Vietnam – New Version of the International Patent Classification (IPC) Applied


The Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (IPVN) has issued Notice No. 4031/TB-SHTT dated 26 December 2024, announcing that the IPC Version 2025.01, under the Strasbourg Agreement concerning the IPC, will be applied in Vietnam starting from 1 January 2025.

Under Annex I – Part II of Decree 65/2023/ND-CP, issued on 23 August 2023 by the Government, applicants are required to indicate the IPC symbols, including sections, classes, subclasses, groups (or subgroups), in the “International Patent Classification” section of the application form. If an applicant fails to classify or incorrectly classifies their invention/utility solution (utility model), the IPVN will classify it and charge a fee as regulated. According to the notice, beginning 1 January 2025, applicants must classify their inventions and utility solutions in accordance with IPC Version 2025.01 when completing the application form.

On 16 December 2024, the IPVN posted a Vietnamese translation of IPC Version 2025.01 on its website for public comment. The finalized Vietnamese translation has since been published alongside the notice on the website.

For more information on the use of the IPC in Vietnam, please refer to our previous article: Vietnam: The New Version of the International Patent Classification (IPC) 2023.01 Applied from 1 January 2023.

By Hoang Thi Luyen

Patent Department

INVESTIP – IP LAW FIRM