DECREE

On the protection of industrial property rights for semiconductor integrated circuit layout designs

Arrangement

________________

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

||| Based on the Civil Code dated October 28, 1995;

At the proposal of the Minister of Science and Technology,

DECREE:

Chapter 1:

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Decree specifies the detailed regulations on the protection of industrial property rights for semiconductor integrated circuit layout designs.

Article 2. Applicability

1. This Decree applies to all organizations and individuals in Vietnam.

2. This Decree also applies to organizations and individuals from foreign countries that enjoy the protection of industrial property rights for semiconductor integrated circuit layout designs according to the provisions of international treaties to which Vietnam is a party.

In cases where an international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party provides different provisions than those stipulated in this Decree, the provisions of such international treaty shall apply.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

In this Decree, the following terms are understood as follows:

1. "Semiconductor integrated circuit" means a product in finished or unfinished form, in which elements - with at least one active element and some or all interconnections are attached inside or on top of a semiconductor material substrate and designed to perform electronic functions. "Integrated circuit" is synonymous with "IC," "chip," and "microelectronic circuit;"

2. "Semiconductor integrated circuit layout design" refers to the spatial structure of the circuit elements and their interconnections within a semiconductor integrated circuit (hereinafter referred to as "Layout Design");

3. "Author of layout design" is the person or persons who create the layout design through their creative labor.

Those who only provide technical, material, or financial assistance but do not contribute to creating the layout design through creative labor shall not be considered authors;

4. "Owner" is the subject granted a Certificate of Protection or the subject legally transferred the industrial property right over the layout design;

5. "Distribution" refers to all forms of commercial circulation, including sale, lease, transfer, as well as advertising, offering for sale, or storage for such purposes;

6. "Exploitation of layout design for commercial purposes" is the public distribution of semiconductor integrated circuits produced according to that layout design or goods containing semiconductor integrated circuits produced according to that layout design.

Article 4. Objects Protected

1. The object protected under this Decree is an original layout design.

2. A layout design is recognized as original if it meets the following conditions:

a) That layout design is the result of the creative labor of its author of layout design;

b) At the time of creation, that layout design was not widely known among layout design creators and semiconductor integrated circuit manufacturers.

Article 5. Objects Not Protected

The following objects are not protected under this Decree:

1. Principles, processes, systems, methods implemented by semiconductor integrated circuits.

2. Information, software contained in semiconductor integrated circuits.

Chapter 2:

ESTABLISHMENT OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS FOR LAYOUT DESIGNS

Article 6. Basis for Establishing Rights of Owner, Author's Rights

Industrial property rights for layout designs of the owner and rights of the author of layout designs are established based on the Layout Design Protection Certificate (hereinafter referred to as the Protection Certificate) issued by the Intellectual Property Office under the Ministry of Science and Technology in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter.

Article 7. Certificate of Protection

1. The Certificate of Protection shall be named "Certificate of Registration for Integrated Circuit Layout Design" and shall be valid throughout the entire territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

2. The term of validity of the Certificate of Protection begins on the date of issuance of the Certificate and ends on the earliest of the following dates:

a) The end of ten years from the date of issuance of the Certificate;

b) The end of ten years from the date the layout design was first commercially exploited by the person entitled to file the application or by someone authorized by that person anywhere in the world;

c) The end of fifteen years from the date the layout design was created.

3. The contents of the Certificate of Protection shall be determined according to the Decision on Issuance of the Certificate of Protection stipulated in Clause 1, Article 14 of this Decree.

Article 8. Temporary Rights of the Owner

In cases where the layout design has been commercially exploited by the applicant (or by someone authorized by the applicant) before the Certificate of Protection is issued, if during the period from the date of commercial exploitation to the date of issuance of the Certificate of Protection, a third party uses the layout design for commercial purposes, the applicant has the right to notify such third party about having filed the application.

If notified, but the third party continues to use the layout design, after the issuance of the Certificate of Protection, the owner of the layout design has the right to request the third party to pay compensation equivalent to the amount paid for the transfer of the right to use the layout design corresponding to the scope of use from the date of receipt of the notification to the date of issuance of the Certificate of Protection.

