Patent Annuity Fees in Vietnam: 7 Checks to Keep a Patent in Force

To keep a granted Vietnamese patent in force, the owner must arrange the required annual maintenance and pay the official fees on time which are commonly called patent annuity fees in Vietnam. They remain necessary after the examination and grant work has finished, including where the application began under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Maintenance is handled by the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (IP Vietnam). It requires a maintenance request and the prescribed official payments. The resulting official confirmation identifies the period maintained; a payment to a service provider alone does not establish that the procedure has been completed.

Failure to maintain a patent can end the owner’s rights and affect agreements that rely on them. Annual maintenance is therefore part of protecting intellectual property in Vietnam, alongside establishing ownership and defining the rights granted to licensees.

Quick Reference

Vietnamese invention and utility solution patents require annual maintenance after grant. The request and official payments are due before the current annual period ends. A late request is permitted for up to six months afterward, with the prescribed late charge. If the payment requirements are not met within the permitted period, protection ends from the start of the first unpaid validity year. Annual payments do not extend the patent beyond its maximum term.

Patent Annuity Fees in Vietnam: 7 Checks to Keep a Patent in Force

Annual Maintenance Is a Condition of Continuing Protection

A granted patent remains subject to maintenance requirements throughout its term. The annual payment relates to an identified validity year of the Vietnamese patent. Payment for a corresponding patent in another country does not satisfy the Vietnamese obligation, even where both patents arose from the same PCT application.

The first year’s maintenance and use fees form part of the grant procedure. Later annual payments maintain the patent for subsequent periods, within its remaining term. A patent document proves that the patent was granted; it does not, by itself, prove that all later maintenance requirements have been met.

The grant date and official maintenance history establish which annual period is due. Where those records are incomplete or inconsistent, the position needs to be checked against the official record. An invoice is a request for payment, not confirmation of the period that IP Vietnam has recorded as maintained.

Keep the Annual Deadline Separate from Final Expiry

Annual maintenance years are counted from the grant date. The next obligation therefore needs to be checked against that date and the years already maintained. The date an invoice arrives, or the date the owner receives the patent document, does not determine the legal deadline.

The patent’s maximum term is a separate matter. An invention patent can last for up to 20 years from its filing date. For a patent obtained through PCT national phase entry in Vietnam, that means the international filing date. Grant does not start a new 20-year term.

A utility solution patent has a shorter maximum term of 10 years from filing and also needs annual maintenance. In either case, paying another annual fee does not extend the patent beyond its maximum term. A patent granted after a lengthy examination may therefore have less time remaining than the owner expects.

The Official Amount Depends on the Patent and Maintenance Year

The official amount includes the maintenance charge and use fee, together with fees for examining the request, recording the result and publishing it. Professional fees charged by a representative are separate from these statutory payments. A quotation should distinguish them so that the official amount can be checked.

The maintenance charge and use fee depend on the number of independent claims in the granted patent. These are claims that define protected subject matter in their own right. The total number of claims is not the correct basis for those charges; the calculation must use the relevant independent claims in the granted text.

The use fee increases for later maintenance years. The amount must be checked against the fee rules applicable to the payment. Last year’s invoice cannot establish the amount legally due for a later period.

The official use fee is a government fee for maintaining the patent. It is separate from a royalty paid under a license agreement.

Maintenance Requires a Valid Request and Official Payments

The maintenance request and official payments must be submitted to IP Vietnam before the current annual period ends, subject to the limited late-payment procedure below. Instructing a representative or transferring money to it does not, by itself, satisfy the filing and payment requirements.

The request must identify the patent and the owner and satisfy the prescribed document requirements. Where it is filed through a representative, the required authorization must support that representation. An incorrect applicant, an invalid authorization or insufficient official fees can make the request deficient.

IP Vietnam examines the maintenance request and may issue a notice identifying deficiencies and proposing refusal. The owner must correct the deficiencies or provide a justified response within the applicable period. An unresolved deficiency can lead to refusal, even though a request was initially filed.

Late Payment Is Limited and Lapse Can Affect Other Legal Rights

Vietnam allows a late maintenance request within six months after the relevant annual period ends, with the prescribed charge for each late month. The late procedure requires the necessary request and payments. It should not be treated as an unlimited opportunity to restore a patent by paying whenever the omission is discovered.

If the required payment is not made within the permitted period, the patent’s effect ends automatically from the beginning of the first unpaid validity year. The loss of protection therefore takes effect from that earlier date, rather than only when the missed payment is discovered.

Loss of the patent rights can also affect a license. Vietnamese IP Law provides that an industrial property license agreement ceases to have effect if the licensor’s underlying rights terminate. For an agreement covering several patents or other rights, the effect on the wider agreement needs separate review.

