For the most convenient industrial design registration procedures, LawPlus would like to present the following analysis to introduce and share current regulations in 2023.
1. Definition
Industrial design registration is the process in which the owner of an industrial design carries out the procedure of submitting an exclusive registration application to the Intellectual Property Office.of Vietnam to record legal ownership rights for the owner throughout the territory of Vietnam.
2. Industrial Design Registration Procedures
Step 1: Design and select the design to be registered for protection
When conducting the design, customers should take note of cases that are not protected in the outlined form, including:
The external shape of the product must be determined by the technical characteristics of the product.
The external shape of civil or industrial construction works.
The shape of the product that is not visible during the use of the product.
Step 2: Preliminary assessment of registration feasibility
After completing step one, customers need to make a preliminary assessment of the feasibility of.registering the design before submitting the official registration application.
Step 3: Search for the possibility of industrial design registration
Novelty, defined as the absence of prior disclosure in any form before the application, stands as one of the most crucial factors.in industrial design registration. Therefore, after submitting the registration application to the Intellectual Property Office, customers should widely publicize (advertise, exhibit, produce, sell products containing industrial designs) to meet the novelty requirement.
Step 4: Submitting the industrial design registration application
After completing the feasibility study of industrial design registration, customers will proceed to submit the application to the relevant agency to receive the earliest priority date.
Step 5: Evaluation of the industrial design registration application
When submitting the industrial design registration application, the application will go through specific evaluation stages as follows:
Form evaluation: 1 month.
The design application will be published on the electronic gazette within 2 months from the acceptance date of the valid application.
Evaluation of the content of the registration application: Not more than 7 months from the date of publication.
Note: In practice, the registration time may extend from 12-15 months depending on the number of applications at the Intellectual Property Office.
Step 6: The Intellectual Property Office issues a decision to grant/reject the protection certificate
If the applicant satisfies the protection requirements and submits the fees and charges within the specified timeframe,.the Intellectual Property Office will issue a protection certificate. Subsequently, the office will record the certificate in the National Register and publish the information in the Industrial Property Gazette. If the registered design does not meet the protection requirements, the Intellectual Property.Office will issue a decision to reject the protection certificate.
Step 7: Monitoring the validity of the industrial design exclusive certificate
The exclusive industrial design certificate remains valid for 5 years from the date of the initial application (priority date),.and it can undergo consecutive renewals for 2 additional periods, with each renewal extending its validity by 5 years. The holder of the exclusive industrial design certificate needs to submit a request for renewal. The request for renewal must be submitted within 6 months before the certificate expires. The latest acceptable deadline for renewal is 6 months after the expiration date as stipulated.
3. Registration dossier
The industrial design registration dossier includes:
- 01 file of industrial design images or 05 sets of clear images according to regulations (each set includes overall images/drawings,.front views, rear views, left views, right views, top views, and bottom views).
- Description of the industrial design.
- Authorization letter from the applicant to the representative organization for intellectual property registration (if submitted through a representative).
- Priority right request document (if any).
- Receipt of application fee payment.
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