Article 9. Application for Issuance of Certificate of Protection

1. An application for issuance of a Certificate of Protection is a collection of documents and physical samples expressing the applicant's request for issuance of a Certificate of Protection..

2. Each application may only request issuance of a Certificate of Protection for one layout design.

3. All documents in the application for issuance of a Certificate of Protection and all transaction documents between the applicant and the National Office of Intellectual Property must be in Vietnamese. Documents in other languages may only be used for comparison, reference, or verification.

4. The application for issuance of a Certificate of Protection must comply with the formal and substantive requirements set forth by the Minister of Science and Technology.

Article 10. Right to File an Application for Issuance of Certificate of Protection

1. The following organizations and individuals have the right to file an application for issuance of a Certificate of Protection:

a) The author who creates the layout design through their own effort and expense;

b) Organizations and individuals who invest funds and material means for the author to create the layout design in the form of assignment or hiring, provided that there is no other agreement in the labor contract or hiring contract.

2. The person entitled to file an application for issuance of a Certificate of Protection as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article may transfer the right to file the application, including applications already filed, to another organization or individual in the form of a written assignment or inheritance.

3. If multiple organizations and individuals under the circumstances specified in Clause 1 of this Article jointly create a layout design, the right to file the application belongs jointly to those organizations and individuals, and the application can only be made if all of them agree.

4. If multiple organizations and individuals under the circumstances specified in Clause 1 of this Article independently create identical layout designs, all of those organizations and individuals have the right to file an application for issuance of a Certificate of Protection, and each Certificate of Protection (if issued) will be independent of the others.

Article 11. Time Limit for Filing Applications to Obtain Protection Certificates for Layout-Designs that Have Been Commercially Exploited

For layout-designs that have been commercially exploited by the person entitled to file applications for protection certificates or by someone authorized by such person for commercial purposes, the time limit for filing applications for protection certificates is two years, counted from the first date of commercial exploitation mentioned above anywhere in the world.

Article 12. Exercise of the Right to File Applications for Protection Certificates

1. To obtain a protection certificate, organizations and individuals entitled to file applications as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 10 of this Decree must submit an application for a protection certificate to the National Office of Intellectual Property. The protection certificate will be issued by the National Office of Intellectual Property based on the examination results of the application for a protection certificate according to the procedures and formalities prescribed in this Chapter.

2. Vietnamese organizations and individuals may directly or authorize an intellectual property service organization to handle the submission of applications for protection certificates and related procedures.

3. Foreign organizations and individuals exercise the right to file applications for protection certificates and handle related procedures as follows:

a) Foreign individuals residing in Vietnam, foreign legal entities having a legitimate representative in Vietnam, or foreign individuals or legal entities having production and business establishments in Vietnam may directly or authorize an intellectual property service organization to handle the submission of applications for protection certificates and related procedures;

b) Foreign individuals or legal entities not falling under the cases specified in point a of this clause shall submit applications for protection certificates and handle related procedures through authorizing an intellectual property service organization to do so.

4. The intellectual property service organizations referred to in Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article are intellectual property service organizations operating in accordance with the Government's Decree No. 63/CP dated October 24, 1996 detailing intellectual property rights, amended and supplemented by Government's Decree No. 06/2001/NĐ-CP dated February 1, 2001.

5. The applicant must ensure the truthfulness of information regarding the right to file applications for protection certificates, the applicant, and the author stated in the application. If the protection certificate is invalidated due to untruthful information, the holder of the protection certificate shall bear responsibility for the consequences caused by their lack of truthfulness.

Article 13. Examination of Applications for Protection Certificates

1. Applications for protection certificates are examined formally (reviewing compliance with requirements for the quantity and presentation format of documents in the application) to check whether the application meets the requirements of a valid application.

The subject matter mentioned in the application is not examined for its eligibility for protection according to the protection criteria prescribed in Article 4 of this Decree.

