How Important is End-User License Agreement in Vietnam?

End-user license agreement (EULA) is a legal agreement enter between two parties which are software developer or provider and software user. Terms and Conditions could cover a large scope of matters, for example, payment schedule, privacy policy, providing service to third party, solving arisen disputes and even inclusive of EULA. Whilst, EULA almost focuses on agreement of giving the user using software right and includes the regulations related to grant of license, limitations or using period of the software.

Software Compliance Law Firm in Vietnam

Normally, after the user downloads the software and officially install it, an EULA would be shown out for user to understand its rights and obligations and agreed to. EULA may be called by different names which are License Agreement, Software license agreement, etc.

What is the nature of EULA?

This is an commitment which developer or provider create and user must abide by before installing the software. However, this does not mean from the time user agrees to EULA, user will be the owner of the software. The user only has the legal using right to that software. Some important matters to consider would be granting of license, limitation of granting of license, and IP.

Firstly, “Granting of License” is a prerequisite of this agreement when clearly state that user will be granted using software right. Secondly, the term “Limitation” is also a very important term of EULA as after installing, user may utilize the software in lots of purposes which are both legal and illegal and may affect the software developer/provider or any third party. Thus, this term particularly regulates the activities which users are not allow to do while using the software. Thirdly, “Intellectual Property” is a pretty popular term in almost all type of agreements to protect the developer in copyrights. Besides, there are other terms such as “software update, maintenance and technical assistance, ability limitation, regulated law, etc.” and for each particular case and purpose of the owner, the agreement might also cover other appropriate terms.

End User License Agreement is a very important agreement attached to the software to guide the users and protect rights of the software developer or provider. Therefore, this agreement should be anticipating all cases as software owner wish to avoid disputes and even in the case of violation, the agreement will be the starting points to recover the damages to the developer and software owner.

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Condition, Procedures and Period of Patent Registration in Vietnam

Before applying the patent registration, applicant needs to find out the matters related to conditions, procedures and period from the time of submission the application until granting the protection title when registering a patent to avoid the cases that National Office of Intellectual Property in Vietnam (NOIP) may issue the notification on denying examination due to not meeting criterias or non compatible dossiers.

Register invention in Vietnam

According to Law on Intellectual Property in Vietnam, a patent needs to satisfy 03 following criterias to be protected:

-An invention shall be deemed novel if it has not yet been publicly disclosed by use or by means of a written description or any other form either inside or outside Vietnam before the filing date or the priority date, as applicable, of the invention registration application.

-An invention shall be deemed not yet publicly disclosed if it is known to only a limited number of persons who are obliged to keep it secret.

-An invention shall not be deemed to have lost its novelty if it is published in the following cases, provided that the invention registration application is filed within six (6) months from the date of publication:

1.It is published by another person without permission from the person having the right to register it;

2.It is published in the form of a scientific presentation by the person having the right to register it;

3.It is displayed at a national exhibition of Vietnam or at an official or officially recognized international exhibition by the person having the right to register it.

-An invention shall be deemed to be of an inventive nature if, based on technical solutions already publicly disclosed by use or by means of a written description or any other form either inside or outside Vietnam prior to the filing date or the priority date as applicable of the application for registration of the invention, the invention constitutes inventive progress and cannot be easily created by a person with average knowledge in the art;

-An invention shall be deemed to be susceptible of industrial application if it is possible to realize mass manufacture or production of products or repeated application of the process which is the subject matter of the invention, and to achieve stable results.

For registration procedurds, after the application was filing, it will go through 02 phases of examination:

-The application will be examined formality from 1-3 months. If the application meets the formality criteria according to the law, NOIP will issue the decision on accepting the formality of the application. Then, it will be published on Industrial Property Official Gazette within 02 months from the date of issuing the above decision.

-Then, when having the request, the application will go through a substantial examination within 12-16 months. If meeting the protection criteria as mentioned above, NOIP will issue the Patent to applicant.

However, the actual examining period will be shorter or longer than as regulated.

In case of authorizing ANT Lawyers as IP agent in Vietnam, the client needs to provide the following documents:

-Name and address of the applicant;

-Name and address of inventor(s);

-POA to ANT Lawyers;

-Specification, Figures and Claims of the patent;

-Priority documents (if any);

-Other related documents.

