MENU

  • INTRODUCE
  • PRACTICES
    • Patent/Utility Solution (Model)
    • Trademarks
    • Industrial Design
    • Copyrights & Related Rights
    • Plant Variety Protection
    • Enforcement & Litigation
  • OUR PEOPLE
    • Partners
    • Patent & Design Department
    • Trademark Department
    • Litigation Department
    • Translation Department
    • IP Consultation & Strategy Department
  • NEWS & EVENTS
    • General Information
    • Legal news
    • Vietnam Intellectual Property Issues
    • Recruiment
  • CONTACT
  • English

IPHouse

Công ty TNHH Sở hữu trí tuệ IPHouse và Cộng sự

  • INTRODUCE
  • PRACTICES
    • Patent/Utility Solution (Model)
    • Trademarks
    • Industrial Design
    • Copyrights & Related Rights
    • Plant Variety Protection
    • Enforcement & Litigation
  • OUR PEOPLE
    • Partners
    • Patent & Design Department
    • Trademark Department
    • Litigation Department
    • Translation Department
    • IP Consultation & Strategy Department
  • NEWS & EVENTS
    • General Information
    • Legal news
    • Vietnam Intellectual Property Issues
    • Recruiment
  • CONTACT
  • English
Home » Applicant guide for filing a patent application in Vietnam – Part III: Unpatentable subject-matters

Applicant guide for filing a patent application in Vietnam – Part III: Unpatentable subject-matters

7:35 am 04/05/2021 488 views

Patentable, statutory or patent-eligible subject-matter is subject-matters which is susceptible of patent protection. The laws or patent practices of many countries provide that certain subject-matter is excluded from patentability, even if the invention is novel and non-obvious. Together with criteria such as novelty, inventive step or nonobviousness, utility, and industrial applicability, which differ from country to country, the question of whether a particular subject matter is patentable is one of the substantive requirements for patentability.

This post, provided by IPHOUSE & ASSOCIATES, is intended to help international clients, individuals and organizations, understand subject-matters which are excluded from patentability in Vietnam.

Patent subject matter eligibility

1. Legal basis (Article 8 & 59 of the Law on Intellectual Property Law)

Patents generally protect products or processes, except the following subject matters shall be excluded from patentability in accordance with Article 59 of the Law on Intellectual Property Law in Vietnam:

  • Discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods;
  • Schemes, plans, rules and methods for performing mental acts, training domestic animals, playing games, doing business, and computer programs;
  • Presentations of information;
  • Aesthetic solutions;
  • Plant and animal varieties;
  • Essentially biological processes for the production of plants and animals, except microbiological processes;
  • Methods of disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment for humans or animals.

Aditionally, inventions should be excluded from patentability if they lie wholly within one of the exclusions defined in clause 1 of Article 8 of the Law on Intellectual Property:

  • Inventions contravening the Laws of State;
  • Inventions contrary to public order or social morality;
  • Inventions detrimetal to the national defence and security.

2. Inventions contravening the Laws of States

Gambling facilities, drug-taking appliances, apparatus for conterfeiting backnotes, bills, official documents, certificates, seals, historic relics are all contravening the Laws of States and they shall be considered non-patentable.

3. Inventions contravening public order or social morality

The term “social morality” refers to ethical and moral norms and rules recognized as justifiable and accepted by the public. Its connotation is based on certain cultural background which continously changes over time and social progress, and varies from region to region.

Where the publication, exploitation of the invention is contravening/contrary to the social morality, no patent should therefore be granted for such invention. Inventions such an artifical sexual organ not for purpose of medical use, a method of mating a human-being with an animal, a process for modification of the germ line genetic identify of human beings, use of human embryos for industrial or commercial purposes are considered to contravene the social morality and thus shall not be patentable.

The term “contrary to public order” means that the exploitation or use of an invention may cause detriment to the public of society or may disrupt the good order of the State and the society.

4. Inventions detrimental to the national defence and security

Methods of nuclear transformation and the substances obtained thereby are much concern with the national interests in defence and public security, and shall not thus be monopolized.

Nuclear Bomb – one of the unpatentable subject-matters

Substances obtained by means of the nuclear transformation mainly refer to the various radioisotopes manufactured or produced by accelerators, reactors, other nuclear reaction appratus. Such radioisotopes are considered unpatentable.

5. Discoveries

The term “discoveries” refers to the revelation of substances, properties, et cetera, which objectively exist in the nature but have not been discovered yet. The revelation of a known entity’s (e.g.” compound, composition) new property/function is mainly considered a discovery and therefore shall not be patentable.

