The typical duration of the patent examination cycle in Vietnam can vary depending on several factors. However, the following timelines are provided in the regulations:
- In the formality examination procedure
For the patent application without claiming priority, the applicant must submit a Power of Attorney (POA). In case the POA is not filed at the filing date, the applicant must supplement the original POA to IPVN within 30 days from the date of filing.
For the application procedure through the Paris Convention, in addition to the above Power of Attorney, they must submit a priority document in hard copy. In case the POA is not filed at the filing date, the applicant must supplement the original priority application to IPVN within 3 months from the date of filing.
For the application process through the PCT system, the applicant must submit a Power of Attorney (POA). In case the POA is not filed at the filing date, the applicant must supplement the original POA to IPVN within 34 months from the earliest priority date.
In addition, there are some other notes such as:
- The bibliographic data in the application (such as name/address/nationality of applicant/inventor) does not match as in the internation publication or in the POA.
- The subject matter in the claims are not protected as an invention (e.g. computer programs, use claims)
Therefore, to avoid the defects in formality examination that affect the entire patent registration process, it is necessary to carefully consider the examination regulations of IPVN and the legal documents mentioned above.
- In the substantive examination procedure
For patent applications through the PCT system or through the Paris Convention, Vietnamese examiners tend to use the examination results of applications that have been granted in other countries, especially patent family results in JPO, KIPO, CNIPA, EPO, USPTO. Therefore, the examiner will suggest that the applicant amend according to counterpart patents, the patent application will be granted without further examination.
Conversely, if the applicant does not accept the request to amend according to similar applications, the applicant will need to provide arguments/amendments and will need to carry out further examination procedures. In general, the patent examination procedure will take longer.
- Granting the patent procedure
For the online application process, especially for applications filed during the Covid-19 period, the application documents are required to be filed online. When all the application examination procedures are completed, IPVN often requests the applicant to supplement the hard copy documents to proceed with the patent issuance.