ANT Lawyers - A Law firm in Vietnam is supported by a team of experienced patent, trademark, design attorneys with qualification and skills handling full range of legal services relating to intellectual property rights in Vietnam.  We have specialized in the preparation and registration of patents, trademarks and designs for our clients.

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How can i protect trademark around the world?

If you want to protect your trademark around the world you should keep in mind one thing - trademarks are territorial. The registration of your trademark in one country doesn’t mean protection in the whole world. If you want your mark protected worldwide you have to register it in each country of the world but this is such an expensive and long process.

Trademark in Vietnam

The most cost-effective decision will be the registration of your mark in the countries where you already have or plan to have your business.

Also, there are some opportunities for those who want to register their brand in the European Union countries - a EU trademark which includes the registration of your mark in all 28 European Union countries. One more advantage is that applying for a EU trademark is much cheaper than for each EU country separately. But you should remember that your registered trademark must be used in commerce, otherwise, it can be canceled.

Source: Quora 

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How can I register an idea?

You can’t protect an idea, however you can protect an invention. Of course, the idea is the first step in that creation process, but until you create something tangible, there is no protection for you there. Once your idea manifests into an actual invention, then you can work through the process of protecting it through a patent. Depending on your invention, you will likely be considering one of the following patents:

Register invention in Vietnam 

Utility Patent: This type of patent focuses on function. It is appropriate to file for this patent if you have created a brand new product that has never been invented before.

Design Patent: This type of patent is appropriate if you have a product that is already established on the market, but you have created a new look that is incredibly unique.

In some instances, your invention may be eligible for both types of patents. To best determine where you should go from here, you should consult a patent attorney.

This article is for informational and educational purposes only. This should not be taken as a substitute for legal advice. This does not create an attorney-client relationship with anyone who reads it.

Source: Quora

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The Benefits of Registering the Trademark

The claim of ownership: Registering your trademark gives you the mark of ownership, which essentially means, that you retain the exclusive use of the mark and no one else can use it. Thereby, helping you establish your brand more effectively.

Trademark in Vietnam 

Listing in IP Vietnam’s Database:

Being listed on IP Vietnam’s online database ensures that others know that you own the mark and have exclusive rights to using it. It acts as a deterrent against possible misuse.

The right to use the ® symbol:

Once your trademark has been registered; you have the right to use the ® symbol which shields your trademark from infringement by granting it legal protection.

Sell and License your brand:

Having a trademark can help you sell and license your brand and also helps in brand recognition.

Protects from unfair practices:

 It secures your business from unfair practices such as the use of deceptively similar marks by rivals that could hurt your brand’s image. A trademark gives you legal protection from such unfair practices.

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Directive No.10/CT-TTg on Promoting Prevention and Control of Covid-19

At the moment many countries in the world, the epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (Covid-19) continues to have many new complicated and unpredictable developments, especially in Korea, Japan, Italy, Iran and other countries. On February 25, 2020, the Prime Minister signed the Directive no.10/CT-TTg on promoting prevention and control of the Covid-19 epidemic (“Directive no.10/CT-TTg) to continue the effective implementation of Covid-19 anti-epidemic solutions.

Ministries, Departments, People’s Committee of Provinces and cities under central continues to improve against epidemic, do not neglect, subjective, strictly implementation of prevention solutions, anti-epidemic in accordance with Directive no.05/CT-TTg dated January 28, 2020 and Directive no.06 / CT-TTg dated January 31, 2020 of the Prime Minister; continue to strictly control people crossing trails and openings in border provinces; strictly implement solutions on the management, control and prevention of epidemics in aviation activities, tourism and cross-border transportation of goods. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs continued to discuss with the Chinese about the Vietnamese citizens who come from epidemic cities and provinces of China could only enter Vietnam through international border gates.

For the people who enter from epidemic areas of South Korea and from epidemic areas of territories or other countries: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately announced to the South Korea and countries and territories with Covid-19 epidemic of anti-epidemic measures which are applied in Vietnam, in which Vietnam will pause for entry Vietnam for persons who coming from or passing through the epidemic area, the people who entry for official purposes in special cases need to declare the medical situation and isolate for 14 days. The government notices Vietnamese citizens not to go to epidemic areas in other countries, except in case of necessity. If they do go to this area, when they enter Vietnam again, they will be isolated for 14 days. In addition, it is important to notice and pursuade the Vietnamese citizen living and working in South Korea (especially in Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk) to comply with guidance on local measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19, do not go to an infected area and has the ability to be affected by the epidemic recommended by the host country.

