What Are the Procedures of filing PCT Patent Application in Vietnam?

The Patent Cooperation Treaty (Patent Cooperation Treaty) abbreviated as PCT was signed on June 19, 1970 in Washington. The PCT came into effect on June 1, 1978, and Vietnam joined the PCT on October 3, 1993. PCT allows an invention to be protected in multiple countries simultaneously by making a single international patent application instead of making multiple patent applications in many separate countries or regions. Intellectual Property lawyers in Vietnam could help client understand the procedures of filing PCT patent application in Vietnam and its advantages.

What Are the Procedures of filing PCT Patent Application in Vietnam?

Similar to the provisions of Vietnam Law on Intellectual Property rights, in order to be granted an invention protection title under the PCT, a registered invention must meet the following requirements: novelty, qualified innovative and capable of industrial application.

A dossier for patent registration under PCT of Vietnamese origin includes the following documents:

-The PCT application of Vietnamese origin to be made in English (03 copies);

-Description (02 copies, including drawings, if any);

-Claims for protection (02 copies);

-A copy of the payment receipt (in case of payment of fees and charges via postal service or directly into the account of the National Office of Intellectual Property);

-Relevant documents (if any).

Patent registration dossiers can be submitted in person or by post to the National Office of Intellectual Property in Hanoi or to two representative offices of the Department in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. After receiving the application, the applicant can conduct an international patent search at the competent search offices (national or regional patent office that meets the requirements set forth by the PCT and designated by the PCT General Assembly). PCT applications originating from Vietnam will be published in the PCT Gazette and subject to international preliminary examination. The appraisal department will prepare a preliminary appraisal report and send it to the International Bureau. At the national stage, the international application is examined for form and substantive according to the procedures prescribed for ordinary patent applications in the host country.

An important advantage of the PCT system is the provision of an additional minimum of 18 months from the expiration of the 12-month priority period, during which time the applicant can evaluate the possibility of commercializing product in different countries and decide which country to register the patent in. By filing an international application, the payment of national application fees and translation costs associated with national applications can be delayed.

ANT Lawyers – IP services in Vietnam will always follow up with authorities for legal update on matters relevant to IP law to update clients on regular basis.

Source ANT Lawyers: https://antlawyers.vn/library/what-are-the-procedures-of-filing-pct-patent-application-in-vietnam.html   

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What Attention for Filing PCT Patent Application in Vietnam in 2023?

What Attention for Filing PCT Patent Application in Vietnam in 2023?

There are individuals and companies that believe that by filing a trademark, patent or industrial design application in the host country, they will automatically receive worldwide protection. However, in fact, intellectual property rights are territorial related and Intellectual Property (IP) government offices only grant protection titles according to the laws of the relevant countries (or region). Therefore, the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) was born and signed by the member countries on June 19, 1970 in Washington, the PCT entered into force on June 1, 1978. Vietnam joined the PCT on March 10, 1993.

File PCT Patent Application in Vietnam

According to the definition of Vietnam law, an invention is a technical solution in the form of a product or process that aims to solve a defined problem by applying natural laws. In order to be able to obtain patent protection in different countries, an applicant can apply for protection through the PCT, either directly or within 12 months from the date of filing the first patent application filed in a country party to the Paris Convention, designating all countries wishing to register on the same application form, in the same language, and pay a fee.

The applicant needs to prepare a set of application including the following documents:

-02 Patent registration declarations according to Form 01-SC, specified in Appendix A of Circular 16/2016/TT-BKHCN.

-01 Vietnamese translation of the description and summary in the international application (published copy or original submitted, if the application has not been published, and the revised version and explanation of the amendment, if the international application is amended under Article 19 and/or Article 34.2(b) of the Treaty).

-01 Vietnamese translation of the appendices to the international preliminary assessment report (when substantive examination is requested).

-01 original copy of payment receipt (in case of payment of fees and charges via postal service or directly into the account of the National Office of Intellectual Property).

-01 Power of Attorney (in case the application is submitted through a representative).

