Who has the right to file an international patent application under the PCT?

Who has the right to file an international patent application under the PCT?

 

PCT National Phase Entry in Vietnam

You are entitled to file an international patent application if you are a national or resident of a PCT Contracting State. If there are several applicants named in the international application, only one of them needs to comply with this requirement.

If you are looking for experienced IP services in Vietnam to help you with your PCT Patent Application in Vietnam, you should visit ANTLawyers. Our Patent attorneys have experience with the PCT Patent process and will work closely with you as you apply for your PCT in Vietnam.

 

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Patent Registration under PCT Procedure in Vietnam

Vietnam joined in Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) on March 10^th 1993 and originations, individuals can register international patent as provided in PCT by filling registration application at National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam (NOIP). NOIP has responsibility to examine and handle the application as provided in PCT.

 

Register Patent in Vietnam

With highly professional staff and great experience in IP aspect in Vietnam, ANT Lawyers would like to support you in filling international patent under PCT procedure:

Required Document

03 English written declaration for registration PCT application originating in Vietnam;

02 Written descriptions including images or drawings (if any) ;

02 written request of invention protection;

01 Original Power of Attorney;

Other related document (if only).

International Patent registration originating in Vietnam under PCT

Receipt of applications:A registration application of an invention shall be filed in Vietnam, including protection claims in any of the Member Countries of the PCT Treaty (hereinafter referred to as the PCT application originating from Vietnam). The application shall be submitted directly or by mail to the NOIP or the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (hereinafter referred to as the International Bureau)

The international search process:This process shall be conducted at competent authorities (National or regional patent office that meets the requirements set by PCT and be designated by PCT General Assembly). National patent office with PCT application originating in Vietnam is: Intellectual Property office of Australia, Austria, the Russian Federation, Sweden, Korea and the European Patent Office.

Publication of the international application: PCT application originating in Vietnam shall be posted at PCT Gazette.

The international preliminary examination: Conducted by the international preliminary examining authority as provided in PCT. The purpose of examination is to give a preliminary and non – binding opinion whether the invention in the application meets the requirement protection or not. Examining authority shall make a preliminary examining report and send to International Bureau.

National or regional phase: international application shall be examined form and content as regulation of normal patent registration in each nation.

Note:

Applicants must specify which countries they want the international application to take effect.

Each international application is subject to international search to find out the relevant technical status known to provide preliminary and non-compulsory claims on inventions that require novelty, creativity and usefulness. Therefore, the Contracting Party designated for patent protection is entitled to apply the standards of an invention under its domestic law in relation to the known state of the art and other conditions of competence. Patent shall be decided whether to be accepted for the protection based on the application.

If you are looking for an experienced IP services in Vietnam to help you with your IP application, you should visit ANTLawyers. Our attorneys have experience with the IP process and will work closely with you as you apply for your IP 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 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.

ANT Lawyers is a law firm in Vietnam located in the business centers of Hanoi, Danang, Ho Chi Minh city. We provide convenient access to our clients. Please contact our lawyers in Vietnam for advice via email ant@antlawyers.vn or call our office at +84 28 730 86 529.

 

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Protecting Invention Abroad via Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)

Patent is an intellectual property right which owner could benefit from limited monopoly or commercialize through licensing the patent to others in return for royalty.  To protect  invention internationally, an inventor may file an international application with a national or regional patent office or WIPO and this aplication must comply with the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) formality requirements. The patent owner should have a patent lawyer to help out with the process of patent registration, and filing an international protection through PCT process.

Vietnam patent 

 What is Patent Cooperation Treaty?

The PCT is an international treaty with 153 Contracting States. This treaty helps the applicant in protecting their invention internationally when filing only one international patent application to be protected in a large number of countries instead of filing several separate national or regional patent applications. The granting of patents remains under the control of the national or regional patent offices in what is called the “national phase”.

The general procedures when filing an PCT application would be:

Filing, International search, International Publication, Supplementary International Search (optional), International Preliminary Examination (optional), National Phase.

With the filing step, the applicant needs to file an international application with a national or regional patent office or WIPO, complying with the PCT formality requirements, in one language, pay one set of fees. Before International Publication, the patent must go through an International Search by an “International Searching Authority” (ISA) (one of the world’s major patent offices). The purpose of this Search is to identify the published patent documents and technical literature which may have an influence on whether invention is patentable. After that, a written opinion on invention’s potential patentability will be issued. Then, the PCT application can go directly to national phase. However, there are two optional steps which applicants may go through: (i) Supplementary International Search (optional), and (ii) International Preliminary Examination (optional). These two steps based on applicant’s request should publish documents which may not have been found by the first ISA and carry out an additional patentability analysis, usually on an amended version of application, respectively.