In addition, the Ministry of Health performs the isolation in the medical facility for the suspected person and other people as required by the health organizations. The Ministry of Defense prepare material facilities, equipment and places for reception and accommodation to conduct intensive isolation for people who are not in cases of concentrated isolation at health organizations; directing the application of measures to reduce the density of isolation in border provinces to ensure cross-contamination in isolated areas. The Ministry of Public Security shall notify the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Health and the People’s Committees of provinces and cities concerned about information on passengers from the epidemic area to enter Vietnam for the implementation of medical isolation. The Ministry of Transport direct the flights from the region of South Korea landing in Van Don Airports (Quang Ninh Province), Phu Cat (Binh Dinh province) and Can Tho (Can Tho city). The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recommends that people restrict travel to epidemic areas in the unnecessary case; If they still go this place, when they enter Vietnam, they will have to be isolated for 14 days as the regulation.

In addition, the Ministry of Health continues to implement mandatory medical declarations for cases of entry from epidemic countries and territories. People’s committees of provinces and cities under central authority performs medical monitoring and timely medical isolation when there are any symptoms of the disease against the persons coming from the epidemic area into Vietnam within 14 days; perform supervision, medical declaration, health monitoring for citizens from other parts of South Korea.

By the issuance and implementation of Directive no.10/CT-TTg, the Government of Vietnam hopes to quickly prevent and reverse the Covid-19 epidemic to stabilize the socio-economic situation for the country.

The legal direct impact to companies and business will be the delay in visa, work permit, temporary residence cardapplication for foreigners entering Vietnam.  Manufacturing companies and other companies in other sectors impacted by disrupted goods transportation, people traveling restriction will face financial loses, leading to being unable to pay salary, social insurance and other mandatory contributions.  Further, they might unlawfully terminate the labour contracts with employee.  Potential disputes in labour areas would rise in big scale.  The disruption of goods and services would also lead to dispute in performance of contracts, which will need to be closely monitored.

ANT Lawyers is a law firm in Vietnam located in the business centers of Hanoi, Danang, Ho Chi Minh city. We provide convenient access to our clients. Please contact us to book your time in advance to let us provide our best services.

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Withdrawal of request for investigating of anti-dumping on welding material products originating from China, Thailand and Malaysia

Welding material is one of the most important industrial auxiliary sector, which is indispensable to fields such as: shipbuilding, cars and motorbikes production, other electronic industries. In the first 7 months 2019, Ministry of Industry and Trade carried out examination dossiers of 3 cases, one of them is dossier requesting to investigate to apply anti-dumping measure on welding material.

On Jun 28^th, 2019, Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam (Investigating Body) received the Dossier requesting for investigating to apply anti-dumping measure on welding material products originating from People’sRepublic of China, Kingdom of Thailand and Malaysia. This dossier is applied by companies representing the domestic industry (Requesting Party

Requesting Party includes 01 company: Kim Tin Group Joint Stock Company. Kim Tin Group Joint Stock Company is a large enterprise in manufacturing and trading of welding materials: welding rods, welding wire, welding flux, color metal, steel nails, ligature, machines, devices, board of MDF, mineral exploitation and logistics service in Vietnam.

On Oct 28^th, 2019, Requesting Party fully submitted additional information at request.

On Nov 07^th, 2019, Investigating Body confirmed that Dossier was complete, valid according to regulations of law on trade remedies.

On Jan 25^th, 2020, Trade Remedies Authority received official dispatch of Requesting Party on withdrawing dossier requesting for investigating to apply anti-dumping measure on welding material products.

Due to Requesting Party’ s request for withdrawing dossier, Trade Remedies Authority informed that no investigation to apply anti-dumping measure on welding material products originating from People’s Republic of China, Kingdom of Thailand and Malaysia is initiated.

Our international trade and tax lawyers, and antitrust lawyers at ANT Lawyers, a law firm in Vietnam have always followed the development of situation and update the clients on relevant matters.

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