THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM ------ Independence - Freedom – Happiness
--------No. 22/2009/TT-BTC
Hanoi, February 4, 2009
CIRCULAR
REGULATING ON RATES, COLLECTION, REMITTANCE, MANAGEMENT AND USE OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY FEES AND FEES AND CHARGES
THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE
Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 57/2002/ND-CP of June 3, 2002, detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Fees and Charges;
Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 24/2006/ND-CP of March 6, 2006, amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government's Decree No. 57/2002/ND-CP of June 3, 2002, detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Fees and Charges;
Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 103/2006/ND-CP of September 22, 2006, detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Intellectual Property Law on industrial property;
Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 118/2008/ND-CP of November 27, 2008, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;
The Ministry of Finance hereby prescribes rates and collection, remittance, management and use of industrial property fees and charges as follows:
I. GENERAL PROVISIONS
1. Vietnamese and foreign organizations and individuals who file requests to the state management agency in charge of intellectual property to perform works, provide services related to the protection of industrial property rights shall pay fees and charges under this Circular.
2. Enclosed with this Circular is the Schedule of industrial property charge and fee rates (see the Appendix).
3. The state management agency in charge of industrial property shall organize the collection, remittance, management and use of collected industrial property fees and charges in accordance with this Circular (below herein referred to as the "collecting agency").
II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS
1. Procedures for collection and remittance of industrial property fees and charges:
a. Payers shall pay fees and charges in lump sum at rates specified in the Schedule of industrial property fees and charges enclosed to this Circular upon filing applications to request the collecting agency to perform relevant works or services.
b. When paying fees and charges, the payers may request the collecting agency to produce and issue to them receipts, accurately indicating actually paid amounts.
c. Fees and charges as specified in this Circular shall be collected in Vietnam dong (VND).
d. For monitoring and managing collected fee and charge amounts, the collecting agency may open a suspense account at the State Treasury in the locality where fees and charges are
collected and remitted. Everyday, the collecting agency shall list and temporarily deposit collected charge and fee amounts into the suspense account, and organize separate accounting of these revenues in accordance with applicable accounting regulations on revenue-generating non- business administrative units.
2. Management and use of fees and charges: Industrial property fees and charges specified in this Circular constitute a revenue of the state budget and shall be managed and used as follows:
2.1. The collecting agency retains 35% (thirty five per cent) of the total collected fee and charge amount before remitting the remainder into the state budget to cover expenses for performance of jobs and services, and collection of these fees and charges, as follows:
a. Pay salaries, wages, remuneration, allowances and payments which are, in accordance with laws and regulations, calculated based on salaries (such as: health and social insurance and trade union membership fees) for employees who directly perform jobs or services or collecting fees and charges, except for salaries for public employees salaried by the state budget.
b. Procure, repair and maintain assets, machineries, equipments and working facilities for performance of jobs or services and the collection of fees and charges; depreciate tangible assets used for performance of jobs or services and the collection of fees and charges; purchase technologies, including their licensing-in of technologies protected by intellectual property rights; set up, manage and exploit a network of databases on intellectual property;
c. Procure facilities and materials, including stationery and office equipments, telephones, electricity, water, vehicle fuels, working mission allowances and other expenses for printing or purchase of forms, certificates, protection titles and other printed matters;
d. Pay for outsourced services for management and development activities, such as: rent of facilities and working offices, expertise, search, translation, information services or outsources of substantive examination of industrial property subjects by the national or international intellectual property offices;
đ. Pay for professional trainings, conferences and seminars on intellectual property in the country or abroad; organization of dissemination, propaganda and guidance activities of laws and regulations, policies, strategies schemes and plans on intellectual property; formulation and implementation of research and study projects to develop the intellectual property system and to enhance intellectual property capacity;
e. Pay for services of settlement of disputes, complaints or lawsuits about industrial property; and commercial disputes, complaints or lawsuits related to industrial property issues;
g. Contribute to the reward and welfare funds for its employees directly performing jobs or services or collecting fees and charges in principle that a person may enjoy an average annual allowance of up to 3 (three) months' paid salary if the collected amount in a year is higher than that of the previous year, or up to 2 (two) months' paid salary if the collected amount in a year is lower than or equal to that of the previous year after paying all expenses specified in Items a, b, c, d, đ and e of this Point.
Annually, the collecting agency shall finalize actual balance account between the revenues and expenditures. After the finalization is made in accordance with applicable regulations, if the charge and fee amount retained in a year has not yet been used up, it will be carried forward to the subsequent year for further spending in accordance with applicable regulations.
2.2. On a monthly basis, the collecting agency shall declare, remit and finalize the remainder of the collected charge and fee amount (65%) into the state budget in accordance with corresponding chapter, category, section and item of the current state budget index.
III. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION
1. This Circular shall take effect 45 days from the signing date and apply to intellectual property applications filed on the effective date. This Circular shall replace the Ministry of Finance's Circular No. 132/2004/TT-BTC of December 30, 2004 on guiding the collection, remittance, management and use of industrial property fees and charges, and Circular No. 115/2006/TT-BTC of December 29, 2006, amending and supplementing Circular No. 132/2004/TT-BTC.
2. For industrial property applications filed before the effective date of this Circular but jobs or services requested by applicants remain uncompleted and for which fees and charges have not yet been paid, and if these jobs or services are now requested to be performed again by these applicants, fees and charges shall be paid at the rates specified in this Circular.
3. Other contents relevant to the collection, remittance, management and use of industrial fees and charges and the publication of the charge and fee collection regime not mentioned in this Circular shall comply with the Ministry of Finance's Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC of July 24, 2002, and Circular No. 45/2006/TT-BTC of May 25, 2006, amending and supplementing Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC of July 24, 2002, guiding the implementation of legal provisions on fees and charges, and Circular No. 60/2007/TT-BTC guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Tax Administration and guiding the implementation of the Government's Decree No. 85/2007/ND-CP of May 25, 2007, detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Tax Administration.
4. Any matters arising during the implementation of this Circular shall be promptly informed and reported by interested parties to the Ministry of Finance for consideration and settlement.
FOR THE MINISTER OF FINANCE VICE MINISTER
Do Hoang Anh Tuan
APPENDIX
THE SCHEDULE OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY CHARGE AND FEE (Enclosed with the Ministry of Finance's Circular No. 22/2009/TT-BTC dated February 4, 2009)
No. List of industrial
property fees and charges
Rates (thousand Vietnamese Dong)
Inventions (including
utility solutions)
Industrial designs
Trademarks
Geographical Indications (including
appellations of origins)
Layout designs of integrated
circuits
A. Industrial Property fees
1 Fees for filing applications for protection titles of, registration of industrial property rights transfer contracts
1.1 Filing fee (for trademarks, for each class of up to 6 products/services; for industrial designs, for each option of the product; or for invention, for each independent claim in protection request)
- If applications are not accompanied with objects carrying electronic files of the full text of applications (paper documents)
180 180 180 180 180
- If applications are accompanied with objects carrying electronic data of the full text of applications
150 150 150 150 150
- If applications are filed online
100 100 100 100 100
- If a mark application contains more than 6 products/services in a class, an additional fee shall be paid for each product/service from the 7th onward
30
No. List of industrial
property fees and charges
Rates (thousand Vietnamese Dong)
Inventions (including
utility solutions)
Industrial designs
Trademarks
Geographical Indications (including
appellations of origins)
Layout designs of integrated
circuits
- If invention descriptions consist of more than 5 pages, an additional fee shall be
12
paid for each page from the 6th onward
1.2 Fee for claims for the priority right (each application/claim)
600 600 600
1.3 Fee for requests for amendment of applications, including supplementation, division, transfer or conversion of applications (for each amended content of an application)
120 120 120 120 120
1.4 Fee for filing a request for registration of industrial property licensing contracts (for each subject matter)
120 120 120 120
1.5 Fee for filing a request for compulsory licenses of patent (for each subject matter)
500
1.6 Fee for requesting for termination of the right to use inventions under compulsory licenses
500
1.7 Fee for filing a request for extension of time limit for amendment or supplementation of documents (for each time)
120 120 120 120 120
No. List of industrial
property fees and charges
Rates (thousand Vietnamese Dong)
Inventions (including
utility solutions)
Industrial designs
Trademarks
Geographical Indications (including
appellations of origins)
Layout designs of integrated
circuits
2 Fees for granting protection titles and certificates of industrial property rights transfer contracts
2.1 Fee for granting protection titles
120 120 120 120 120
- If a trademark application contains more than one class of products/services; an industrial design application contains more than one options of the product; or an patent application
100 100 100
contains more than one independent claim of the protection request, an additional fee shall be paid for the second class/option/independen t claim onward
2.2 Fee for granting certificates of industrial property rights transfer contracts
150 150 150 150
2.3 Fee for amendment of protection titles
120 120 120 120 120
2.4 Fee for substantive amendment, renewal or termination of certificates' validity of industrial property transfer contracts (for each subject matter)
150 150 150 150
2.5 Fee for issuance of compulsory licenses of patents
300
No. List of industrial
property fees and charges
Rates (thousand Vietnamese Dong)
Inventions (including
utility solutions)
Industrial designs
Trademarks
Geographical Indications (including
appellations of origins)
Layout designs of integrated
circuits
3 Fees for validity maintenance and renewal of industrial property protection titles