2. Procedures and deadlines for examining the formal aspects of applications for protection certificates are prescribed by the Minister of Science and Technology.

Article 14. Issuance, Refusal, and Registration of Protection Certificates

1. The Director of the National Office of Intellectual Property issues a decision to grant a protection certificate, except in the cases specified in Clause 2 of this Article. The decision to grant a protection certificate must clearly state the name and address of the recipient of the protection certificate; the application number, the date of application; the name of the intellectual property service organization; the name(s) of the layout-design author(s); the name and classification of the semiconductor integrated circuit produced according to the protected layout-design, the first date of commercial exploitation of the layout-design (if stated in the application); the creation date of the layout-design; the name and number of the protection certificate; the term of protection.

2. In the following cases, the Director of the National Office of Intellectual Property issues a notice refusing to grant a protection certificate, specifying the reasons and sending the notice to the applicant:

a) The application for a protection certificate does not meet the requirements stipulated in Clauses 2, 3, and 4 of Article 9 of this Decree;

b) The application is filed by a person who has no right to file an application;

c) The right to file an application for a protection certificate belongs to multiple organizations and individuals as stipulated in Clause 3 of Article 10 of this Decree, but one or more of them disagree with the filing of the application for a protection certificate;

d) The application for a protection certificate is submitted after the time limit prescribed in Article 11 of this Decree has expired;

đ) The application for a protection certificate is submitted contrary to the provisions on exercising the right to file applications as stipulated in Clauses 2 and 3 of Article 12 of this Decree;

e) The applicant fails to pay the fee as prescribed in Article 20 of this Decree;

3. The protection certificate is recorded in the national register of layout-designs for semiconductor integrated circuits.

4. The protection certificate is granted to the applicant.

If the applicant is a collective entity, only the first member in the list of members of the collective entity receives the protection certificate and their name is noted in the national register. Other members have the right to request the National Office of Intellectual Property to issue a copy of the protection certificate according to the procedure prescribed by the Minister of Science and Technology and must pay the fee for issuing a copy of the protection certificate.

Article 15. Reissuing Protection Certificates, Issuing Copies of Documents

Upon request from the owner (or joint owners), the National Office of Intellectual Property shall reissue Protection Certificates (including copies of Protection Certificates) if it deems there to be justifiable reasons.

Upon request from organizations or individuals, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall issue extracts of national registers and copies of documents for applications for Protection Certificates, except for documents classified as confidential under the regulations of the Minister of Science and Technology. For documents specifying layout-designs, copies may only be issued to competent authorities and organizations or individuals related to the procedures for revoking the validity of Protection Certificates or handling acts of infringement.

Organizations or individuals requesting the reissuance of Protection Certificates or issuance of copies of documents must pay fees and charges as prescribed.

Article 16. Suspension of Effectiveness of Protection Certificates

1. Protection Certificates shall be suspended in the following cases:

a) The owner declares abandonment of all rights under the Protection Certificate;

b) The owner ceases to exist without a legitimate successor.

2. In the case of suspension of effectiveness of Protection Certificates as provided for in point a, Clause 1 of this Article, the effectiveness of the Protection Certificate shall be suspended from the date of declaration of abandonment.

In the case of suspension of effectiveness of Protection Certificates as provided for in point b, Clause 1 of this Article, the effectiveness of the Protection Certificate shall be suspended from the date the owner ceases to exist.

3. The owner has the right to submit an application to the National Office of Intellectual Property requesting suspension of effectiveness of the Protection Certificate for the reason stated in point a, Clause 1 of this Article.

Any organization or individual has the right to submit an application to the National Office of Intellectual Property requesting suspension of effectiveness of the Protection Certificate for the reason stated in point b, Clause 1 of this Article. The person requesting the suspension of effectiveness of the Protection Certificate must pay the prescribed fee.

Based on the results of reviewing the application for suspension of effectiveness of the Protection Certificate and the opinions of the relevant parties, the Director of the National Office of Intellectual Property shall issue a decision to suspend the effectiveness of the Protection Certificate or notify the refusal to accept the request to suspend the effectiveness of the Protection Certificate.

