1. Introduction to the Laos patent system

Before 2002, Laos was the Wild West of Patent, with no formal patent system in place. As such, the introduction of the patent system aimed to promote innovation and attract foreign investment. As a result, Laos first stepped foot into the world of patents when it became a party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (Paris Convention) on October 8, 1998. In 2002, The Decree on Patent, Petty Patent and Industrial Designs (No. 01/PM) was put into force, establishing the legal framework for patents in Laos. It was followed by The Regulation on the Implementation of Patent, Petty Patent and Industrial Designs (No. 322/STEAPMO) in 2003. On June 14, 2006, it joined the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), facilitating international patent filing. The law was further consolidated, amended, more simplified, to improve the efficiency and accessibility of the system until today.

As a result, while the number of patent applications is still low compared to other countries, there have been signs of increasing interest in the patent system, particularly from foreign investors. The Department of Intellectual Property, known as the "DIP", is working tirelessly to further improve the efficiency and transparency of the patent system. For now, the challenge facing Laos's patent system includes the low awareness of Lao inventors regarding the benefit of patents, while the need to increase the capacity of the DIP to handle the possible growing number of applications. In the long run, it looks to strengthen the enforcement of Intellectual Property rights, not just to patent, and provide support to Lao inventors to commercialize their inventions.

2. Patent administration

The patent administration is in charge of the Industrial Property Division of the Department of Intellectual Property Standardization and Metrology (DISM). Since 2004 the DIP has been receiving patent applications. With the joining of the PCT in 2006 the DIP has been receiving even more applications

Here's a breakdown of the key aspects of the system:

Application process:

Applications can be filed directly with the DISM or through a patent agent.
Applicants must submit a variety of documents, including a description of the invention, claims, and drawings.
Foreign applicants can file under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and claim priority from applications filed in other countries.
The DISM conducts a formal examination of the application to ensure it meets the patentability requirements.
The DISM conducts a formal examination of the application to ensure it meets the patentability requirements.

Examination

The examination process focuses on novelty, inventive steps, and industrial applicability.
The DISM may issue office actions requesting clarification or amendments to the application.
Applicants have the opportunity to respond to office actions and submit arguments in support of their application.

Grant and enforcement:

If the application is approved, the DISM will issue a patent certificate granting the applicant exclusive rights to exploit the invention for 20 years.
The patent holder is responsible for enforcing their rights against infringers.
The DISM can assist with enforcement by providing information and investigating complaints.

3. Patent and Petty Patent in Laos

There are two different kinds of patents in Laos: Petty Patents and Regular Patents. Patents are defined as the official certificate from the state body issued to protect new inventions, involve an inventive step, and are capable of industrial application". Meanwhile, petty patents are defined as "the official certificate issued to protect utility innovations".

As stated above, an invention or utility innovation must satisfy three conditions to be eligible for patent protection in Laos: (i) novelty (new), (ii) inventive step, and (iii) industrial application. On the other hand, a utility innovation—which is different from an invention—needs to be based on technological advancements and use less complicated methods to qualify as a Petty Patent. More specifically:

For an innovation to be patented in Laos, it must meet the following three conditions:

Novelty Requirement: Before submitting an application for registration or before the patent application's priority date, the invention cannot be produced, disseminated to the public through magazines, used in real life, or taken any other form in the Lao PDR or anywhere else in the world.

The innovation must be obscure to someone with average knowledge and expertise in the relevant field of technology to qualify as an inventive step. Patents demand a higher degree of ingenuity than petty patents do. In particular, an invention has to have more inventive steps than a prior invention, whereas a utility innovation has to have new technological improvements with less innovative steps than those needed for a patent.

The novelty evaluation must be based on each claim made in the application and must take into account whether or not the invention's or utility innovation's details have been previously disclosed to third parties or the public.

Exceptions to Disclosure: In Laos, information related to an invention or utility innovation is not considered to have lost its novelty (i.e., it is not thought to destroy the novelty of the invention and/or utility innovation) if it is communicated or sent under a confidentiality agreement or under circumstances unintentionally that result in the information being disclosed to the public unless such a communication leads to the public disclosure. The following are the communications to which disclosure exceptions are applied:

Under a confidentiality agreement in writing;
Within an organization or an enterprise of a right holder;
Within a family, relatives, or appointed acquaintances;
To an attorney or a representative;
To a third party for assignment of rights to receive supportive funds for the development of the invention or utility innovation that has not been yet commercially used

Considering the aforementioned, Lao IP Law does not, unlike some other countries, provide for a 12-month grace period concerning patent applications. Instead, the requirements for maintaining patent novelty are restricted to the five listed in Decision No. 1714/MOST's Article 21.

