall not be considered as basic distinctive features of an industrial design:

(i) Shapes and lines determined solely by the technical function of the product (for example, the flat shape of a data storage disc is determined by the relative motion between the disc and the reading head...);

(ii) Factors whose presence in the set of signs does not create an aesthetic impression (the appearance of the product does not change whether or not the factor is present; for example, changing a familiar shape or line but the change is not enough to be recognized, thus the changed shape or line is still only recognized as the original shape or line);

(iii) Materials used to manufacture the product;

(iv) Signs attached, affixed... to the product solely to perform informational or instructional functions regarding the origin, characteristics, structure, utility, method of use... of the product; for example, information on product labels (such as manufacturer, trade marks, place of origin, barcodes,...), trademarks, geographical indications...;

(v) Size of the product, except in cases where the decorative size of fabric samples and similar materials is changed;

(vi) Other factors that do not meet the conditions specified in Clause 33.7.b of this Circular.”

29. Amend and supplement Clause 35 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Clause 35.1 as follows:

“35.1 Evaluation of similarity of industrial designs:

a) Two industrial designs are considered identical when both industrial designs are used for similar products and have the same set of basic and non-basic distinctive features;

b) Two industrial designs are considered not significantly different from each other when both industrial designs are used for similar products and have the same set of basic distinctive features;

c) Two industrial designs are considered similar when both industrial designs are used for similar products and have at least one basic distinctive feature that is identical or not significantly different;

d) Two industrial designs among similar industrial designs are considered the most similar when both industrial designs have the greatest number of basic distinctive features that are identical or not significantly different compared to all other similar industrial designs;

đ) Two industrial designs are considered significantly different from each other when both industrial designs are used for different types of products, or used for similar products but have at least one basic distinctive feature that is different.”

b) Amend and supplement Clause 35.3 as follows:

“35.3 Evaluation of compatibility between the subject matter described in the application and the type of industrial design protection certificate

The subject matter described in the application is considered incompatible with the type of industrial design protection certificate if:

a) The subject matter is not the external appearance of the product. The external appearance consists of distinctive features (shapes, lines, colors, or combinations of these elements) visible during the use of the product (exploiting the utility of the product in a typical manner, performed by any user, excluding maintenance, repair, or product repair work);

b) The subject matter described in the application is:

(i) The external appearance of the product due to the technical characteristics of the product being mandatory;

(ii) The external appearance of civil or industrial construction works, except for the external appearance of modules or individual units that can be used independently or assembled together to form construction works such as shops, kiosks, mobile houses, or similar products.”

c) Amend and supplement Clause 35.7 as follows:

“35.7 Evaluation of novelty of industrial designs as stipulated in Article 65 of the Intellectual Property Law.

a) Method of evaluating the novelty of industrial designs

To evaluate the novelty of the design specified in the application, a comparison must be made between the set of basic design features of that design and the set of basic design features of each comparative design found during the information search process.

b) Conclusion on the novelty of the design

The design specified in the application shall be considered new if:

(i) No comparative design is found in the minimum required information source; or

(ii) Although a comparative design is found in the minimum required information source, the design specified in the application is considered significantly different from the comparative designs; or

(iii) The comparative design is the same design specified in the application that has been published/revealed under the provisions of Clause 3 and Clause 4 of Article 65 of the Intellectual Property Law.”

d) Amend and supplement Point 35.8.a as follows:

“a) Method for assessing the creativity of the design

To assess the creativity of the design specified in the application, a comparison must be made between the set of basic design features of that design and the set of basic design features of the comparative designs found during the information search process.”

đ) Amend and supplement Point 35.9 as follows:

“35.9 Checking the priority filing principle for designs

For design applications that have been concluded to meet the conditions for protection, before issuing a notice of intention to grant a Design Patent Certificate pursuant to Point 15.7.a (iii) of this Circular, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall check to ensure compliance with the priority filing principle stipulated in Clause 1 and Clause 3 of Article 90 of the Intellectual Property Law according to the following regulations:

a) To check the priority filing principle, it is necessary to conduct a search in the mandatory source of information as provided in Point 35.4.b (iv) of this Circular.

b) The search is to find design applications for products of the same type that are identical or not significantly different from each other, or to find design applications for products containing parts with designs that are identical or not significantly different from the registered design, and to determine the application with the earliest filing date or priority date.

c) Nếu có nhiều đơn thuộc trường hợp nêu tại điểm 35.9.b trên đây thì Bằng độc quyền kiểu dáng công nghiệp chỉ có thể được cấp cho đơn hợp lệ có ngày nộp đơn hoặc ngày ưu tiên sớm nhất trong số những đơn đáp ứng các điều kiện để được cấp văn bằng bảo hộ.

d) Trong số các đơn thuộc trường hợp nêu tại điểm 35.9.b trên đây đăng ký cho sản phẩm cùng loại, nếu có nhiều đơn cùng có ngày nộp đơn hoặc ngày ưu tiên sớm nhất thì Bằng độc quyền kiểu dáng công nghiệp chỉ có thể được cấp cho một đơn duy nhất trong số các đơn đó theo thoả thuận của tất cả những người nộp đơn; nếu không thỏa thuận được thì tất cả các đơn đó đều bị từ chối cấp văn bằng bảo hộ.”.

30. Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 36 như sau:

“36. Quyết định cấp, đăng bạ, công bố quyết định cấp Bằng độc quyền kiểu dáng công nghiệp

Các thủ tục ra quyết định cấp, đăng bạ, công bố quyết định cấp Bằng độc quyền kiểu dáng công nghiệp được thực hiện theo thủ tục chung quy định tại điểm 18 và điểm 19 của Thông tư này.”.

31. Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 37 như sau:

a) Sửa đổi, bổ sung đoạn thứ nhất của điểm 37.3 như sau:

“37.3 Trường hợp có cơ sở (thông tin, chứng cứ) để nghi ngờ về tính xác thực của các thông tin nêu trong đơn, Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ có thể yêu cầu người nộp đơn trong thời hạn 01 tháng, phải nộp các tài liệu nhằm xác minh các thông tin đó, có thể là các tài liệu sau đây:”

b) Bổ sung điểm 37.3.g như sau:

“g) Tài liệu khác thích hợp để làm rõ tính xác thực của thông tin trong đơn.”.

c)  Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 37.4.b (iii) như sau:

“(iii) Nếu người nộp đơn không chỉ rõ nhãn hiệu cơ bản hoặc hàng hoá, dịch vụ cơ bản thì tất cả các nhãn hiệu và tất cả các hàng hoá, dịch vụ liên quan đến nhãn hiệu nêu trong đơn của người nộp đơn được coi là độc lập với nhau. Việc đánh giá khả năng phân biệt của nhãn hiệu nêu trong đơn phải theo quy định chung về đánh giá khả năng phân biệt quy định tại điểm 39 của Thông tư này.”.

d) Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 37.4.c như sau:

“c) Đối với nhãn hiệu chứng nhận, người nộp đơn phải mô tả tóm tắt trong tờ khai đặc tính của hàng hoá, dịch vụ được chứng nhận bởi nhãn hiệu (các đặc tính về xuất xứ, nguyên liệu, vật liệu, cách thức sản xuất hàng hoá, cách thức cung cấp dịch vụ, chất lượng, độ chính xác, độ an toàn hoặc các đặc tính khác của hàng hoá, dịch vụ mang nhãn hiệu).”.

đ) Bổ sung điểm 37.5^a như sau:

“37.5^a Tổ chức có quyền đăng ký nhãn hiệu tập thể theo quy định tại khoản 3 Điều 87 của Luật Sở hữu trí tuệ

a) Tổ chức tập thể được thành lập hợp pháp theo quy định tại khoản 3 Điều 87 của Luật Sở hữu trí tuệ là tổ chức có từ 02 thành viên trở lên, được thành lập theo quy định của pháp luật. Các thành viên của tổ chức đó có hoạt động sản xuất, kinh doanh độc lập, có hàng hóa, dịch vụ riêng.

b) Các tổ chức sau đây được coi là tổ chức tập thể theo quy định tại điểm a trên đây:

(i) Liên minh hợp tác xã; các hợp tác xã theo quy định của Luật Hợp tác xã, nếu trong Điều lệ ghi rõ thành viên có hoạt động sản xuất, kinh doanh độc lập;

(ii) Nhóm công ty theo quy định của Luật Doanh nghiệp;

(iii) Hội theo quy định của pháp luật về hội, nếu trong Điều lệ ghi rõ thành viên của hội có hoạt động sản xuất, kinh doanh độc lập;

(iv) Các tổ chức khác đáp ứng điều kiện quy định tại điểm 37.5^a.a của Thông tư này.”.

e) Bổ sung điểm 37.5^b như sau:

“37.5^b Tổ chức có quyền đăng ký nhãn hiệu chứng nhận theo quy định tại khoản 4 Điều 87 của Luật Sở hữu trí tuệ

a) Tổ chức có chức năng kiểm soát, chứng nhận đặc tính (chất lượng, nguồn gốc,...) của hàng hóa, dịch vụ mang nhãn hiệu là tổ chức mà hoạt động kiểm soát, chứng nhận nêu trên do chính tổ chức đó thực hiện hoặc giao, thuê, ủy quyền... cho tổ chức khác thực hiện phù hợp với chức năng mà pháp luật quy định, hoặc được ghi nhận trong giấy chứng nhận đăng ký kinh doanh, điều lệ, quyết định thành lập, quyết định giao nhiệm vụ... của tổ chức đó.

b) Trong trường hợp có nghi ngờ về chức năng kiểm soát, chứng nhận của tổ chức đăng ký nhãn hiệu chứng nhận, Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ có quyền yêu cầu tổ chức đó nộp tài liệu để chứng minh.”.

g) Bổ sung điểm 37.6.h như sau:

“h) Danh sách các thành viên sử dụng nhãn hiệu tập thể.”.

h) Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 37.7.a như sau:

“a) Văn bản cho phép sử dụng địa danh hoặc dấu hiệu khác chỉ nguồn gốc địa lý của đặc sản địa phương để đăng ký nhãn hiệu tập thể, nhãn hiệu chứng nhận có chứa yếu tố đó, do cơ quan có thẩm quyền sau đây cấp:

(i) Ủy ban nhân dân tỉnh, thành phố trực thuộc Trung ương nơi có khu vực địa lý tương ứng với địa danh hoặc dấu hiệu khác chỉ dẫn nguồn gốc địa lý của đặc sản địa phương (trong trường hợp khu vực địa lý thuộc một địa phương);

(ii) Tất cả các Ủy ban nhân dân tỉnh, thành phố trực thuộc Trung ương nơi có khu vực địa lý tương ứng với địa danh hoặc dấu hiệu khác chỉ dẫn nguồn gốc địa lý của đặc sản địa phương (trong trường hợp khu vực địa lý thuộc nhiều địa phương).”.

32. Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 39.12.a (i) như sau:

“(i) Dấu hiệu trùng hoặc tương tự với tên gọi, biểu tượng của một quốc gia, của một vùng lãnh thổ (quốc kỳ, quốc huy, quốc hiệu, tên nước, tên địa phương) hoặc tương tự đến mức gây nhầm lẫn với tên gọi, biểu tượng của một quốc gia, một vùng lãnh thổ gây nên sự lầm tưởng rằng hàng hoá, dịch vụ mang dấu hiệu có nguồn gốc từ nước, vùng đó nhưng thực sự có nguồn gốc từ nước, vùng khác;”.

33. Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 40 như sau:

“40. Quyết định cấp, đăng bạ, công bố quyết định cấp Giấy chứng nhận đăng ký nhãn hiệu

Các thủ tục ra quyết định cấp, đăng bạ, công bố quyết định cấp Giấy chứng nhận đăng ký nhãn hiệu được thực hiện theo thủ tục chung quy định tại điểm 18 và điểm 19 của Thông tư này.”.

34. Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 41 như sau:

a) Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 41.6 như sau:

“41.6 Xử lý đơn đăng ký quốc tế nhãn hiệu có chỉ định Việt Nam

a) Sau khi nhận được thông báo của Văn phòng quốc tế về đơn đăng ký quốc tế nhãn hiệu có chỉ định Việt Nam, Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ tiến hành thẩm định nội dung đơn theo thủ tục áp dụng đối với đơn đăng ký nhãn hiệu được nộp theo thể thức quốc gia. Trong thời hạn 12 tháng kể từ ngày Văn phòng quốc tế ra thông báo, Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ có kết luận về khả năng bảo hộ của nhãn hiệu.

b) Đối với nhãn hiệu đáp ứng các điều kiện bảo hộ theo quy định của pháp luật Việt Nam, Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ thực hiện các thủ tục sau đây:

(i) Trước khi kết thúc thời hạn 12 tháng nêu tại điểm a trên đây, Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ ra quyết định chấp nhận bảo hộ nhãn hiệu đăng ký quốc tế, ghi nhận vào Sổ đăng ký quốc gia về nhãn hiệu (Phần Nhãn hiệu đăng ký quốc tế) và gửi cho Văn phòng quốc tế tuyên bố chấp nhận bảo hộ nhãn hiệu đăng ký quốc tế tại Việt Nam theo Mẫu số 4 (Model Form 4) của Văn phòng quốc tế; và

(ii) Công bố quyết định trên Công báo sở hữu công nghiệp trong thời hạn  02 tháng kể từ ngày ra quyết định.

Phạm vi (khối lượng) bảo hộ được xác định theo nội dung yêu cầu trong đăng ký quốc tế nhãn hiệu đã được Tổ chức Sở hữu trí tuệ thế giới (WIPO) ghi nhận và được Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ chấp nhận.

c) Đối với nhãn hiệu có một phần hoặc toàn bộ hàng hóa, dịch vụ không đáp ứng điều kiện bảo hộ hoặc nhãn hiệu đáp ứng điều kiện bảo hộ nhưng đăng ký quốc tế còn có thiếu sót (ví dụ thiếu Quy chế sử dụng nhãn hiệu tập thể, nhãn hiệu chứng nhận, thiếu ảnh chụp hoặc hình vẽ thể hiện hình phối cảnh nhãn hiệu ba chiều…), thì trước khi kết thúc thời hạn 12 tháng nêu tại điểm 41.6.a trên đây, Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ ra thông báo tạm thời từ chối theo Mẫu số 3 (Model Form 3) của Văn phòng quốc tế, trong đó nêu rõ nội dung và lý do dự định từ chối; và gửi thông báo đó cho Văn phòng quốc tế.

d) Trong thời hạn 03 tháng kể từ ngày Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ gửi thông báo tạm thời từ chối đối với một phần hoặc toàn bộ hàng hóa, dịch vụ, người nộp đơn có quyền sửa chữa thiếu sót hoặc có ý kiến phản đối dự định từ chối của Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ.

Việc sửa chữa thiếu sót hoặc phản đối dự định từ chối được thực hiện theo thủ tục như đối với đơn đăng ký nhãn hiệu được nộp theo thể thức quốc gia, kể cả quy định về cách thức nộp đơn.

đ) Trường hợp Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ dự định từ chối một phần hoặc toàn bộ danh mục hàng hóa, dịch vụ (nêu trong thông báo tạm thời từ chối), nếu trong thời hạn 03 tháng nêu tại điểm d trên đây người nộp đơn sửa chữa thiếu sót đạt yêu cầu và/hoặc có ý kiến phản đối xác đáng đối với dự định từ chối một phần hoặc toàn bộ hàng hóa, dịch vụ đó thì Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ thực hiện các thủ tục sau đây:

(i) Ra quyết định chấp nhận bảo hộ nhãn hiệu đăng ký quốc tế với phạm vi (khối lượng) bảo hộ tương ứng với hàng hóa, dịch vụ đáp ứng điều kiện bảo hộ; ghi nhận vào Sổ đăng ký quốc gia về nhãn hiệu (Phần Nhãn hiệu đăng ký quốc tế); và gửi cho Văn phòng quốc tế tuyên bố chấp nhận bảo hộ sau thông báo tạm thời từ chối theo Mẫu số 5 (Model Form 5) của Văn phòng quốc tế;

(ii) Công bố quyết định trên Công báo sở hữu công nghiệp trong thời hạn 02 tháng kể từ ngày ra quyết định.