4. Procedures for handling applications for suspension of effectiveness of Protection Certificates are stipulated by the Minister of Science and Technology.

Article 17. Revocation of Effectiveness of Protection Certificates

1. The effectiveness of Protection Certificates shall be revoked entirely in the following cases:

a) Applications for Protection Certificates fall within the cases specified in points b, c, and d, Clause 2, Article 14 of this Decree;

b) Protected layout-designs do not meet the conditions for protection as stipulated in Article 4 or belong to objects not eligible for protection as provided for in Article 5 of this Decree.

2. The effectiveness of Protection Certificates shall be revoked partially where that part does not meet the criteria for protection.

3. Any organization or individual has the right to submit an application to the National Office of Intellectual Property requesting revocation of the effectiveness of Protection Certificates in the cases stipulated in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article. The person requesting the revocation of the effectiveness of the Protection Certificate must pay the prescribed fee.

Based on the results of reviewing the application for revocation of the effectiveness of the Protection Certificate and the opinions of the relevant parties, the Director of the National Office of Intellectual Property shall issue a Decision to revoke partially or entirely the effectiveness of the Protection Certificate or notify the refusal to accept the request to revoke the effectiveness of the Protection Certificate.

4. Procedures for handling applications for revocation of the effectiveness of Protection Certificates are stipulated by the Minister of Science and Technology.

Article 18. Complaints regarding decisions on granting, suspending, or revoking the validity of Intellectual Property Certificates

1. The right to complain about decisions and notifications of the National Office of Intellectual Property related to granting, suspending, or revoking the validity of Intellectual Property Certificates shall be regulated as follows:

a) First complaint:

The applicant requesting the issuance of an Intellectual Property Certificate, or the person requesting the suspension or revocation of the validity of an Intellectual Property Certificate has the right to file a complaint with the Director of the National Office of Intellectual Property regarding the notification rejecting the issuance of an Intellectual Property Certificate, or the notification rejecting the acceptance of the request for suspension or revocation of the validity of an Intellectual Property Certificate.

Any organization or individual directly interested in the granting, suspension, or revocation of the validity of an Intellectual Property Certificate have the right to file a complaint against the Decision on issuing an Intellectual Property Certificate, the Decision on suspending or revoking the validity of an Intellectual Property Certificate.

b) Second complaint, lawsuit:

If the first complaint resolution period specified in Clause 4 of this Article expires without the complaint being resolved, or if the complainant disagrees with the decision resolving the first complaint made by the Director of the National Office of Intellectual Property, the person who has exercised the right to file the first complaint as stipulated in point a of this clause has the right to file a second complaint with the Minister of Science and Technology or initiate a lawsuit according to administrative litigation procedures.

2. The content of the complaint must be presented in writing, including the full name and address of the complainant; the number, date of signature, content of the decision or notification being complained about; the application number for the issuance of an Intellectual Property Certificate; the name of the object requiring protection as stated in the application; the content, reasoning, and evidence illustrating the reasoning of the complaint; specific requests for correcting or revoking the decision or conclusion concerned.

3. The time limit for filing the first complaint is 90 days from the date the person entitled to file a complaint receives or becomes aware of the decision or notification referred to in point a of Clause 1 of this Article.

The time limit for filing the second complaint is 30 days from the date the first complaint resolution period specified in Clause 4 of this Article expires without the complaint being resolved, or from the date the person entitled to file a complaint receives or becomes aware of the decision resolving the first complaint.

In cases where the complainant is unable to exercise their right to file a complaint within the prescribed time limit due to objective obstacles or force majeure, the time during which such obstacles exist shall not be counted towards the time limit for filing a complaint.

4. The resolution period for the first complaint is 30 days, and for the second complaint, it is 45 days from the date of accepting the complaint. For complex cases, the resolution period for the first complaint may be extended up to 45 days, and for the second complaint, up to 60 days from the date of accepting the complaint. The time taken to amend or supplement the complaint dossier shall not be included in the aforementioned resolution period.