How long does the PCT process take? Normally, applicant will have 30 months from the filing date of the initial patent application of which they claim priority or up to an additional 18 months from the time applicant files their international patent application before they have to begin the national phase procedures with individual patent offices and to fulfill the national requirements.

At any time, however, applicant may request an early entry into the national phase instead of waiting for the expiration of 30 months from the earliest filing date of their patent application. Once the application has gone into national phase, the time required for the examination and grant of a patent varies across patent offices of each state.

One of the important steps in filing PCT is to make sure the translation into Vietnamese language match up with the original language.  Patent attorneys in Vietnam at ANT Lawyers 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.

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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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Which is the best country to file patent rights?

With respect to your first filed patent application, you may not have a choice. Some countries have export control laws that require that you first file in your current country. Only after being granted a foreign filing license do you then have the option to file in other countries.

PCT National Phase Entry in Vietnam

According to the Paris Convention, you have within one year of your first filed application to file in foreign countries and claim priority to the filing date of the first filed application. Filing in many countries can be extremely expensive, however. A common strategy is thus to file a single PCT application, which can later be the basis for national/regional stage filings. This delays the expense, and allows more time to decide which countries are best. But one must realized that this strategy only applies to PCT member states. That does not include some countries, for example, Taiwan and Argentina. Applications must be filed there within a year of the first filing.

30 months after the earliest priority date of the PCT application, you’ll need to decide which countries (or regions) to enter the PCT application into. The best choice may be none. For example, if the PCT search report reveals prior art that is fatal to the patent application.

Assuming there are no major show-stoppers in the PCT stage, then there is a complex analysis that needs to take into account various factors, such as 1) your patent budget, 2) the market size in each country, 3) the likelihood of manufacturing in each country, 4) the strength of patent laws in each country, 5) the kinds of technologies patentable in each country. Balancing these against each other and coming up with an set of countries is extremely case specific. There is no generic answer as to what country or countries is best in the abstract. That being said, some of the most common countries/regions are US, Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia, S. Korea, and China. Within Europe, patents are most often validated in UK, France, and Germany

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Patent Prosecution Highway Mechanism Between Vietnam and Japan

First pilot program between Vietnam National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP) and Japanese Patent Office (JPO)

NOIP and JPO have jointly undertaken the first Pilot Patent Prosecution Highway program (“PPH”) since 01^stApr, 2016.

According to this bilateral PPH, the patent application filed at JPO (previously filed at NOIP) falling into one of the three following cases:

Intellectual Property Lawyers in Vietnam

(i)     An application which validly claims for priority under the Paris Convention on the basis of NOIP application(s), or

(ii)     A PCT national phase application to Japan without priority claim, or

(iii)   An application which validly claims for priority under the Paris Convention to the PCT application(s) without priority claim.

And meeting other conditions regulated in Procedures guidance to file a request to JPO for PPH program between JPO and NOIP (“Procedures”), the applicant shall be entitled to request JPO to fast prosecute the application on the basis of providing research and evaluation results of NOIP and other relevant documents to JPO for references.

For the patent application filed at NOIP (previously submitted to JPO) falling into one of the three following cases:

(i)     An application which validly claims for priority under the Paris Convention on the basis of JPO application(s), or

(ii)     A PCT nationalphase application to Vietnam without priority claims and this PCT submitted to JPO as an international application receiving agency (applications’ number initiating with PCT/JP hereby referred to as “PCT/JP applications”), or

(iii) An application claims for priority under the Paris Convention on the basis of PCT/JP application(s) without priority claims;

And meeting other conditions regulated in the Procedures, the applicant shall be entitled to request NOIP to fast prosecute the application on the basis of providing research and evaluation results of JPO and other relevant documents to NOIP for references. The duration of the PPH program shall be expired by the date of March 31^st, 2019.

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What is the PCT supplementary international search?

SUPPLEMENTARY INTERNATIONAL SEARCH

The PCT is an international treaty with more than 145 Contracting States. The PCT makes it possible to seek patent protection for an invention simultaneously in a large number of countries by filing a single “international” patent application instead of filing several separate national or regional patent applications. The granting of patents remains under the control of the national or regional patent Offices in what is called the “national phase”.