Once the six-month late period has ended, a patent that has lapsed cannot ordinarily be restored merely by paying the overdue fees. Any argument based on exceptional circumstances or an incorrect lapse record needs specific legal assessment. Any contractual obligation to maintain the patent, claim arising from its lapse, or enforcement action concerning an earlier period requires separate consideration.

Representation and Ownership Require Separate Legal Checks

A foreign company without a production or business establishment in Vietnam must act through an authorized IP representation service organization for the local procedure. The same requirement applies to a foreign individual who neither permanently resides in Vietnam nor has such an establishment here. This organization is referred to here as the IP representative. Using an international payment service does not remove the applicable local representation requirement.

The power of attorney for IP registration in Vietnam must cover the relevant representative and procedure and remain effective. Authority given to the firm that handled the application does not automatically authorize a different firm to act after grant. Its scope and duration therefore matter when representation changes.

A change of representative is distinct from a change of patent owner. A patent assignment agreement takes effect only when registered with IP Vietnam. A company name change or succession following a merger requires the appropriate procedure to update the record. Paying an annual fee does not itself record an assignment or correct ownership details.

Maintenance Confirmation Has a Specific Legal Purpose

A bank transfer, a filing receipt and an official maintenance confirmation prove different things. The transfer shows that money was sent. The filing receipt shows that a request was received. The official confirmation establishes the result of the maintenance procedure for the identified patent and period.

When a maintenance request is valid, IP Vietnam issues the maintenance notice, records the result in the national register and publishes it. If the request remains subject to a deficiency notice or has been refused, a filing receipt should not be presented as evidence that maintenance has been confirmed.

The maintenance request, official payment evidence and resulting notice help establish what was filed, paid and confirmed. Instructions and correspondence may also be relevant to a claim that a representative failed to carry out its agreed work, as explained in our guide to evidence for contract disputes in Vietnam. Such a contractual claim is separate from the legal status of the patent.

Maintenance confirmation does not protect a patent from an invalidation challenge or resolve a separate ownership dispute. Nor does paying the annual fees enlarge the scope of its claims. A business relying on a patent for licensing, a sale or enforcement needs to distinguish compliance with maintenance requirements from these other questions about the right.

Patent rights and trademark rights must be considered separately. A trademark search in Vietnam helps assess potential conflicts involving a product name or logo, while trademark registration in Vietnam concerns protection for the mark and the goods or services it covers. Maintaining a patent does not maintain a separate trademark registration.

Frequently Asked Questions About Patent Annuity Fees in Vietnam

Q1: Are annual fees paid to WIPO if the patent came through the PCT?

No. Once the Vietnamese patent has been granted, its annual maintenance is handled with IP Vietnam. Paying annual fees for patents in other countries does not maintain the Vietnamese patent.

Q2: Do we have to wait until six months before the annual deadline to file?

The current patent-maintenance rule does not specify a six-month opening window. It requires the request and payments before the current annual period ends. Confirm how IP Vietnam will accept and allocate a proposed early payment before relying on it.

Q3: Is a bank transfer to the provider enough proof?

No. It proves a transfer to that provider. Ask for evidence of the maintenance request and official payment, followed by the official result for the correct patent and year.

Q4: Does paying an annual fee give the patent a longer term?

It maintains the patent for the relevant annual period within its maximum term. It does not move final expiry or restart the term when the patent is granted.

Q5: Can a different provider handle the next annual payment?

Yes, provided the applicable representation and authorization requirements are satisfied. The new IP representative’s authority must cover the maintenance procedure. Changing representatives does not extend the legal deadline.

About the Author

Tuan Nguyen is the Managing Partner and founder of ANT Lawyers, with more than 20 years of experience across legal practice, management and compliance. He advises foreign companies, investors and manufacturers on corporate, commercial, international trade, regulatory and dispute-related matters in Vietnam. His work also connects IP protection with the decisions businesses make when entering the market, working with local partners and managing their operations. He holds an LLB from Hanoi National University School of Law and an MBA from Warwick Business School, and is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

About ANT Lawyers, a Law Firm in Vietnam

Founded in 2012, ANT Lawyers is a Vietnam law firm with offices in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. Our intellectual property lawyers advise on trademark filing and opposition, enforcement and licensing in Vietnam. We combine legal analysis with practical understanding of Vietnam’s regulatory environment and local administrative practice.

General Disclaimer

This article is for general informational purposes only, does not constitute legal advice, and does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Vietnamese laws, regulations and administrative practice change over time, and the correct position for any matter depends on its specific facts and the rules in force when action is taken. Verify the current position before relying on anything stated here, and consult qualified counsel on your specific situation.