e) Trường hợp Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ dự định từ chối một phần danh mục hàng hóa, dịch vụ (nêu trong thông báo tạm thời từ chối), nếu kết thúc thời hạn 03 tháng nêu tại điểm d trên đây mà người nộp đơn không sửa chữa thiếu sót hoặc sửa chữa thiếu sót không đạt yêu cầu, không có ý kiến phản đối hoặc có ý kiến phản đối nhưng không xác đáng đối với dự định từ chối đó thì Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ áp dụng tương tự các thủ tục quy định tại điểm 41.6.đ trên đây chỉ riêng đối với hàng hóa, dịch vụ đáp ứng điều kiện bảo hộ (hàng hóa, dịch vụ không nêu trong thông báo tạm thời từ chối).

g) Trường hợp Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ dự định từ chối toàn bộ danh mục hàng hóa, dịch vụ (nêu trong thông báo tạm thời từ chối), nếu kết thúc thời hạn 03 tháng nêu tại điểm d trên đây mà người nộp đơn không sửa chữa thiếu sót hoặc sửa chữa thiếu sót không đạt yêu cầu, không có ý kiến phản đối hoặc có ý kiến phản đối nhưng không xác đáng đối với dự định từ chối toàn bộ danh mục hàng hóa, dịch vụ đó thì Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ ra quyết định từ chối bảo hộ nhãn hiệu đăng ký quốc tế và gửi cho Văn phòng quốc tế thông báo khẳng định từ chối toàn bộ theo Mẫu số 6 (Model Form 6) của Văn phòng quốc tế.

h) Thủ tục khiếu nại và giải quyết khiếu nại đối với các quyết định nêu tại các điểm 41.6.đ, e và g trên đây được thực hiện như đối với đơn đăng ký nhãn hiệu được nộp theo thể thức quốc gia theo các thủ tục quy định tại điểm 22 của Thông tư này nếu có cơ sở cho rằng quyết định này được ban hành không phù hợp với các quy định pháp luật về nội dung và trình tự ban hành. Kết quả giải quyết khiếu nại được Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ thông báo cho Văn phòng quốc tế và cho người nộp đơn.

i) Kể từ ngày đăng ký quốc tế nhãn hiệu được thừa nhận bắt đầu có hiệu lực tại Việt Nam, theo yêu cầu của chủ sở hữu nhãn hiệu, Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ cấp Giấy xác nhận nhãn hiệu đăng ký quốc tế được bảo hộ tại Việt Nam, với điều kiện người yêu cầu nộp phí, lệ phí theo quy định.”.

b) Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 41.8 như sau:

“41.8 Đơn đăng ký nhãn hiệu chuyển đổi do đăng ký quốc tế nhãn hiệu bị hủy bỏ hiệu lực

a) Trường hợp đăng ký quốc tế nhãn hiệu tại Việt Nam của chủ sở hữu nhãn hiệu là người thuộc nước chỉ là thành viên Nghị định thư Madrid bị mất hiệu lực theo quy định tại Điều 9^quinquies của Nghị định thư Madrid, người đó có quyền nộp đơn đăng ký nhãn hiệu chuyển đổi cho Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ để đăng ký bảo hộ cho chính nhãn hiệu đó đối với một phần hoặc toàn bộ hàng hoá, dịch vụ thuộc danh mục hàng hoá, dịch vụ đã được ghi nhận trong đăng ký quốc tế nhãn hiệu bị mất hiệu lực.

Người nộp đơn phải nộp các khoản phí, lệ phí theo quy định như đối với đơn đăng ký nhãn hiệu được nộp theo thể thức quốc gia. Riêng đối với đơn đăng ký nhãn hiệu chuyển đổi từ đăng ký quốc tế đã được chấp nhận bảo hộ tại Việt Nam, người nộp đơn không phải nộp phí công bố đơn.

b) Đơn đăng ký nhãn hiệu chuyển đổi được chấp nhận hợp lệ nếu đáp ứng các điều kiện sau đây:

(i) Đơn được nộp trong thời hạn 03 tháng kể từ ngày đăng ký quốc tế tương ứng bị mất hiệu lực;

(ii) Hàng hoá, dịch vụ mô tả trong đơn đăng ký nhãn hiệu chuyển đổi thuộc phạm vi danh mục hàng hoá, dịch vụ ghi trong đăng ký quốc tế tương ứng;

(iii) Đơn được làm theo Mẫu 07-ĐKCĐ quy định tại Phụ lục C của Thông tư này (trong đó danh mục hàng hóa, dịch vụ bằng tiếng Việt phải đúng với danh mục hàng hóa, dịch vụ trong đăng ký quốc tế tương ứng);

(iv) Đơn đáp ứng tất cả các yêu cầu khác về hình thức đối với đơn đăng ký nhãn hiệu theo quy định của pháp luật Việt Nam;

(v)  Người nộp đơn nộp đầy đủ các khoản phí, lệ phí theo quy định.

c) Đơn đăng ký nhãn hiệu chuyển đổi được ghi nhận ngày nộp đơn đăng ký quốc tế nhãn hiệu hoặc ngày ưu tiên của đơn đăng ký quốc tế nhãn hiệu tương ứng (nếu đơn đăng ký quốc tế nhãn hiệu được hưởng quyền ưu tiên theo điều ước quốc tế), trừ trường hợp có căn cứ để bác bỏ.

d) Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ thẩm định hình thức đơn đăng ký nhãn hiệu chuyển đổi theo quy định về điều kiện chuyển đổi nêu tại điểm 41.8.b trên đây.