5. The authority, procedure, and process for resolving complaints shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the law on complaints and denunciations. The complainant must pay service fees for resolving intellectual property complaints as prescribed.

Article 19. Publication

1. All applications for the issuance of Intellectual Property Certificates that have been recognized as valid shall be published in the form of allowing direct search (no copying) at the National Office of Intellectual Property. For confidential information as defined by the Minister of Science and Technology, only authorized agencies and parties involved in the procedure for revoking the validity of an Intellectual Property Certificate or the procedure for handling acts of infringement may conduct searches.

2. All Decisions on establishing, amending, suspending, revoking, or transferring rights over layout-designs shall be published by the National Office of Intellectual Property in the Industrial Property Gazette within 60 days from the date of issuance of the decision.

Article 20. Fees and Charges

1. Organizations and individuals conducting procedures to establish, modify, suspend, or terminate the validity of Intellectual Property Certificates, transfer ownership rights for layout-designs, or appeal procedures or other related procedures before the National Office of Intellectual Property or other competent authorities shall have the obligation to pay the fees and charges stipulated by regulations to the authority implementing such procedures.

2. The National Office of Intellectual Property and other competent authorities mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article shall have the obligation to collect all fees and charges timely and according to the prescribed procedures, and must remit them to the State budget in accordance with current laws.

Authorities collecting fees and charges are permitted to use a portion of the collected charges in compliance with the laws on fees and charges to enhance their professional capacity and motivate those directly performing tasks that generate revenue.

3. Any fees and charges paid but where the corresponding work has not been carried out due to situations not requiring implementation or due to the fault of the authority responsible for carrying out the work shall be refunded to the payer of the fees and charges, and the refund must be confirmed by the payer or there must be a refund certificate.

Chapter 3:

RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF OWNERS, RIGHTS OF LAYOUT-DESIGN AUTHORS

Article 21. Rights of the Owner

The owner has the following rights:

1. Exclusive right to use the layout-design;

2. Transfer the right to use the layout-design;

3. The temporary rights specified in Article 8 of this Decree;

4. Transfer or abandon the entire industrial property right over the layout-design;

5. Request handling or initiate litigation regarding infringements of the above rights.

Article 22. Exclusive Right to Use Layout-Design

The exclusive right to use the layout-design of the owner stipulated in Article 21 of this Decree is the right to carry out or prevent others from carrying out any of the following acts concerning the protected layout-design for commercial purposes:

1. Reproducing the protected layout-design; producing semiconductor integrated circuits according to the protected layout-design;

2. Distributing, importing copies of the protected layout-design, semiconductor integrated circuits produced according to the protected layout-design, or goods containing semiconductor integrated circuits produced according to the protected layout-design.

Article 23. Transfer of the Right to Use Layout-Design

1. The right to transfer the right to use the layout-design of the owner stipulated in Article 21 of this Decree is the right to permit others to perform any act within the exclusive right to use the layout-design as stipulated in Article 22 of this Decree.

2. In cases where the industrial property right over the layout-design belongs to joint ownership, the transfer of the right to use the layout-design by one or more joint owners to another party must be agreed upon by all remaining joint owners.

3. The transfer of the right to use the layout-design must be evidenced by a written contract. The content of the contract transferring the right to use the layout-design must comply with the provisions of the Minister of Science and Technology and other relevant legal provisions.

4. The contract transferring the right to use the layout-design must be registered at the National Office of Intellectual Property in accordance with the provisions of the Minister of Science and Technology. The contract transferring the right to use the layout-design becomes effective from the date of registration. The transferee (Recipient) has the right to use the layout-design within the scope and under the conditions stated in the registered contract transferring the right to use the layout-design.

5. The contract transferring the right to use the layout-design is automatically suspended or rendered void when the industrial property right over the layout-design of the transferor is suspended or revoked.

Article 24. Transfer and Abandonment of Industrial Property Rights for Layout-Designs

1. The transfer of industrial property rights for layout-designs shall be carried out through assignment by agreement, inheritance, or transfer in cases of merger, consolidation, division... of legal entities.