3.1 Fee for maintenance of patents' validity (for each year) - for each independent claim of protection request
- The first; second years 300
- The 3rd; 4th years 480
- The 5th , 6th years 780
- The 7th ; 8th years 1,200
- The 9th ;10th years 1,800
- The 11th , 12th ;13th years
2,520
- The 14th, 15th and 16th years
3,300
- The 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th years
4,200
3.2 Fee for renewal of validity term of protection titles (for trademarks, for each group of products/services; or industrial designs for each design option of the product)
540 540
3.3 Fee for late maintenance or renewal of validity term (for each late month)
10% of the fee for maintenance/extension
3.4 Fee for requesting for invalidation of protection titles
180 180 180 180 180
No. List of industrial
property fees and charges
Rates (thousand Vietnamese Dong)
Inventions (including
utility solutions)
Industrial designs
Trademarks
Geographical Indications (including
appellations of origins)
Layout designs of integrated
circuits
3.5 Fee for requesting for revocation of protection titles
300 300 300 300 300
4 Fees for publication of industrial property information
4.1 Fee for publication of applications, including amended, divided, transferred or converted applications (for each application)
120 120 120 120 120
- If an application contains more than one figure, an additional fee shall be paid for each figure from the second one onward
60 60 60
4.2 Fee for registration of protection tiles (including also amended, extended, invalidated and revoked titles); Certificates of industrial property rights transfer contracts (including also amended, extended and invalidated industrial property licensing contracts)
120 120 120 120 120
- If applications contain more than one figure, an additional fee shall be paid for each figure from the second one onward
60 60 60
No. List of industrial
property fees and charges
Rates (thousand Vietnamese Dong)
Inventions (including
utility solutions)
Industrial designs
Trademarks
Geographical Indications (including
appellations of origins)
Layout designs of integrated
circuits
4.3 Fee for publication of decisions on granting, amendment renewal, invalidation or revocation of protection titles; granting of certificates of industrial property rights transfer contracts; decisions on recognition of amendment, renewal or invalidation of industrial property licensing contracts
120 120 120 120 120
- If applications contains more than one figure, an additional fee shall be paid for each figure from the second one onward
60 60 60
5 Fees for granting certificates of industrial property representive practice, certificates of industrial property assessor, registration of industrial property representatives or industrial property assessment organizations
5.1 Fee for granting certificates of industrial property representative practice, certificates of industrial property assessor
200
5.2 Fee for publication of decisions on granting certificates of industrial property representation practice, certificates of industrial property assessor
150
No. List of industrial
property fees and charges
Rates (thousand Vietnamese Dong)
Inventions (including
utility solutions)
Industrial designs
Trademarks
Geographical Indications (including
appellations of origins)
Layout designs of integrated
circuits
5.3 Fee for registering decisions on granting certificates of industrial property representative practice, certificates of industrial property assessor (for each individual)
150
5.4 Fee for publication of decisions on recording/amending information on industrial property representative organizations/industrial property assessment organizations
150
5.5 Fee for registration of industrial property representative organizations, industrial property assessment organizations (for each organization)
150
B. Industrial Property charges
6 Charges for industrial property examination and assessment
6.1 Charges for substantive examination of applications (for trademarks, for each group of up to 6 products/services; for industrial designs, for each design option of the product; for inventions, for each independent claim of protection request) - excluding charges for information search
420 300 300 420
No. List of industrial
property fees and charges
Rates (thousand Vietnamese Dong)
Inventions (including
utility solutions)
Industrial designs
Trademarks
Geographical Indications (including
appellations of origins)
Layout designs of integrated
circuits
- For trademark applications, for a group of more than 6 products/services, an additional charge shall
60
be paid for each product/service from the 7th onward
- For patent applications, entering the national phase late (for PCT applications) or containing requests for 200 substantive examination that was filed after the deadline, a charge for late filing shall be paid
- Charges for international classification of inventions/utility
100
solutions (for each sub class)
- Charge for international classification of 100 industrial designs (for each sub-class)
- Charge for international classification of goods and services for marks 100 (for each group of 6 products/services or less)
No. List of industrial
property fees and charges
Rates (thousand Vietnamese Dong)
Inventions (including
utility solutions)
Industrial designs
Trademarks
Geographical Indications (including
appellations of origins)
Layout designs of integrated
circuits
- For the group containing more than 6 products/services, an additional charge shall be paid for each product/service from the 7th onward
20
6.2 Charge for fast examination (execution before the time limit) for industrial property applications and for each document of transfer of industrial property rights, renewal or amendment of the protection title (for each subject matter)
