An invention is a technical solution in the form of a product or a process to solve a specific problem by applying natural laws.
1. Required Documents for the Application
– 02 Declaration Forms for Invention Registration (according to form No. 01-SC, Appendix A of Circular 01/2007/TT-BKHCN);
– 02 Descriptions of the invention/utility solution; The description of the invention/utility solution must comply with the provisions in point 23.6 of Circular No. 01/2007/TT-BKHCN. The description of the invention/utility solution includes the Description, Claims, and Drawings (if any).
+ The description part must fully and clearly present the nature of the invention according to the following contents:
- Name of the invention/utility solution;
- Field of use of the invention/utility solution;
- Technical background of the field of use of the invention/utility solution;
- Technical nature of the invention/utility solution;
- Brief description of accompanying drawings (if any);
- Detailed description of embodiments of the invention/utility solution;
- Examples of implementation of the invention/utility solution;
- Achievable benefits (effectiveness).
- The claims are separated from the description, and are used to define the scope of industrial property rights for the invention. The claims must be concise, clear, consistent with the description and drawings, and must clarify the novel features of the subject matter for which protection is sought.
+ Drawings, diagrams (if any): separated into a distinct page.
– 02 Abstracts of the invention/utility solution. The abstract of the invention/utility solution must not exceed 150 words and must be on a separate page. The abstract of the invention/utility solution is not mandatory at the time of filing and the applicant may supplement it later;
– Proof of payment of fees and charges.
2. Other documents (if any)
– Power of attorney (if the invention/utility solution application is filed through an industrial property representative service organization);
– Assignment of the right to file an application (if any);
– Document confirming the right to register (if inherited from another person);
– Priority document (if the invention application requests priority rights).
3. General requirements for the application
– Each application can only request one protection title, and the type of protection title requested must be appropriate for the technical solution stated in the application;
– All documents in the application must be in Vietnamese. For documents made in other languages as stipulated in points 7.3 and 7.4 of Circular 01/2007/TT-BKHCN, they must be translated into Vietnamese;
– All documents must be presented vertically (drawings, diagrams, and tables may be presented horizontally) on one A4 size paper (210mm x 297mm), with 20mm margins on all four sides, using Times New Roman font, font size not smaller than 13, except for supporting documents whose original purpose was not to be included in the application;
– For documents required to be prepared according to a form, these forms must be used and all required information must be filled in the appropriate places;
– If a type of document comprises multiple pages, each page must be numbered sequentially with Arabic numerals;
– Documents must be typed or printed clearly, neatly, without erasure or correction, using indelible ink; if minor spelling errors are found in a document submitted to the Intellectual Property Office, the applicant may correct them, but the corrections must be signed (and stamped, if any) by the applicant;
– Terminology used in the application must be consistent and common (avoiding local dialects, rare words, or self-created words). Symbols, units of measurement, electronic fonts, and spelling rules used in the application must comply with Vietnamese standards;
– The application may be accompanied by supporting documents in electronic data carriers containing part or all of the application’s content.
4. Fees for Invention/Utility Solution Registration
– Application filing fee: 150,000 VND
– Formal examination fee: 180,000 VND/01 independent claim;
– Formal examination fee from the 7th page of the description onwards: 8,000 VND/01 page;
– Application publication fee: 120,000 VND;
– Publication fee from the 2nd figure onwards: 60,000 VND/figure;
– Priority claim examination fee (if any): 600,000 VND/01 priority application;
– Information search fee for examination purposes: 600,000 VND/01 independent claim;
– Substantive examination fee: 720,000 VND/01 independent claim;
– Substantive examination fee from the 7th page of the description onwards: 32,000 VND/01 page
Note: Invention/utility solution registration applications need to be classified according to the International Patent Classification (IPC). If the applicant does not classify or classifies incorrectly, the National Office of Intellectual Property will perform the classification, and the applicant will need to pay the classification fee as prescribed (100,000 VND/01 International Patent Classification).
5. Processing time for invention/utility solution registration applications
From the date of receipt by the National Office of Intellectual Property, invention/utility solution registration applications are processed in the following order:
– Formal examination: 01 month
– Publication of invention/utility solution registration application:
(i) Invention/utility solution registration applications shall be published in the nineteenth month from the priority date or the filing date, if the application has no priority date, or within 02 months from the date of acceptance of the valid application, whichever is later;
(ii) Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications (hereinafter referred to as “PCT applications”) shall be published within 02 months from the date of acceptance of the valid application that has entered the national phase;
(iii) Invention/utility solution registration applications requesting early publication shall be published within 02 months from the date the National Office of Intellectual Property receives the request for early publication or from the date of acceptance of the valid application, whichever is later.
– Substantive examination: no more than eighteen months, from the date of application publication if the request for substantive examination is filed before the application publication date, or from the date of receipt of the request for substantive examination if the request is filed after the application publication date.
6. Application filing methods
Applicants may choose to file a paper application or an online application through the National Office of Intellectual Property’s online public service portal, specifically:
a) Paper filing method
Applicants can file an invention/utility solution registration application directly or via postal service to one of the reception points of the National Office of Intellectual Property as follows:
– Headquarters of the National Office of Intellectual Property, address: 386 Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi City.
– Representative Office of the National Office of Intellectual Property in Ho Chi Minh City, address: 7th Floor, Ha Phan Building, 17/19 Ton That Tung, Pham Ngu Lao Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
– Representative Office of the National Office of Intellectual Property in Da Nang City, address: 3rd Floor, No. 135 Minh Mang, Khue My Ward, Ngu Hanh Son District, Da Nang City.
In case of filing an invention/utility solution registration application via mail, the applicant needs to transfer money via postal service, then photocopy the money transfer receipt and enclose it with the application dossier to one of the aforementioned reception points of the National Office of Intellectual Property to prove the paid amount.
(Note: When transferring fees and charges to one of the aforementioned reception points of the National Office of Intellectual Property, the applicant must send the dossier by mail corresponding to that reception point).
b) Online filing method
– Conditions for online filing: The applicant needs to have a digital certificate and digital signature, register an account on the Online Application Receiving System, and have the account approved by the National Office of Intellectual Property to conduct industrial property rights registration transactions.
– Online filing procedure: The applicant needs to declare and submit the invention/utility solution registration application on the National Office of Intellectual Property’s Online Application Receiving System. After completing the declaration and submission on the Online Application Receiving System, the System will send the applicant an Online Document Submission Confirmation Slip. Within 01 month from the date of online submission, the applicant must visit one of the National Office of Intellectual Property’s reception points during working hours to present the Online Document Confirmation Slip and accompanying documents (if any) and pay fees/charges as prescribed. If the documents and fees/charges are complete as prescribed, the receiving officer will assign an application number to the Declaration on the Online Application Receiving System. If the documents and fees/charges are not sufficient as prescribed, the application will be refused. In cases where the Applicant fails to complete the application procedures as prescribed, the online document will be canceled, and a Notification of Online Document Cancellation will be sent to the Applicant on the Online Application Receiving System.
