Very few patents granted to Vietnamese

Inventors have complained that it takes too long to obtain patents and a certificate of utility solution monopoly from the National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP), at least 31 months, and that they have not received necessary support from NOIP when registering their invention overseas.

However, not "everything is good if it goes too fast", said Phan Ngan Son, deputy head of NOIP.

Vietnamese inventors always want patents and certificates for utility solutions as soon as possible, just within several months. However, ‘soon’ doesn’t always mean ‘good’.

“Once you register for patents, your intellectual property will be considered, and while it is pending, it will not be lost. While waiting for the patent, you can organize your production,” he explained at a workshop on patents held in HCM City recently.

In other countries, inventors would take time for waiting for patents to do many things – learning about the market or looking for investment opportunities and partners.

“It will be no use of receiving patents soon, because you will have to pay to maintain its effectiveness,” he said. “While you wait for patents, who can tell you may find other better solutions."

The participants at the workshop heard the bad news that since Vietnam joined PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) in 1993, there have been only 92 applications for patent registration filed abroad through PCT system, which means there are only four applications a year.

Inventors have complained that it takes too long to obtain patents and a certificate of utility solution monopoly from the National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP), at least 31 months, and that they have not received necessary support from NOIP when registering their invention overseas.
The modest figures show the poor development of Vietnam’s science & technology compared with other countries. However, in 2015 alone, there were 16 applications, an unexpectedly high number.

In principle, patents don’t have transnational value. They are only recognized in the countries where inventors register for intellectual property protection. If inventors want their inventions to be protected in the US, they will have to file in the US and follow the procedures as stipulated by US laws.

However, there is another way to seek protection. One can file for registration through PCT system, at lower costs, and make registration in many different countries at the same time. In Vietnam, NOIP is the agency which receives applications to PCT.

An NOIP report showed that 421 patents were granted to Vietnamese subjects in 2010-2015, while 9,000 patents were granted to foreign ones during the same time. This means that the number of patents granted to Vietnamese accounted for 5 percent of total patents.

According to Pham & Associates, it has filed nearly 10,000 applications for patents in many years on behalf of clients. These are mostly PCT applications by foreigners, while only 10 PCT applications abroad by Vietnamese had been made.

Kim Chi / vietnamnet