After fully preparing the application, the applicant submits the application at the National Office of Intellectual Property under the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The time limit for formal examination is 1 month from the date of application submission. Applications will be published in the 19th month from the priority date or the filing date, if the application does not have a priority date, or within 2 months from the date of acceptance of the valid application, whichever is later. The time limit for substantive examination is not more than 18 months from the date of application publication if the request for substantive examination is filed before the date of application publication or from the date of receipt of the request for substantive examination if such request is filed after date of publication of application.

One of the important steps in filing PCT patent application in Vietnam is to make sure the translation into Vietnamese language match up with the original language. Patent attorneys at ANT Lawyers – a law firm in Vietnam will assist along the process including the translation of the patent and work with the national office of intellectual property in Vietnam to follow the instructions to complete the registration process in Vietnam.

Source ANT Lawyers: https://antlawyers.vn/library/what-attention-for-filing-pct-patent-application-in-vietnam.html  

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Brief Reminder of Time Schedule to Apply PCT Application into Vietnam

According to Vietnam Law on Intellectual property, a PCT applicant who would like to go into Vietnamese phase after the end of PCT procedures need to submit the application within the following duration:

Vietnam patent

If an international application designates Vietnam, the National Office of Intellectual Property in Vietnam (NOIP) is the designated office. In this case, in order to enter the national phase, the applicant shall submit, within 31 months from the date of priority, to the NOIP the following:

-Written declaration requesting invention registration, made according to a set form;

-Copy of the international application (if the applicant requests the entry into the national phase before the date of publication of the international publication);

-Vietnamese translation of the international application: The description, consisting of a description section, protection request, annotations for drawings and abstract (the published copy or initially filed original application, if the application has not yet been published, and modified copy and explanation of modified contents, if the international application has been modified under Article 19 of Patent Cooperation Treaty;

-National charges and fees.

If an international application elects Vietnam, the NOIP is the elected office. In this case, if the election of Vietnam is made within 19 months from the date of priority, in order to enter the national phase, the applicant shall submit, within 31 months from the date of priority, to the NOIP the following documents:

-Written declaration request;

-Sting invention registration, made according to a set form;

-Vietnamese translation of the international application: The description, consisting of a description section, protection request, annotations for drawings and abstract (the published copy or initially filed original application, if the application has not yet been published, and modified copy and explanation of modified contents, if the international application has been modified under Article 19 and/or Article 34(2)(b) of the Treaty);

-Vietnamese translations of annexes to the international preliminary examination report (when substantive examination of the application is requested);

-National charges and fees.

After having submitted the application, the time  when the processing of an international application designating or electing Vietnam in the national phase starts is the first day of the thirty second month from the date of priority if the applicant files no written request for entry into the national phase earlier than the above time limits. The international application shall be put to formality examination and substantive examination according to the procedures applicable to ordinary invention registration applications. If the applicant requests in writing earlier examination of his/her application and pay the prescribed charge, the international application shall be examined earlier than the time limit specified above in accordance with the provisions of Article 2 3(2) of the Treaty.

Please be noted that in addition to the cases where an international application is considered withdrawn specified in the Treaty and the Regulation on implementation of the Treaty, an international application designating or electing Vietnam shall be considered withdrawn if the national fees are not paid to the NOIP or there is no Vietnamese translation upon the expiration of the set time limit.

It is important to adhere to the deadline and patent attorney in Vietnam of ANT Lawyers always follow up with the Client to remind on the schedule to follow when submitting for PCT application in Vietnam.

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Brief Reminder of Time Schedule to Apply PCT Application into Vietnam

According to Vietnam Law on Intellectual property, a PCT applicant who would like to go into Vietnamese phase after the end of PCT procedures need to submit the application within the following duration:

Vietnam patent 

If an international application designates Vietnam, the National Office of Intellectual Property in Vietnam (NOIP) is the designated office. In this case, in order to enter the national phase, the applicant shall submit, within 31 months from the date of priority, to the NOIP the following:

-Written declaration requesting invention registration, made according to a set form;

-Copy of the international application (if the applicant requests the entry into the national phase before the date of publication of the international publication);

-Vietnamese translation of the international application: The description, consisting of a description section, protection request, annotations for drawings and abstract (the published copy or initially filed original application, if the application has not yet been published, and modified copy and explanation of modified contents, if the international application has been modified underArticle 19 of Patent Cooperation Treaty;

-National charges and fees.

