Intellectual Property Rights

Principles of protection and Int'l conventions and Treaties

System of IP protection in Vietnam

Establishment and Enforcement of IP Rights in Vietnam

Intellectual property rights are the rights of organizations, individuals to their intellectual property, including copyrights and copyright-related rights, industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties.

Copyrights are the rights of organizations, individuals to works created or owned by them.

Copyright-related rights (hereinafter referred to as related rights) are the rights of organizations, individuals to performances, phonograms, broadcasting programs, satellite signals carrying encrypted program.

Industrial property rights are the rights of organizations, individuals to inventions; industrial designs; layout-designs of semi-conductor integrated circuits; trademarks; trade names, geographical indications, business secrets created or owned by them and rights to repression of unfair competition.

Rights to plant varieties are the rights of organizations, individuals to the new plant varieties which are created or discovered and developed by and fall under the ownership right of such organization or individuals.

State of Vietnam shall recognize and protect the intellectual property rights of organizations and individuals on the basis of ensuring the equal benefits of intellectual property rights holders and the public interest; not to protect the intellectual property objects which are contrary to the social morality, public order or harmful to national defense and security.

Where the provisions of the international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is party contravene the provisions of this Law, the former shall be applied

TRIPs

Paris Convention

Patent Cooperation Treaty

Berne Convention

WIPO Copyright Treaty

Budapest Treaty

Madrid Agreement

Rome Convention

Geneva Convention

Brussels Convention

 …

Invention Patent for inventions;

Utility Solution Patent for utility solutions;

Industrial Design Patent for industrial designs;

Layout-design Registration Certificate for layout-designs of semi-conductor integrated circuits;

Mark Registration Certificate for trademarks; and

Certificate for geographical indications.

Copyright Registration Certificate for copyrights;

Related Right Registration Certificate for related rights;

Plant variety Protection Certificate.

Invention Patents shall have validity beginning on the grant date and expiring at the end of 20 years as from the filing date.

Utility solution Patents shall have validity beginning on the grant date and expiring at the end of 10 years as from the filing date.

Industrial design Patents shall have validity beginning on the grant date and expiring at the end of 5 years as from the filing date and renewable for two consecutive terms of 5 years.

Layout-design of semiconductor integrated circuit registration Certificates shall have validity beginning on the grant date and expiring at the earliest date among the following:

Mark registration Certificates shall have the validity beginning on the granting date and expiring at the end of 10 years counted from the filing date and renewable indefinitely for consecutive terms of 10 years.

Geographical indication registration Certificates shall have indefinite validity beginning on the grant date.

The plant variety protection certificate will take effect from the date of the grant of rights for a period of 25 years for trees and grapes; 20 years for other species.

Copyrights:

be naturally terminated.

according to the request by its owner or others who have right to request for termination the validity of a protection title.

as stipulated in Vietnam Laws.

shall be borne from objective conditions;

Copyrights shall arise at the moment when a work is created and expressed in a certain material form regardless of its content, quality, form, mean, language, whether or not it has been published or registered.

Related rights shall arise at the moment when a performance, a phonogram, a broadcast program and a satellite signal carrying encrypted program is fixed without prejudice to copyrights.

Industrial property rights shall be established as follows:

Rights to new plant varieties shall be established on the basis of decision on the grant of Plant Variety Protection Title.

Taking technological measures to prevent infringement of intellectual property rights;

Requesting to terminate the infringing acts, apologize, publicly rectify and compensate damages;

Requesting the competent state agencies to handle acts of infringement of intellectual property rights in civil, administrative or criminal remedies, depending on nature and extent of such infringement; or to apply provisional measures, intellectual-property-related control measures with regard to imports and exports and preventive measures;

Initiating a lawsuit at a competent court or an arbitrator to protect their legitimate rights and interests;