Utilization of information technology  

To meet the rising need of individuals and organizationsfor acquisition of industrial property rights, IP Viet Nam was enhancing the utilization of information technology, running online public service level 4 according to plans of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Government on improving administrative procedures. 

In 2020, the number of industrial property filings received by the Office through the online public service were 15,231, an increase of 51.8% in comparison with the number of 2019, accounting for 22.7% of the total filings. 

The Modernization of Business Services of the Intellectual Property Office of Viet Nam (WIPO IPAS) Project in cooperation with WIPO successfully completed the module for patents and utility solutions. By the end of 2020, the deployment of WIPO IPAS have concluded with three subjectsof patent, utility solution and industrial design, among others. 

Industrial property electronic libraries (IPLib, WIPO PUBPLISH) were updated monthly to serve social access. The database of full text patents DIGIPAT was successfullymigrated into WIPO PUBPLISHallowingusers to search more effectively (the software used web-based interface with more aesthetics, high speed and accuracy, users allowed to personalize their searches depending on the purpose of use). 

 

WIPO PUBLISH interface 

  

To strengthen IT capacity to support in-house operations, IP Viet Nam actively implemented several important IT projects, namely: WIPO IPAS, Digitization of industrial property dossiers and IT procurement. Through these projects, IP Viet Nam would establish a qualified data center with modern IT equipmentand an adequate and reliable database to serve industrial property examination. 

Responding to the need of public access  

In 2020, twelve monthlyIndustrial Property Gazettes in electronic form were published and uploaded to the office website (from the edition382 to 393, 06 volumes for each) on the 25th of each month. The total number of pages of all the Gazettesin 2020 was84,924, an increase of 7% compared to2019. In line with the industrial property administration system, the publication of patent and industrial design datawas all conducted on WIPO IPAS, and thus, ensured the quality and optimalityof the overall workflow. 

Concerning industrial property statistics, IP Viet Nam monthly published data on applications and registrations by provinces on the office website. It was notable that the Office have complied a full list of industrial property applications and registrations of 63 provinces and cities having been published in the past 38 years (from 1982 to the end of 2020) and publicly posted on the portal to support IP administration work of localitiesas well as to make the source available tointerested researchers and readers. The Office also provided WIPO with yearly IP statistics as one of the sources to calculate the Global Innovation Index (GII). 

Besides, the latest version (ver.2021.01) of International Patent Classifications (IPC) and the International Classification of Goods and Services (Nice Classification ver.11-2021) were updated and applied by IP Viet Nam on the same effective date by WIPO. This was a notable effort made by IP Viet Nam over the past years to ensure classification consistency of industrial property applications filed by foreigners with IP Viet Nam as well as thosefiled by Vietnamese applicants with foreign IP Offices.The Office was translating the list of goods and services under WIPO’s Madrid system for approvalto support the filing of international trademarks in Viet Nam and vice versa. 

Enhancement of industrial property information utilization and IP dissemination  

In 2020, public service of industrial property libraries was stabilized with 244 visitors and 1,202 material loans. During the year, IP Vietnam provided training on industrial property search forhundreds of trainees from Hanoi University of Pharmacy, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry, Viettel Group, Ha Long Shipbuilding One Member of Responsibility Limited Company, Vietnamese Academy of Forest Sciences andFPT University. The Office also instructed 300 final-year students, mainly from Ha Noi on IP search and registration procedures. This activity was repeatedlyconducted since 2015providedhundreds of students with IP knowledge and skills for innovation and creativity. 

 

The seminar “Promotion of invention registration based on research results"jointly organized in Tay Nguyen Research Institute, 23 October 2020 by the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology and IP Viet Nam. The seminar discussed various issues concerning invention registration procedures, determination of subject matters eligible for invention registration based on research results; patent disclosure and search; introduction of some industrial property databases, particularly providing guidance on utilization and practice of patent drafting using the specialized software for patent drafting 

Though IP training and dissemination activitieswere significantly affected by Covid-19, the IP outreach in 2020 still gained encouraging outcomes compared to 2019. The Office in cooperation with media and press agencies withinand outside the Ministry of Science and Technology carried out various communication activities to celebrate the World IP Day (26 April), the Viet Nam Science and Technology Day (18 May) and IP Viet Nam’s Anniversary (29 July). Since the beginning of 2020, the column “Vietnamese Patents” whichintroduced patents of Vietnamese holders became a source of reference for businesses and interested readers. The number of articles posted on the Office website increased by over 50% in 2020 compared to 2019. Remarkably, the number of news and articles contributing to the portal of the Ministry of Science and Technology increased dramatically (from 127 news and articles in 2019 to 297 in 2020), eventually making IP Viet Nam the most frequent contributoramong agencies under the Ministry of Science and Technology in providing information to the Ministry's Portal. 

 

Some articles on the column “Vietnamese Patents” 

  

Linkage withuniversities and institutions to support innovation and creativity  

In 2020, the task to strengthen TISC network and IP-Hub as well as build up a professional force specialized in IP and technology transfer for universities/institutions continued to be carried out by launching on IP Viet Nam website a column on TISC Network and IP-Hub. The Office maintained online meetings with WIPO experts to implement cooperative activities as planned. Five training modules were conductedin the year for members of the network members in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City with a focus on providing universities/institutions with skills forintellectual property assets management, invention registration profilepreparation and drafting technology transfer agreements. Hundreds of inventors and researchers from universities/institutions/businesses beingmembers of TISC network and IP-Hub were advised and consulted on invention registration procedures, patent drafting and patent search. 

 

Training on Module 11 – 13 for IP and technology transfer professionals of TISC network and IP-Hub held by IP Viet Nam and Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 03 – 05 October 2020. 

  

In addition, IP Viet Nam actively participated in activities that helped improve theGlobal Innovation Index(GII) and Global Competitiveness Index (GCI)in relation to the field of intellectual property as well as conductedtraining and dissemination on technology development and innovation for various individuals and organizations. 

  

  

Industrial Property Information Center (IPIC)