Newton’s Third Law

6. Methods of disease treatment

Methods of treatment for diseases refer to the processes of intercepting, relieving or eleminating the cause or focus of diseases so that the living (humans or animals) bodies may recover or gain health or relieve pain. Such methods are excluded from patentability.

In regard to a method possibly for both treatment and non-treatment purposes, unless it is stated clearly that the method only serves the non-treatment purpose, it shall be considered nonpatentable.

IPHOUSE & ASSOCIATES is in charge of the article. All rights reserved. Any copying, reproduction or distribution of the article without permission of the author is strictly prohibited.

For more details of the patent subject-matter eligibility, please contact us at:

Dao Danh Phuoc (Mr.)
Head of Patent and Design Department – IPHOUSE & ASSOCIATES
Phone: (+84)967742458 (direct)
Email: daodanhphuoc@iphouse.vn
Website: http://iphouse.vn/

Tweet
Next Post Timing of the start of substantive examination – The difference between a Hague application and a national counterpart
Previous Post Country statistics of Vietnam

Related posts

  • Applicant guide for filing a patent application in Vietnam – Part II: Filing under the Paris Convention
  • Applicant guide for filing a patent application in Vietnam – Part XI: Methods for non-diagnosis/treatment purposes and patentability thereof
  • Applicant guide for filing a patent application in Vietnam – Part X: Patentability of methods of diagnosis or treatment of disease
  • Applicant guide for filing a patent application in Vietnam – Part IX: Correction of mistranslation
  • Notes for Hague System Users to Designate Vietnam – Part II: Common Notifications of Refusal
  • Applicant guide for filing a patent application in Vietnam – Part VIII: “Use” claims

LATEST NEWS

  • (Update) Resumption of IP application reception at the IP Vietnam’s headquarter

    (Update) Resumption of IP application reception at the IP Vietnam’s headquarter

    On July 19, 2021, Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (IP Vietnam) suspended activities of receiving IP applications … Read more

  • (Update) Further Notice of IP Vietnam on extention in statutory compliances due to Covid-19 pandemic

    (Update) Further Notice of IP Vietnam on extention in statutory compliances due to Covid-19 pandemic

    Following up on Notice 7581/TB-SHTT, dated 2 August 2021, the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (IP Vietnam) has … Read more

  • Change in IP Vietnam’s domain name

    Change in IP Vietnam’s domain name

    IP Vietnam (Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam), formerly known as  NOIP (National Office of Intellectual Property … Read more

  • Notice of IP VIETNAM on extention in statutory compliances due to Covid-19 pandemic

    Notice of IP VIETNAM on extention in statutory compliances due to Covid-19 pandemic

    On 2 August 2021, the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (IP VIETNAM) issued Notice 7581/TB-SHTT (Notice '81) with … Read more

  • (Update) Loose to the requirements of legally eligible person to sign documents

    (Update) Loose to the requirements of legally eligible person to sign documents

    Following up on the Notice No. 13822/TB-SHTT, dated 23 November 2020 (Notice 22'), the Intellectual Property Office of … Read more

  • Temporary suspension of IP application reception at the IP Vietnam’s headquarter

    Temporary suspension of IP application reception at the IP Vietnam’s headquarter

    On July 19, 2021, Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (IP Vietnam) has announced its reception counter will … Read more

FEATURED IP CASE

  • Handling of notification of refusal of IP VIETNAM

    Handling of notification of refusal of IP VIETNAM

    In the patent prosecution, responding to IP VIETNAM's Office Action (i.e., notification of refusal) is one of vital … Read more

  • Typical case on how to overcome successfully IP VIETNAM’s notification of refusal

    Typical case on how to overcome successfully IP VIETNAM’s notification of refusal

    In the patent procecution, patent drafting is probably the most important aspect of the patent application because the … Read more

  • Nhat Hai New Technology Joint Stock Company (OIC NEW) – Leading nanotechnology from natural medicinal herbs

    Nhat Hai New Technology Joint Stock Company (OIC NEW) – Leading nanotechnology from natural medicinal herbs

    Intellectual Property (IP) is a vital factor to create a driving force for innovation in each country. It also promotes … Read more

ASSOCIATION MEMBER

partner-img
partner-img
partner-img
partner-img
partner-img
partner-img

CONTACT INFORMATION

  • IPHOUSE & Associates
  • Address: No. 60, Lot 2 Long Bien ward, Long Bien district, Hanoi, Vietnam
  • Telephone: 091.555.1198
  • Email: office@iphouse.vn
  • Website: http://iphouse.vn

Service

  • Patent/Utility Solution (Model)
  • Trademarks
  • Industrial Design

GOOGLE MAPS

Copyright © 2021 IPHOUSE.VN