Đối với những yếu tố về hình thức đã được Văn phòng quốc tế chấp nhận trong đăng ký quốc tế tương ứng, Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ không thẩm định lại, trừ trường hợp đơn có thiếu sót (ví dụ thiếu quy chế sử dụng nhãn hiệu tập thể, quy chế sử dụng nhãn hiệu chứng nhận, thiếu ảnh chụp hoặc hình vẽ thể hiện hình phối cảnh nhãn hiệu ba chiều…). Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ ra quyết định từ chối chấp nhận đơn trong trường hợp đơn không đáp ứng các điều kiện quy định tại điểm 41.8.b trên đây. 

đ) Đối với đơn đăng ký nhãn hiệu chuyển đổi từ đăng ký quốc tế đã được chấp nhận bảo hộ tại Việt Nam, Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ không tiến hành thẩm định lại nội dung. Trường hợp đơn đáp ứng các điều kiện chuyển đổi quy định tại điểm b trên đây thì Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ ra quyết định cấp văn bằng bảo hộ, ghi nhận vào Sổ đăng ký quốc gia về nhãn hiệu, công bố quyết định trên Công báo sở hữu công nghiệp.

e) Đối với đơn đăng ký nhãn hiệu chuyển đổi hợp lệ không thuộc trường hợp quy định tại điểm 41.8.đ trên đây, Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ thực hiện các thủ tục chấp nhận đơn hợp lệ, công bố đơn, thẩm định nội dung và các thủ tục tiếp theo như đối với đơn đăng ký nhãn hiệu được nộp theo thể thức quốc gia.”.

35. Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 42 như sau:

a) Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 42.3 như sau:

“42.3 Tài liệu chứng minh quyền sở hữu nhãn hiệu và chứng minh sự nổi tiếng của nhãn hiệu có thể bao gồm các thông tin về phạm vi, quy mô, mức độ, tính liên tục của việc sử dụng nhãn hiệu, trong đó có thuyết minh về nguồn gốc, lịch sử, thời gian sử dụng liên tục nhãn hiệu; số lượng quốc gia nhãn hiệu đã được đăng ký hoặc được thừa nhận là nhãn hiệu nổi tiếng; danh mục các loại hàng hoá, dịch vụ mang nhãn hiệu; phạm vi lãnh thổ mà nhãn hiệu được lưu hành, doanh số bán sản phẩm hoặc cung cấp dịch vụ; số lượng hàng hoá, dịch vụ mang nhãn hiệu đã được sản xuất, tiêu thụ; giá trị tài sản của nhãn hiệu, giá chuyển nhượng hoặc chuyển giao quyền sử dụng, giá trị góp vốn đầu tư của nhãn hiệu; đầu tư, chi phí cho quảng cáo, tiếp thị nhãn hiệu, kể cả cho việc tham gia các cuộc triển lãm quốc gia và quốc tế; các vụ việc xâm phạm, tranh chấp và các quyết định, phán quyết của toà án hoặc cơ quan có thẩm quyền; số liệu khảo sát người tiêu dùng biết đến nhãn hiệu thông qua mua bán, sử dụng và quảng cáo, tiếp thị; xếp hạng, đánh giá uy tín nhãn hiệu của tổ chức quốc gia, quốc tế, phương tiện thông tin đại chúng; giải thưởng, huy chương mà nhãn hiệu đã đạt được; kết quả giám định của tổ chức giám định về sở hữu trí tuệ.”.

b) Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 42.4 như sau:

“42.4 Trường hợp nhãn hiệu nổi tiếng được công nhận dẫn đến quyết định xử lý xâm phạm quyền đối với nhãn hiệu nổi tiếng đó theo quy định tại điểm d khoản 1 Điều 129 của Luật Sở hữu trí tuệ hoặc dẫn đến quyết định không bảo hộ nhãn hiệu khác theo quy định tại điểm i khoản 2 Điều 74 của Luật Sở hữu trí tuệ thì nhãn hiệu nổi tiếng đó sẽ được ghi nhận vào Danh mục nhãn hiệu nổi tiếng được lưu giữ tại Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ để làm thông tin tham khảo phục vụ công tác xác lập và bảo vệ quyền sở hữu trí tuệ.”.

36. Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 43.4 như sau:

a) Bổ sung điểm 43.4.a (v) như sau:

“(v) Thông tin về cơ chế tự kiểm tra các tính chất/chất lượng đặc thù của sản phẩm.”.

b) Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 43.4.b như sau:

“b) Bản mô tả tính chất/chất lượng/danh tiếng của sản phẩm phải kèm theo tài liệu chứng minh các thông tin về tính chất/chất lượng/danh tiếng là có căn cứ và xác thực (kết quả khảo nghiệm, nghiên cứu, điều tra…).”.

37. Bổ sung điểm 45.3.d như sau:

“d) Tiêu chí xác định địa danh, dấu hiệu khác chỉ nguồn gốc địa lý của sản phẩm được áp dụng theo quy định tại điểm 37.8 của Thông tư này.”.

38. Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 46 như sau:

“46. Quyết định cấp, đăng bạ, công bố quyết định cấp Giấy chứng nhận đăng ký chỉ dẫn địa lý

Các thủ tục ra quyết định cấp, đăng bạ, công bố quyết định cấp Giấy chứng nhận đăng ký chỉ dẫn địa lý được thực hiện theo quy định chung tại điểm 18 và điểm 19 của Thông tư này.”.

39. Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 47 như sau:

a) Bổ sung điểm 47.1.h như sau:

“h) Đối với hồ sơ đăng ký hợp đồng chuyển nhượng nhãn hiệu tập thể, nhãn hiệu chứng nhận, ngoài các tài liệu nêu trên, cần có thêm các tài liệu sau đây:

(i) Quy chế sử dụng nhãn hiệu tập thể, quy chế sử dụng nhãn hiệu chứng nhận của Bên nhận chuyển nhượng theo quy định tại Điều 105 của Luật Sở hữu trí tuệ;

(ii) Tài liệu chứng minh quyền nộp đơn của bên nhận chuyển nhượng đối với nhãn hiệu chứng nhận, nhãn hiệu tập thể theo quy định tại khoản 3 và khoản 4 Điều 87 của Luật Sở hữu trí tuệ.

Trong trường hợp này, Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ thẩm định lại yêu cầu về quyền nộp đơn và quy chế sử dụng nhãn hiệu. Người nộp đơn phải nộp phí thẩm định đơn ngoài các khoản phí, lệ phí đối với hồ sơ đăng ký hợp đồng chuyển nhượng quyền sở hữu công nghiệp theo quy định.”.

b) Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 47.2.b như sau:

“b) 02 bản hợp đồng (bản gốc hoặc bản sao kèm theo bản gốc để đối chiếu, trừ trường hợp bản sao đã được chứng thực theo quy định); nếu hợp đồng làm bằng ngôn ngữ khác tiếng Việt thì phải kèm theo bản dịch hợp đồng ra tiếng Việt; nếu hợp đồng có nhiều trang thì từng trang phải có chữ ký xác nhận của các bên hoặc đóng dấu giáp lai;”.

40. Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 48 như sau:

a) Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 48.1 như sau:

“48.1 Trong trường hợp hồ sơ đăng ký hợp đồng chuyển giao quyền sở hữu công nghiệp không có các thiếu sót nêu tại điểm 48.3 của Thông tư này, Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ thực hiện các công việc sau đây:

a) Ra quyết định ghi nhận chuyển nhượng quyền sở hữu công nghiệp (đối với hợp đồng chuyển nhượng quyền sở hữu công nghiệp) và quyết định cấp Giấy chứng nhận đăng ký hợp đồng chuyển quyền sử dụng đối tượng sở hữu công nghiệp (đối với hợp đồng chuyển quyền sử dụng đối tượng sở hữu công nghiệp);

b) Đối với hợp đồng chuyển nhượng quyền sở hữu công nghiệp: Ghi nhận vào văn bằng bảo hộ chủ sở hữu mới; trong trường hợp chuyển nhượng một phần danh mục hàng hoá/dịch vụ mang nhãn hiệu được bảo hộ thì cấp Giấy chứng nhận đăng ký nhãn hiệu cho bên nhận và xác định giới hạn danh mục hàng hóa/dịch vụ trong văn bằng bảo hộ gốc đối với phần chuyển nhượng đó;

c) Đối với hợp đồng chuyển quyền sử dụng đối tượng sở hữu công nghiệp: Cấp Giấy chứng nhận đăng ký hợp đồng chuyển quyền sử dụng đối tượng sở hữu công nghiệp cho người nộp hồ sơ; đóng dấu đăng ký vào 02 bản hợp đồng và trao người nộp hồ sơ 01 bản, lưu 01 bản;

d) Ghi nhận việc chuyển giao quyền sở hữu công nghiệp vào Sổ đăng ký quốc gia về chuyển giao quyền sở hữu công nghiệp;

đ) Công bố quyết định ghi nhận chuyển nhượng quyền sở hữu công nghiệp và quyết định cấp Giấy chứng nhận đăng ký hợp đồng chuyển quyền sử dụng đối tượng sở hữu công nghiệp trên Công báo sở hữu công nghiệp trong thời hạn 02 tháng kể từ ngày ký quyết định.”.

b) Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 48.2 như sau:

“48.2 Trong trường hợp hồ sơ đăng ký hợp đồng chuyển giao quyền sở hữu công nghiệp có thiếu sót theo quy định tại điểm 48.3 của Thông tư này, Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ thực hiện các thủ tục sau đây:

a) Ra thông báo dự định từ chối đăng ký hợp đồng, trong đó nêu rõ các thiếu sót của hồ sơ, ấn định thời hạn 02 tháng kể từ ngày ký thông báo để người nộp hồ sơ sửa chữa thiếu sót hoặc có ý kiến phản đối về dự định từ chối đăng ký hợp đồng;

b) Ra quyết định từ chối đăng ký hợp đồng nếu người nộp hồ sơ không sửa chữa thiếu sót hoặc có sửa chữa thiếu sót nhưng không đạt yêu cầu, không có ý kiến phản đối hoặc có ý kiến phản đối nhưng không xác đáng về dự định từ chối đăng ký hợp đồng trong thời hạn đã được ấn định.”.

41. Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 49 như sau:

a) Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 49.2.b như sau:

“b) Hồ sơ yêu cầu gia hạn hợp đồng phải được nộp trong vòng 01 tháng tính đến ngày kết thúc thời hạn hợp đồng ghi trong Giấy chứng nhận đăng ký hợp đồng chuyển quyền sử dụng đối tượng sở hữu công nghiệp.”.

b) Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 49.3.b như sau:

“b) Trong trường hợp hồ sơ có thiếu sót, Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ ra thông báo dự định từ chối ghi nhận việc sửa đổi nội dung, gia hạn, chấm dứt hiệu lực hợp đồng chuyển quyền sử dụng đối tượng sở hữu công nghiệp, trong đó nêu rõ các thiếu sót của hồ sơ và ấn định thời hạn 02 tháng kể từ ngày ra thông báo dự định từ chối để người nộp hồ sơ sửa chữa thiếu sót hoặc có ý kiến phản đối về dự định từ chối đăng ký hợp đồng.

