KENFOX IP & Law Office > Our Practice  > Vietnam  > IP Practice  > Patent  > Comparison between an invention and a utility solution

Comparison between an invention and a utility solution

Both an invention and a utility solution (also called “utility model” or “utility innovation” in some countries) are a technical solution per se which proves valuable in manufacture, business and life. Under the prevailing regulations of Vietnam, a utility solution is not recognised separately as an industrial property object but a special form of an invention.

For the sake of obtaining a patent in Vietnam, the following comparison between an invention and a utility solution should be taken into account in light of Vietnam patent regulations:

In practice, subject to the inventive step of a technical solution, the applicant can decide to file his/her application to obtain an invention patent or a utility solution patent. Advantageously, under Vietnamese patent regulations, during the process of the application, an application for an invention patent can be converted into an application for a utility solution patent if the claimed technical solution does not meet the criterion on inventive step. Thus, the applicant can freely file an application to obtain an invention patent; and during the process of the application, if the invention does not involve inventive step, the applicant can request for conversion of his/her application for an invention patent into an application to obtain a utility solution patent.

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