2. In cases where industrial property rights for layout-designs are jointly owned, the transfer must be agreed upon by all joint owners.

3. The agreement on the assignment of industrial property rights for layout-designs must be documented in a written Assignment Contract in accordance with the regulations of the Minister of Science and Technology.

4. All forms of transfer of industrial property rights for layout-designs must be registered with the National Office of Intellectual Property in accordance with the regulations of the Minister of Science and Technology.

5. From the date of registration of the transfer of industrial property rights for layout-designs at the National Office of Intellectual Property, the transferee becomes the owner and assumes all rights and obligations arising from the Certificate of Protection and the rights and obligations of the transferor based on transactions with third parties, provided that this is recorded in the Assignment Contract or the transfer document.

6. The owner may not abandon industrial property rights for layout-designs without the consent of the transferee of the right to use the layout-design if the Assignment Contract for the right to use the layout-design is still in effect. This provision does not apply to cases where one or more joint owners abandon their share but other joint owners continue to own the layout-design.

Article 25. Obligation to Pay Remuneration to the Author of Layout-Designs

1. If the author of the layout-design is not the owner, the owner has the obligation to pay remuneration to the author of the layout-design for creating the layout-design according to the agreement between the author of the layout-design and the owner, or according to the provisions of Clause 2 of this Article, if there is no other agreement.

2. If there is no other agreement between the author of the layout-design and the owner, the amount and term of remuneration must comply with the following provisions:

a) The minimum remuneration for the author of the layout-design is 5% of the profit earned each year from using the layout-design or 15% of the total amount received by the owner each time payment is made due to the transfer of the right to use the layout-design;

b) Payment of remuneration to the author of the layout-design must be completed no later than 60 days from the last day of the twelfth month of each year of use or no later than 30 days from the date the owner receives payment due to the transfer of the right to use the layout-design.

Article 26. Rights of the Author of layout-designs

1. The author of the layout-design has the following rights:

a) To have his/her name recorded as the author in the Certificate of Protection, in the National Register, as well as in publications about the layout-design;

b) To receive remuneration from the owner as stipulated in Article 25 of this Decree;

c) To request handling or initiating legal proceedings regarding the infringement of the aforementioned rights.

2. The right to receive remuneration of the author of the layout-design mentioned in Point b Clause 1 of this Article can be transferred to another person, including through inheritance in accordance with the law. kClause 1 of this Article may be assigned to another person, including by way of inheritance in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Chapter 4:

PROTECTION OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS FOR LAYOUT-DESIGNS

Article 27. Acts Infringing the Rights of the Owner

1. Within the protection period for layout designs, all acts of using layout designs as prescribed in Article 22 of this Decree without the permission of the owner and not falling under the cases stipulated in Article 28 of this Decree shall be considered as acts infringing the industrial property rights of the owner over the layout design.

2. Using layout designs without paying compensation as prescribed in Article 8 and not falling under the cases stipulated in Article 28 of this Decree shall be considered as acts temporarily infringing the rights of the owner.

Article 28. Acts Not Considered as Infringement of the Owner's Rights

The following uses of layout designs shall not be considered as acts infringing the rights of the owner:

1. Using protected layout designs not for commercial purposes, such as personal use, evaluation, analysis, research, or teaching;

2. Distributing or importing copies of protected layout designs, semiconductor integrated circuits produced according to protected layout designs, or goods containing semiconductor integrated circuits produced according to protected layout designs when unaware or having no grounds to know that the layout design is being protected;

3. Distributing or importing copies of protected layout designs, semiconductor integrated circuits produced according to protected layout designs, or goods containing semiconductor integrated circuits produced according to protected layout designs received or ordered when unaware or having no grounds to know that the layout design is being protected, provided that the act of distribution or importation is carried out after knowledge thereof and the user pays the owner an amount equivalent to the payment for the transfer of the right to use the layout design;

4. Distributing or importing copies of protected layout designs, semiconductor integrated circuits produced according to protected layout designs, or goods containing semiconductor integrated circuits produced according to protected layout designs put on the market by the owner, the person to whom the right to use has been transferred, or the lawful user as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article, including foreign markets;

5. Using original layout designs created based on the analysis or evaluation of protected layout designs as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, or layout designs independently created by others coinciding with protected layout designs.

