Register inventions of clocks, watches, and other time measuring machines in Vietnam?

1. Why should you register the inventions of clocks, watches, and other time measuring machines?

In reality, you can still exploit your invention without registering it with the authority, however, it will be very risky because your invention can be easily copied without your permission or even be stolen by other companies or organizations. Therefore, there is one thing that almost every owner of inventions carries out after creating the inventions is to register it with the competent state agencies. According to Vietnamese intellectual property law, the National Office of Intellectual Property is the competent state agency. You may wonder why should you register your invention, and in this article, we will point out the reasons why you should always register your inventions as soon as it is created:

- Preventing unauthorized use of the invention: Registering a patent will give the owner of the invention exclusive rights to use and commercially exploit the invention. No company, organization, or individual can use or copy a registered invention without the consent of the owner of the invention.

- Creating great competitive advantages: By preventing other parties from using the registered invention without your permission, you will be able to reduce the competition from other parties, accordingly enhancing your potion in the market.

- Protecting the ownership rights of the owner: The patent will provide a legal basis for the owner to prove his/her ownership over the invention if there is any dispute related to the invention. Besides, in case there is a third party trying to imitate the invention and exploit for the purpose of unfair competition, the owner can base on the patent to ask competent State agencies to intervene and handle the infringement.

- Bringing more money for the owner: In order to create an invention, it normally requires a considerable amount of time, money as well as effort and the owner of the invention usually expects a high return from such investments. With a patent granted by the authority, the owner of the invention can receive the high return by selling products/services that are based on the invention. Moreover, the invention can also bring extra profit from licensing or transferring to other parties.

- Attracting more business partners and investors: A patent that is granted by a State agency not only attracts customers but also attracts more investors and business partners. The registered invention usually is viewed as evidence of a highly specialized, professional and innovative company. You will highly have the chance to succeed in marketing projects or fund-raising plans.

- Becoming an asset of the company: The patent will be determined as your asset and you can use it as a capital to contribute to another company or business cooperation project. Or it can also be used as a tool in negotiating for business deals.

2. What are inventions of clocks, watches, and other time measuring machines?

An invention is defined by the Vietnamese Law on intellectual property as a technical solution in the form of a product or process which is intended to solve a problem by application of natural laws. From this definition, we can understand generally that inventions of clocks, watches, and other time measuring machines are technical solutions in the form of products or processes in the areas of clocks, watches, and other time measuring machines that apply natural laws for the purpose of solving particular problems.

A technical solution shall not be eligible for protection if it falls into one of objects as below:

- Scientific discoveries or theories, mathematical methods.

- Schemes, plans, rules and methods for performing mental acts, training domestic animals, playing games and doing business; computer programs.

- Presentations of information.

- Solutions of aesthetic characteristics only.

- Plant varieties, animal breeds.

- Processes of plant or animal production which are principally of a biological nature, other than microbiological processes.

- Human and animal disease prevention methods, diagnostic and treatment methods.

The technical solution can only be determined as an invention/utility solution if the following prerequisites:

- The novelty;

- The creativity; and

- The capability of industrial application.

Under Vietnamese law, there are two types of patents: invention patent and utility solution patent.

The International Patent Classification (IPC) is a patent classification system used globally in many countries in order to classify the content of patents in a uniform manner. An invention will be classified into different sections and classes depending on their characteristics. According to the current IPC version, inventions of clocks, watches, and other time measuring machines are classified into Class G04, which mainly includes products and processes as below:

- Mechanically-driven clocks or watches; mechanical parts of clocks or watches in general, time-pieces using the position of the sun, moon, or stars;

- Electromechanical clocks or watches;

- Apparatus or tool specially designed for making or maintaining clocks or watches;

- Time-interval measuring;

- Electronic time-pieces;

- Radio-controlled time-pieces;

3. How to register inventions of clocks, watches, and other time measuring machines in Vietnam?

The registration dossier of an invention in general normally contains documents and papers as follows:

- Declaration of invention/utility solution registration (02 copies);

- Description of Patent (02 copies), the description should include the following contents: the descriptions, the protection request, and the illustration/pictures of the invention/utility solution (if any);

- Abstract of the invention/utility solution (02 copies);

- Receipts of payment of fees and charges;

- Other documents that are related to the invention/utility solution and required in some specific cases, e.g. the power of attorney, documents and papers to prove the registration rights, or priority;

4. The process of registering inventions of clocks, watches, and other time measuring machines in Vietnam?

In order to be granted a patent, the registration dossier of the invention/utility solution should be submitted to the National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP) in Ha Noi or its representative offices in Da Nang city and Ho Chi Minh city. The dossier can be submitted directly or indirectly via postal services. After the submission procedure, the patent registration dossier will be appraised by the NOIP through the following stages:

First, the formality appraisal: In this stage, your registration dossier shall be appraised in terms of formality conditions in accordance with the provisions of law. Normally, this stage takes 01 month to be done.

Second, the publication of the application: If the NOIP determines that your application is a valid application, the State agency will publish the application’s information in the Industrial Property Official Gazette after the 18th month from the submission date.

Third, the substantive appraisal: In this stage, the NOIP will continue to appraise your application in terms of its content. The purpose of this stage is to fully appraise the ability of invention stated in the application to be protected under the protection conditions and protection scope. This stage normally takes about 18 months from the publishing date.

Final, the issuance of the patent: In this final stage, after receiving a notification of the NOIP, the applicant shall pay all the prescribed fees and charges in order to receive the patent of invention/utility solution.

5. Where to register inventions of clocks, watches, and other time measuring machines in Vietnam?

Currently, the Vietnamese intellectual property law stipulates that foreign entities (companies, organizations or individuals) shall only apply their inventions/utility solutions in Vietnam through official industrial property representative organizations. Minh Khue Law Firm has been recognised as an industrial property representative in Vietnam since August 2017, with the representative code is 226. We have helped many clients both in Vietnam as well as abroad to register their inventions successfully in Vietnam.

The Intellectual Property Department of Minh Khue Law Firm will carry out all the procedures for the client. Our office is based in Room 2007, 20th Floor, C2 Building, Vincom Tran Duy Hung, Tran Duy Hung Street, Trung Hoa Ward, Cau Giay District, Hanoi city.

The person in charge of the Intellectual Property Department of Minh Khue Law Firm:

Lawyer: To Thi Phuong Dzung

Email: dung@luatminhkhue.vn;

Phone number: + 84986 386 648

The completed register dossier will be submitted at: National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam.

Address: 384-386 Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan Trung, Thanh Xuan, Hanoi

6. Contact to register inventions of clocks, watches, and other time measuring machines in Vietnam?

Please contact: Minh Khue Law Company Limited

Address: Room 2007, C2 building, Vincom Tran Duy Hung, Trung Hoa ward, Cau Giay district, Ha Noi city.

Phone number: + 84986 386 648 - Lawyer: To Thi Phuong Dzung

Email: dung@luatminhkhue.vn

Best Regards,

Intellectual Property Department - Minh Khue Law Company Limited