In the framework of the visit of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Director General Francis Gurry in Hanoi...
Continue reading1.New circular on the network of credit institutions being cooperatives On 30 March 2018, the State Bank of Vietnam issued Circular No.09/2018/TT-NHNN, providing for the network of credit institutions being cooperatives. Accordingly, the operation network of the people's credit fund includes transaction offices; The cooperative bank's operation network includes branches, transaction offices, representative offices, non-business professional units in Vietnam and representative offices in foreign countries. Each province has only one cooperative bank branch. A cooperative bank is entitled to establish not more than 5 branches per year. One branch does not manage more than 3 transaction offices. For a people's credit fund, a...
Continue reading1.Number of documents no longer required for business registration dossier On 27 December 2017, the Government issued Resolution No. 136/NQ-CP, on simplifying administrative procedures and civil papers related to population management within the scope of State management functions of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, which shall take effect on 27 December 2017. Accordingly, the previously required document "Copy of citizen citizen’s identification card, identity card, passport or other lawful certification documents" is no longer needed to carry out the following procedures: (a) Registration of establishment of a sole proprietorship; (b) Registration of establishment of a partnership; (c) Registration of establishment of limited liability...
Continue reading1.Addition to the list of countries whose citizens can be granted with e-visa by Vietnam On 29 November 2017, the Government has issued Resolution No. 124/NQ-CP on addition to the list of countries whose citizens are pilot granted with e-visa. Pursuant to this Resolution, there will be 06 additional countries whose citizens are pilot-granted with e-visa as stipulated in Article 9.1 of Decree No. 07/2017/ND-CP, including: Australia, United Arab Emirates, Canada, India, Netherlands, and New Zealand. Thus, such 06 country addition to the list of 40 existing countries like Korea South, Germany, etc., as stipulated in Decree No. 07/2017/ND-CP will make a total...
Continue readingStrengthening supervision of transactions on the stock market On 25 October 2017, the Ministry of Finance issued Circular No.115/2017/TT-BTC, providing guidelines for supervision of trading on the stock market ("Circular 115"). Whereby: Vietnam Securities Depository (VSD) will become another supervisory entity, apart from two existing entities, including the State Securities Commission (SSC) and the Stock Exchange (SE). VSD plays a major role in monitoring the rate of use of deposit as collateral assets per each account of investor and member of the clearing house; and monitoring the limit of position of investor during participation in trading derivative securities. At...
Continue reading1.Guidelines for conversion of investment costs for construction of building works On 20 September 2017, the Ministry of Construction issued Decision No.964/QD-BXD, providing guidelines for conversion of investment costs for construction of building works. Whereby: (a) Conversion of investment costs for construction of building works shall be conversion of items of investment costs already finalized in term of the price level at the time of hand-over for putting into use. The conversion is intended to determine the newly increased value of assets formed by investment and shall be taken as the basis for finalization of the completed project. (b) Conversion will be...
Continue reading1.Term of licenses for receiving and paying in foreign currency in prize-winning electronic gaming business This is the highlighted content of Circular No. 11/2017/TT-NHNN dated 30 August 2017 of Vietnam State Bank on foreign exchange control in business activities of prize-winning electronic games for foreigners (“Circular 11”). This Circular provides new regulations on term of license for receiving and paying in foreign currency and other activities in foreign currency, under which the term is equal to the remaining term of one of the following documents: (a) Certificate of satisfaction of regulatory conditions for business of prize-winning electronic gaming; (b) Certificate of investment registration...
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A Geographical Indication in Viet nam (GI) is a name or sign which identifies goods as having a specific geographical origin, and possessing qualities, reputation, or characteristics that are essentially attributable to products from that place of origin. GIs have been recognised in Vietnam since the promulgation of the Vietnam IP Law in 2005. Per Article 4.22 of the Vietnam IP Law in 2005, “A geographical indication means a sign which identifies a product as originating from a specific region, locality, territory or country”. Vietnam has over fifteen years of experience in GI protection, and GIs are considered an important...
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A new online trademark registration gateway allowing individuals and companies to register trademarks in Cambodia was launched yesterday by the Ministry of Commerce....
Continue reading1. Practice in construction of product-by-process claim in Vietnam A product-by-process claim is understood worldwide as a patent claim in which a product claimed by defining the process by which the product is made, and this claim type is at present permitted in many jurisdictions. In Vietnam, such a product-byprocess claim format is also permitted, however it is allowed under certain special circumstances only. As stated in the Guidelines for Patent Examination issued by the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as “the NOIP’s Guidelines”) dated 31 March 2010, in the case that a product whose structure is...
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