Article 29. Acts Infringing the Rights of the Author of layout-designs

The owner’s failure to fulfill the obligation to pay remuneration to the author of the layout design as prescribed in Article 25 of this Decree and failing to ensure the rights of the author of the layout design as prescribed in Point a, Clause 1, Article 26 of this Decree shall be considered as infringement of the author's rights of the layout design.

Article 30. Ensuring Enforcement of the Owner's Rights and the Author's Rights of layout-designs

1. The industrial property rights of the owner over layout designs and the rights of the author of layout designs are protected by the State. All acts infringing the rights of the owner and the rights of the author of layout designs are strictly prohibited.

Depending on the nature, extent, and consequences of acts infringing the industrial property rights of the owner over layout designs and the rights of the author of layout designs, organizations and individuals committing such acts shall be administratively sanctioned or criminally prosecuted, and if damage is caused, they must compensate for the damage in accordance with the provisions of the law.

2. The owner and the author of layout designs have the right to request competent state agencies to compel persons committing acts of infringement as prescribed in Articles 27 and 29 of this Decree to cease the infringement and compensate for damages.

3. The handling of acts infringing the industrial property rights of the owner over layout designs and the rights of the author of layout designs shall be conducted in accordance with the current legal regulations on procedures and procedures for handling acts infringing the rights of other industrial property objects.

Chapter 5:

STATE MANAGEMENT OF THE PROTECTION OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS FOR LAYOUT DESIGNS

Article 31. Content of State management, responsibilities of competent state agencies for managing and protecting national and social interests

Activities related to the protection of industrial property rights concerning layout designs fall within the scope of State management over industrial property.

The provisions on the content of State management over activities of industrial property, responsibilities of competent state agencies for managing industrial property, protecting national and social interests as stipulated in Decree No. 63/CP dated October 24, 1996 of the Government detailing industrial property, amended and supplemented by Decree No. 06/2001/NĐ-CP dated February 1, 2001 of the Government, shall also apply to activities related to the protection of industrial property rights concerning layout designs.

Article 32. Responsibilities of relevant Ministries

1. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall be responsible for defining the content, form, procedures for filing, accepting, examining applications for granting protection certificates; procedures for suspending and revoking the validity of protection certificates; procedures for appealing decisions related to establishing, suspending, and revoking the validity of industrial property rights concerning layout designs; procedures for registering contracts transferring usage rights and the transfer of industrial property rights concerning layout designs, and other related procedures.

2. The Ministry of Finance shall take the lead, in coordinating with the Ministry of Science and Technology to define the system of fees and charges collection, management, and utilization for procedures related to the protection of industrial property rights concerning layout designs.

3. The Ministry of Industry shall be responsible for coordinating with the Ministry of Science and Technology to define and implement technical appraisal procedures serving the revocation of protection certificates and procedures ensuring enforcement of industrial property rights concerning layout designs.

Chapter 6:

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 33. Transitional Provisions

1. For layout designs that have been exploited commercially anywhere in the world at any time during the period from 18 months to two years prior to the effective date of this Decree, the deadline for exercising the right to file an application for protection is six months from the date this Decree becomes effective.

2. The provisions on the owner's right to prohibit the use of layout designs under Clause 2, Article 22 of this Decree shall not apply to semiconductor integrated circuits existing before the effective date of this Decree.

3. The provisions on the owner's temporary rights under Article 8 of this Decree shall not apply to acts of using layout designs carried out before the effective date of this Decree.

Article 34. Effectiveness and Responsibility for Implementation

1. This Decree shall take effect sixty days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

2. Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government-affiliated agencies, Chairpersons of provincial people's councils directly under the Central Government, Directors of the National Office of Intellectual Property shall be responsible for implementing this Decree./.