Nationalize PCT Patent Application in Vietnam

The PCT procedure includes:

·        Filing

·        International Search

·        International Publication

·        Supplementary International Search

·        International Preliminary Examination

·        National Phase

What is the PCT supplementary international search?

Supplementary international search permits the applicant to request, in addition to the international search (the “main international search”), one or more supplementary international searches each to be carried out by an ISA other than the ISA which carried out the main international search. The additional search has the potential of reducing the risk of new patent documents and other technical literature being discovered in the national phase since, by requesting supplementary search the applicant can enlarge the linguistic and/or technical scope of the documentation searched.

What is the supplementary international search report?

The supplementary international search report is generally similar in content and appearance to the main international search report; it contains a listing of references to patent documents and other technical literature which may affect the patentability of the invention claimed in the international application. However, it does not repeat documents which have already been cited in the international search report, unless this is necessary because of new relevance when read in conjunction with other documents discovered during the supplementary international search. On occasion, the supplementary international search report may contain more detailed explanations than those in the main international search report. This is due to the fact that, unlike the main international search, no written opinion is established with the supplementary international search report, and these additional details are helpful for a full understanding of the references listed.

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What is the effect of an international patent application?

The PCT is an international treaty with more than 145 Contracting States. The PCT makes it possible to seek patent protection for an invention simultaneously in a large number of countries by filing a single “international” patent application instead of filing several separate national or regional patent applications. The granting of patents remains under the control of the national or regional patent Offices in what is called the “national phase”.

Nationalize PCT Patent Application in Vietnam

In general terms, your international patent application, provided that it complies with the minimum requirements for obtaining an international filing date, has the effect of a national patent application (and certain regional patent applications) in or for all PCT Contracting States. Moreover, if you comply with certain formal requirements set out in the Treaty and Regulations, which are binding on all of the PCT Contracting States, subsequent adaptation to varying national (or regional) formal requirements (and the cost associated therewith) will not be necessary.

Who has the right to file an internationalpatent application under the PCT?

You are entitled to file an international patent application if you are a national or resident of a PCT Contracting State. If there are several applicants named in the international application, only one of them needs to comply with this requirement.

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Patent Registration under PCT Procedure

Patent Registration under PCT Procedure

Vietnam joined in Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) on March 10^th 1993 and originations, individuals can register international patent as provided in PCT by filling registration application at National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam (NOIP). NOIP has responsibility to examine and handle the application as provided in PCT.

With highly professional staff and great experience in IP aspect in Vietnam, ANT Lawyers would like to support you in filling international patent under PCT procedure:

Required Document

03 English written declaration for registration PCT application originating in Vietnam;

02 Written descriptions including images or drawings (if any) ;

02 written request of invention protection;

01 Original Power of Attorney;

Other related document (if only).

International Patent registration originating in Vietnam under PCT

 Receipt of applications:A registration application of an invention shall be filed in Vietnam, including protection claims in any of the Member Countries of the PCT Treaty (hereinafter referred to as the PCT application originating from Vietnam). The application shall be submitted directly or by mail to the NOIP or the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (hereinafter referred to as the International Bureau)

The international search process:This process shall be conducted at competent authorities (National or regional patent office that meets the requirements set by PCT and be designated by PCT General Assembly). National patent office with PCT application originating in Vietnam is: Intellectual Property office of Australia, Austria, the Russian Federation, Sweden, Korea and the European Patent Office.

Publication of the international application: PCT application originating in Vietnam shall be posted at PCT Gazette.

The international preliminary examination: Conducted by the international preliminary examining authority as provided in PCT. The purpose of examination is to give a preliminary and non – binding opinion whether the invention in the application meets the requirement protection or not. Examining authority shall make a preliminary examining report and send to International Bureau.

 National or regional phase: international application shall be examined form and content as regulation of normal patent registration in each nation.

Note:

Applicants must specify which countries they want the international application to take effect.

Each international application is subject to international search to find out the relevant technical status known to provide preliminary and non-compulsory claims on inventions that require novelty, creativity and usefulness. Therefore, the Contracting Party designated for patent protection is entitled to apply the standards of an invention under its domestic law in relation to the known state of the art and other conditions of competence. Patent shall be decided whether to be accepted for the protection based on the application.

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