420 300 300 420
6.3 Charge for examination of dossiers for transfer contracts of industrial property rights - excluding charge for search of associated marks (for each subject matter)
180 180 180 180
6.4 Charge for examination of dossiers requesting for issuance patent compulsory license (for each subject matter)
1,000
6.5 Charge for examination of dossiers requesting for termination of the right to use inventions under compulsory license (for each subject matter)
500
No. List of industrial
property fees and charges
Rates (thousand Vietnamese Dong)
Inventions (including
utility solutions)
Industrial designs
Trademarks
Geographical Indications (including
appellations of origins)
Layout designs of integrated
circuits
6.6 Charge for examination or invitation of legal assessment of industrial property (for trademarks, for a group of up to 6 products/services; for industrial designs, for a design option of the product; for inventions/utility solutions, for an independent claim of a protection request), excluding charge for searching and providing information
420 300 300 420 300
For trademark applications, for a group of more than 6 products/services, an additional charge shall be paid for each product/service from the 7th onward
60
6.7 Charge for re examination or invitation of re assessment of industrial property subject matter upon requests (for each subject matter)
420 300 300 420 300
6.8 Charge for professional examination of industrial property representatives or assessors (for each exam)
240
No. List of industrial
property fees and charges
Rates (thousand Vietnamese Dong)
Inventions (including
utility solutions)
Industrial designs
Trademarks
Geographical Indications (including
appellations of origins)
Layout designs of integrated
circuits
6.9 Charge for verification of results of professional examination of industrial property representatives or assessors (for each exam)
120
6.10 Charge for examination of dossiers of application for industrial property representative practice certificates or industrial property assessor certificates
200
6.11 Charge for examination of dossiers of request for recording industrial property representation organizations or industrial property assessment organizations (including amendment of information of these organizations)
300
7 Charges for settlement services of industrial property-related complaints
7.1 Charge for information search
At the rate specified in Section 8 of this Schedule
7.2 Charge for examination or legal assessment of industrial property
At the rates specified in Sections 6.1 thru 6.6 of this Schedule
7.3 Charge for examination of third parties' opposition to grant of protection titles (for each subject matter)
420 300 300 420 300
No. List of industrial
property fees and charges
Rates (thousand Vietnamese Dong)
Inventions (including
utility solutions)
Industrial designs
Trademarks
Geographical Indications (including
appellations of origins)
Layout designs of integrated
circuits
8 Charges for search and provision of industrial property information
8.1 Charge for information searching for examination, assessment and other jobs within the scope of its responsibility (for trademarks, for a group of up to 6 products/services; for industrial designs, for each option for the product; for inventions, for each independent claim of a protection request)
120 120 60 60
- For trademark applications, for a group of more than 6 products/services, an additional charge shall be paid for each product/service from the 7th onward
24
8.2 Charge for searching associated trademarks for examination of dossiers of registration of industrial property rights transfer contracts (for each trademark)
60
8.3 Charge for providing requested information on industrial property subjects (for each request concerning each subject matter)
200 200 100 100 100
No. List of industrial
property fees and charges
Rates (thousand Vietnamese Dong)
Inventions (including
utility solutions)
Industrial designs
Trademarks
Geographical Indications (including
appellations of origins)
Layout designs of integrated
circuits
9 Charges for issuance of copies or duplicates or renewal of original industrial property documents
9.1 Charge for issuance of duplicates or renewal of protection titles
120 120 120 120 120
- An additional charge shall be paid for each page from the 5th onward
5 5 5 5 5
9.2 Charge for issuance of copies of documents issued or archived by the National Office of Intellectual Property (the first page)
12 12 12 12 12
- An additional charge shall be paid for each page from the 2nd onward
5 5 5 5 5
9.3 Charge for copies of PCT applications (for each page)
6
9.4 Charge for certification of international registrations of trademarks which are valid in Vietnam (for each registration)
60
10 Charges for compilation and submission of applications for international registration of industrial property
10.1 Charge for submitting PCT applications - excluding charges payable to the International Bureau
500
__________
No. List of industrial
property fees and charges
Rates (thousand Vietnamese Dong)
Inventions (including
utility solutions)
Industrial designs
Trademarks
Geographical Indications (including
appellations of origins)
Layout designs of integrated
circuits
10.2 Charge for completion of procedures for international registration of trademarks - excluding charges payable to the International Bureau
1,500
10.3 Charge for amendment, transfer, renewal, territorial expansion, product list limitation, termination or invalidation of international registration of Vietnamese original trademark
750
10.4 Charge for requesting for certification of the priority right
60 60 60
- An additional charge shall be paid for each page from the 2nd onward
6 6 6