If an international application elects Vietnam, the NOIP is the elected office. In this case, if the election of Vietnam is made within 19 months from the date of priority, in order to enter the national phase, the applicant shall submit, within 31 months from the date of priority, to the NOIP the following documents:

-Written declaration request;

-sting invention registration, made according to a set form;

-Vietnamese translation of the international application: The description, consisting of a description section, protection request, annotations for drawings and abstract (the published copy or initially filed original application, if the application has not yet been published, and modified copy and explanation of modified contents, if the international application has been modified under Article 19 and/or Article 34(2)(b) of the Treaty);

-Vietnamese translations of annexes to the international preliminary examination report (when substantive examination of the application is requested);

-National charges and fees.

After having submitted the application, the time  when the processing of an international application designating or electing Vietnam in the national phase starts is the first day of the thirty second month from the date of priority if the applicant files no written request for entry into the national phase earlier than the above time limits. The international application shall be put to formality examination and substantive examination according to the procedures applicable to ordinary invention registration applications.  If the applicant requests in writing earlier examination of his/her application and pay the prescribed charge, the international application shall be examined earlier than the time limit specified above in accordance with the provisions of Article 2 3(2) of the Treaty.

Please be noted that in addition to the cases where an international application is considered withdrawn specified in the Treaty and the Regulation on implementation of the Treaty, an international application designating or electing Vietnam shall be considered withdrawn if the national fees are not paid to the NOIP or there is no Vietnamese translation upon the expiration of the set time limit.

It is important to adhere to the deadline and patent attorney of ANT Lawyers always follow up with the Client to remind on the schedule to follow when submitting for PCT application in Vietnam.

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What is the most elegant patent application?

I associate the word "elegant" with solutions to problems that are well-defined. With that point of view, the word does not even apply to a patent application. That is, "elegance" is not even a goal when preparing a patent application.

Patent Law Firm in Vietnam

Basically, writing a patent application is like creating software, within a budget (explicitly stated or implicit) that is going to be released into the wild for maybe 20 years, with no opportunity to fix it after it has been released.

Actually, writing a patent application is a little more difficult than that. It's more like creating the software and also writing a description of it. No matter what the software functionally can do, it is limited by its description, so you want to make the description as broad as possible. On the other hand, the description can be attacked if it says the software does more than it actually is capable of doing, so you don't want to make the description too broad.

One of the first tasks is to try to anticipate all the problems that might arise over the next 20 years or so, which is already very challenging. Then, of course, you have to try to address those problems as best you can.

Therefore, it is much more important to make a patent application as strong and robust as possible, given the limited resources available, than it is to make it elegant.

That said, as with pretty much any job, it is possible to come up with clever or even out-of-the-box solutions to certain sub-problems within the overall job. However, those solutions, while satisfying to the patent attorney, are almost always invisible to others.

I have had litigators who were enforcing patents I drafted and prosecuted, compliment me on the quality of the patent application, but it is rare that anyone else would have sufficient expertise and also an opportunity to examine a patent application closely enough to notice how good, or bad, it is.

ANT Lawyers - A Law firm in Vietnam is supported by a team of experienced patent, trademark, design attorneys with qualification and skills handling full range of legal services relating to intellectual property rights in Vietnam.  We have specialized in the preparation and registration of patents, trademarks and designs for our clients.

Source: Quora

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How do drug patents work?

Drug patents are like all other patents — they protect “new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof…” (USPTO.gov).

Note that patents do not give you the right to sell or use an invention — only to block others from doing so. Accordingly, prior to receiving marketing clearance in the United States drugs must be proven safe and effective and pass review by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Vietnam patent

While advocates for open access often feel that patents impede innovation, proponents of patents counter that patents enable people and companies to offset the risk and expense of drug development by providing them with temporary monopolies.

It is a bit of a chicken-and-egg scenario — no patents might mean that there would be no innovative drugs, but excessive patent protection could mean that drug companies would charge unaffordable prices.

There are several measures to maintain a balance (the deeper you dig into this area the more you’ll find). Firstly, healthcare payers have caps on how much they will reimburse drug companies for their drugs. So, the high prices which are often cited are really just the retail price and not the final negotiated price. Also, the FDA incentivizes generic companies to prove that drug patents are invalid, giving them six months of generic exclusivity.

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