The Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam issued Circular No. 16/2016/TT-BKHCN of June 30, 2016

The Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam issued Circular No. 16/2016/TT-BKHCN of June 30, 2016 amending and supplementing a number of articles of Circular No. 01/2007/TT-BKHCN

Circular No. 16/2016/TT-BKHCN amending and supplementing a number of articles of Circular No. 01/2007/TT-BKHCN dated February 14, 2007, guiding the implementation of Decree No. 103/2006/ND-CP dated September 22, 2006 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of some of the articles of the Intellectual Property Law on Industrial Property, which was amended and supplemented by Circular No. 13/2010/TT-BKHCN of 30 July 2010, Circular No. 18/2011/TT-BKHCN dated July 22, 2011 and Circular No. 05/2013/TT-BKHCN dated February 20, 2013 consists of 3 Articles containing 49 points providing amendment and supplement of some provisions creating favorable conditions for the applicants in relation to the establishment of industrial property rights with the following principal contents:

1. Amendments and supplements related to the general provisions for the procedures for establishment of industrial property right.

2. Amendments and supplements of a number of provisions relating to procedures for registration of patent, industrial designs and trademarks and in particular, procedures for registration of international trademark.

3. Amendments and supplements related to the registration of industrial property right transfer contracts.

4. Amendments and supplements of a number of regulations related to the recognition, amendment or deletion of the names of industrial property representatives.

5. Supplementation of regulations on assurance of industrial property information.

6. Adjustment of the time limit for the applicants and the National Office of Intellectual Property in the process of examination of applications.

7. Amendments and supplements of a number of terms to comply with the law and practical implementation.

8. Particularly, comprehensive amendments of the provisions on complaints mentioned at Point 22 of Circular No.01/TT-BKHCN on the basis of compliance with the provisions of the current Law on Complaints, specifically as follows:

– Clarifying who has the right to complain.

– Clarifying the subject of the complaint, in particular clarifying the types of decisions and notices that may be appealed, the decisions and notices that is not considered as a complaint, and the decision and notice that is considered unlawful.

– Clarifying the principle of banning the change of the complaint dossier, of amendments/supplements relating to the application which is the object of the complained decision.

– Supplementing detailed regulations on the written explanation of the complaint, which is used as the basis for the complaint and for the complaint settlement decision.

– Supplementing the regulations on the cases of issuing decision to suspend the settlement of complaints or cases of non-acceptance of the settlement of complaints.

– Supplementing the regulations on the mechanism of using independent consultant and consultative board on settlement of complaints.

– Supplementing regulations on the announcement of complaint settlement decision.

Circular 16/2016/TT-BKHCN will take effect from January 15, 2018.