The Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (IPVN) and the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) have extended the PPH Pilot Program for Phase 3. Like Phase 1 and Phase 2, Phase 3 will also last for two years (1 June 2023 to 31 May 2025) with a quota of 100 PPH requests per year. During the first year of Phase 3, the IPVN will receive PPH requests from 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2024 or until the 100th request is received before 31 May 2024. The same applies to the second year, starting from 1 June 2024. The quota for the second year will remain 100, even if fewer than 100 PPH requests are filed in the first year. The requirements for filing a PPH request, documents to be submitted, and procedures specified in the IPVN’s Guidelines for Phase 3 are unchanged compared to those in the Guidelines for Phase 1 and Phase 2.
Korea is currently the largest foreign investment partner in Vietnam. Korean enterprises have made significant contributions to Vietnam’s socio-economic development in recent years. However, Korean patent applicants seem to be unaware of the effectiveness of this PPH program. According to the IPVN’s statistics for Phase 1 and Phase 2, the quota of PPH requests was not reached each year. Specifically, the IPVN received 89 PPH requests in Phase 1 (1 June 2019 – 31 May 2021) and 29 PPH requests in Phase 2 (1 June 2021 – 31 May 2023). No PPH requests were filed with the KIPO in either phase.
On 22 June 2023, during the Signing Ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two patent offices, the Director of the IPVN recommended that the KIPO consider and inform the Korea Trade and Investment Promotion (KOTRA) and related agencies to provide information to Korean enterprises intending to do business in Vietnam to study and utilize this PPH program.
For more information, please refer to our previous articles related to Phases 1 and 2:
https://investip.vn/korea-vietnam-patent-prosecution-highway-pph-pilot-program/
https://investip.vn/korea-vietnam-patent-prosecution-highway-pph-pilot-program-continued/
https://investip.vn/korea-vietnam-patent-prosecution-highway-pph-pilot-program-notice-issued-2/
Should you require any further information or assistance, please contact us at patent@investip.vn
By Dao Thu Trang
Deputy Director of Patent Department