Requirements of Industrial Applicability: The capacity to employ an invention or utility innovation in an industrial environment (such as agriculture, fishing, services, handicrafts, etc.) is a prerequisite for it to be deemed industrially relevant.

4. Timeframe and procedure

In Laos, the maintenance fee for a patent application or patent starts on the day of filing. Following the end of the current validity term, there is a grace period to pay the annuity that lasts no more than six months.

In Laos, maintenance costs for patent applications from the first to the fourth filing year are often demanded to be paid at the time of filing. Fees for maintaining a patent application or patent in Laos from the fifth filing year to the first awarding year must be paid at the same time as the granting fees. The annuity is necessary to keep a patent in Laos once it is granted.

At the time of filing, payment is sought for the maintenance of the utility model application in Laos for the first and second filing years. Fees for maintaining a petty patent application or petty patent in Laos from the third filing year to the first granting year must be paid at the same time as the granting fees. An annuity is needed to keep a petty patent in Laos once it has been granted.

The DIP will provide an official payment receipt for maintenance costs at the moment of payment. The receipt in question will serve as verification that the maintenance payments have been paid.

Formality Examination

The formalities of a patent application are examined by the Department of Intellectual Property of Laos (DIP) and take sixty days to complete. The application is evaluated for correctness, completeness, and compliance with the standards outlined in Article 31 of the Law on Intellectual Property by the DIP examiner during this examination. The application will receive a Notice of Formality Acceptance if it satisfies the conditions for the preliminary examination and is published in the Official Gazette for industrial property registration. Article 12 of Decision No. 1714/MOST states that a patent application is published in Laos in the nineteenth month following the filing or priority date.

The DIP will inform the applicant to submit the required paperwork or amend the application within 60 (sixty) days of the notice date if the patent application is wrong, incomplete, or does not comply with the requirements. The applicant will get notification from the DIP that their application has been rejected and will be considered abandoned if they do not submit the requisite documentation or make the required modifications within the allotted time frame.

Substantive Examination

The DIP will review the patent application substantively to see if it satisfies the standards for patentability following the formality examination. Patent and petty patent's substantive examination are founded on searches of the body of current technical knowledge.

5. Exception to patentability

The Lao Patent Law (Article 21) sets out 4 types of unpatentable inventions, in detail:

Inventions or utility innovations that are not novel, if they are discovered exist, including living organisms or parts of living organisms that exist in nature;
Subject matter that is not an invention does not constitute a technical solution because it is merely a scientific principle or theory, a mathematical algorithm, or a set of rules for doing business or playing games, provided however, that such subject matter may constitute an element of an invention or utility innovation;
Diagnostic, therapeutic, and surgical methods for the treatment of humans or animals;
Plants and animals other than micro-organisms, and essentially biological processes for the production of plants or animals provided, however, that such subject matter may constitute an element of an invention or utility innovation.

A patent or petty patent shall be refused, in any case, if:

It is contrary to the culture and fine traditions of the nation, social orders, and morale, damages human, animal, or plant life or health, or causes serious prejudice to the environment;
It is contrary to the security and peace of the Lao PDR

6. Requirement for Patent specification in Laos

Topic of the invention or innovative utility; Domain associated with the invention or innovative usefulness;
The history of the utility discovery or invention;
The intention behind using the invention or utilitarian innovation;
A succinct description of the innovation or utility;
A thorough explanation of the innovation or invention as described in Article 17;
Rights as specified in this decision's Article 18;
The abstract as described in Decision No. 1714/MOST Article 19; the drawings as described in Decision No. 1714/MOST Article 20; and any additional pertinent documents.

Take note that Article 37 of the Law on Intellectual Property mandates that any English-language patent applications and accompanying documentation be translated into Lao. The application will be regarded abandoned and not be evaluated if these prerequisites are not met.

It is not necessary for the applicant for a patent or small patent rights to translate some portions of the application, such as names and addresses of people, businesses, or organizations.