Nếu người nộp hồ sơ không sửa chữa thiếu sót hoặc sửa chữa thiếu sót không đạt yêu cầu, không có ý kiến phản đối hoặc có ý kiến phản đối nhưng không xác đáng trong thời hạn đã được ấn định, Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ ra quyết định từ chối ghi nhận việc sửa đổi nội dung, gia hạn, chấm dứt hiệu lực hợp đồng chuyển quyền sử dụng đối tượng sở hữu công nghiệp.”.

42. Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 55 như sau:

“55. Cấp lại chứng chỉ hành nghề

Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ tiến hành thủ tục cấp lại chứng chỉ hành nghề dịch vụ đại diện sở hữu công nghiệp theo đề nghị bằng văn bản của người đại diện sở hữu công nghiệp làm theo Mẫu 02-CLCC quy định tại Phụ lục E của Thông tư này trong trường hợp có sự thay đổi thông tin trong chứng chỉ hành nghề hoặc chứng chỉ hành nghề bị mất hoặc bị hỏng (rách, bẩn, phai mờ...) đến mức không thể sử dụng được.

Thủ tục cấp lại chứng chỉ hành nghề được thực hiện tương tự như thủ tục cấp chứng chỉ hành nghề quy định tại điểm 53.3 của Thông tư này.”.

43. Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 56 như sau:

a) Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 56.1 như sau:

“56.1 Tổ chức, cá nhân đủ điều kiện kinh doanh, hành nghề dịch vụ đại diện sở hữu công nghiệp có thể yêu cầu Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ ghi nhận vào Sổ đăng ký quốc gia về đại diện sở hữu công nghiệp theo quy định tại khoản 1 Điều 156 của Luật Sở hữu trí tuệ, quy định tại điểm này và phải nộp phí, lệ phí theo quy định.”.

b) Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 56.2.d như sau:

“d) Bản sao chứng từ nộp phí, lệ phí (trường hợp nộp phí, lệ phí qua dịch vụ bưu chính hoặc nộp trực tiếp vào tài khoản của Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ).”.

c) Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 56.3.c như sau:

“c) Bản sao chứng từ nộp phí, lệ phí (trường hợp nộp phí, lệ phí qua dịch vụ bưu chính hoặc nộp trực tiếp vào tài khoản của Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ).”.

44. Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 57 như sau:

a) Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 57.1 như sau:

“57.1 Tổ chức dịch vụ đại diện sở hữu công nghiệp, người đại diện sở hữu công nghiệp có quyền và nghĩa vụ yêu cầu Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ ghi nhận các thay đổi liên quan đến thông tin đã được ghi nhận trong Sổ đăng ký quốc gia về đại diện sở hữu công nghiệp theo quy định tại điểm này và phải nộp phí, lệ phí theo quy định.”.

b) Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 57.2.d như sau:

“d) Bản sao chứng từ nộp phí, lệ phí (trường hợp nộp phí, lệ phí qua dịch vụ bưu chính hoặc nộp trực tiếp vào tài khoản của Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ).”.

45. Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 59 như sau:

a) Sửa đổi, bổ sung đoạn thứ nhất của điểm 59 như sau:

“59. Kiểm tra nghiệp vụ đại diện sở hữu công nghiệp

Việc kiểm tra nghiệp vụ đại diện sở hữu công nghiệp (sau đây gọi là “kiểm tra”) theo quy định tại Điều 28 của Nghị định số 103/2006/NĐ-CP được tiến hành theo quy định cụ thể như sau:”.

b) Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 59.2.b (iii) như sau:

“(iii) Tài liệu chứng minh người đăng ký dự kiểm tra đã được đào tạo về pháp luật sở hữu công nghiệp hoặc đã có kinh nghiệm trong hoạt động này theo quy định tại điểm d khoản 2 Điều 155 của Luật Sở hữu trí tuệ (bản gốc hoặc bản sao kèm theo bản chính để đối chiếu, trừ trường hợp bản sao đã được chứng thực):

- Bản sao Chứng chỉ tốt nghiệp khoá đào tạo pháp luật về sở hữu công nghiệp được Bộ Khoa học và Công nghệ công nhận; hoặc

- Luận văn tốt nghiệp đại học, sau đại học về đề tài sở hữu công nghiệp và giấy xác nhận của cơ sở đào tạo nơi thực hiện luận văn; hoặc

- Bản sao Quyết định tuyển dụng, hợp đồng lao động  hoặc tài liệu khác có xác nhận của cơ quan nơi công tác chứng minh thời gian ít nhất 05 năm liên tục trực tiếp làm công tác thẩm định đơn đăng ký sở hữu công nghiệp tại cơ quan quốc gia hoặc quốc tế về sở hữu công nghiệp; hoặc

- Bản sao Quyết định tuyển dụng, hợp đồng lao động  hoặc tài liệu khác có xác nhận của cơ quan, tổ chức nơi công tác chứng minh thời gian ít nhất 05 năm liên tục trực tiếp làm công tác pháp luật về sở hữu công nghiệp, bao gồm công tác thanh tra, kiểm tra, kiểm sát, xét xử, pháp chế, tư vấn pháp luật, quản lý nhà nước về sở hữu công nghiệp; nghiên cứu khoa học (có chức danh nghiên cứu viên) và giảng dạy về sở hữu công nghiệp;”

c) Bổ sung điểm 59.2.b (vi) như sau:

“(vi) Tài liệu làm bằng ngôn ngữ khác tiếng Việt phải được nộp kèm bản dịch tiếng Việt theo yêu cầu của Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ.”.

46. Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 61 như sau:

“61. Tiếp cận và khai thác thông tin thuộc cơ sở dữ liệu quốc gia về sở hữu công nghiệp

Mọi tổ chức, cá nhân đều có quyền tiếp cận và khai thác các thông tin thuộc cơ sở dữ liệu quốc gia về sở hữu công nghiệp dưới hai hình thức:

a) Tự tra cứu, tìm kiếm thông tin trong những cơ sở dữ liệu do Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ đặt công khai tại các cơ sở tra cứu thông tin cho công chúng tiếp cận hoặc công bố trên Internet.

b) Sử dụng dịch vụ tra cứu thông tin, cung cấp tư liệu, cung cấp dữ liệu qua dịch vụ web của Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ, với điều kiện phải nộp phí dịch vụ theo quy định.”.

47. Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 62 như sau:

“62. Dịch vụ tra cứu thông tin, cung cấp tư liệu, cung cấp dữ liệu qua web

62.1 Khi yêu cầu Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ tra cứu thông tin, cung cấp tư liệu sở hữu công nghiệp, người yêu cầu phải lập phiếu yêu cầu (theo các Mẫu 01-YCTCSC, 02-YCTCKD và 03-YCTCNH quy định tại Phụ lục F của Thông tư này), trong đó phải nêu rõ mục đích và phạm vi yêu cầu tra cứu (lĩnh vực, loại tư liệu mang tin, thời gian, nước hoặc khu vực cần tra cứu...), hoặc các thông tin thư mục để xác định tư liệu yêu cầu cung cấp và phải nộp phí dịch vụ theo quy định.

62.2 Trong thời hạn 01 tháng kể từ ngày nhận được phiếu yêu cầu tra cứu thông tin, cung cấp tư liệu, Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ trả lời cho người yêu cầu theo các quy định sau đây:

a) Trong trường hợp yêu cầu hợp lệ (có phiếu yêu cầu hợp lệ theo quy định tại điểm 62.1 của Thông tư này và đã nộp phí dịch vụ), Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ gửi cho người yêu cầu Báo cáo tra cứu và/hoặc tư liệu theo yêu cầu.

b) Trong trường hợp yêu cầu không hợp lệ (phiếu yêu cầu không hợp lệ, không rõ mục đích hoặc phạm vi tra cứu, không nộp phí dịch vụ...), Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ thông báo từ chối thực hiện yêu cầu, có nêu rõ lý do từ chối.

62.3 Báo cáo tra cứu chỉ bao gồm các thông tin tìm được và các chỉ dẫn nguồn gốc các thông tin nói trên. Nếu không tìm thấy thông tin nào trong các nguồn được yêu cầu tra cứu, trong báo cáo tra cứu cũng phải nêu rõ điều đó.

Báo cáo tra cứu không được có các nội dung bình luận, đánh giá về các thông tin tìm được.

62.4 Báo cáo tra cứu phải nêu rõ họ tên người thực hiện tra cứu đồng thời chịu trách nhiệm về kết quả tra cứu.

62.5 Dịch vụ cung cấp dữ liệu qua web được thực hiện theo hợp đồng giữa Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ với các cơ quan quản lý nhà nước và các đơn vị sự nghiệp về sở hữu công nghiệp và về thông tin khoa học và công nghệ.”.

48. Bổ sung điểm 63.3 như sau:

“63.3 Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ có trách nhiệm thống kê thông tin thuộc cơ sở dữ liệu quốc gia về sở hữu công nghiệp để phục vụ công tác quản lý nhà nước về sở hữu công nghiệp của các tỉnh, thành phố trực thuộc Trung ương theo định kỳ (tối thiểu 6 tháng một lần).”.

49. Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm 65 như sau:

“65. Quy chế tiến hành thủ tục về sở hữu công nghiệp

Cục Sở hữu trí tuệ có trách nhiệm ban hành quy chế tiến hành các thủ tục về sở hữu công nghiệp phù hợp với quy định của Nghị định số 103/2006/NĐ-CP và Thông tư này.”.

Điều 2.

1. Bãi bỏ đoạn 2 điểm 13.2.g, điểm 15.4, điểm 15.5, điểm 17.3.c, điểm 18.2.c, điểm 27.4.b, điểm 27.5.b, điểm 60.2.c và điểm 60.2.d.

2. Thay cụm từ “Nghị định về sở hữu công nghiệp” bằng cụm từ “Nghị định số 103/2006/NĐ-CP” tại các điểm 2.2, 9.1, 13.5.c. 22.1, 59 và 65.

3. Thay cụm từ “thông báo” bằng cụm từ “quyết định” tại các điểm 13.6.b, 14.3, 15.7.b, 15.7.c, 17.1.a, 17.2.b, 17.2.c, 17.3.a, 18.3.d (iii), 20.4.d (ii), và 48.2.b.

4. Thay cụm từ “Văn bằng bảo hộ sáng chế” bằng cụm từ “Văn bằng bảo hộ sáng chế/giải pháp hữu ích” tại các điểm 2.1, 20.1.c (i), 20.3 và 25.3.

 

Điều 3. Điều khoản thi hành

Thông tư này có hiệu lực thi hành kể từ ngày 15 tháng 01 năm 2018./.