Patent Attorney in Vietnam

At ANT Lawyers, we provide patent attorney in Vietnam with specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice in Vietnam.

Patent attorney in Vietnam

The inventors may obtain a patent in Vietnam without the assistance of a patent lawyer if they wish. However, this is almost full of risks. Ignoring the complexity of filing the registration application, the primary concern is whether an inexperienced inventor can write an application which satisfies rules as the requirement of Vietnam Intellectual Property law.

It can be said that Vietnam intellectual property law and procedure on patent registration are complex. That’s why valuable legal rights can easily be lost if the patent application and prosecution of that application are not handled carefully and precisely by one skilled in such matters. Companies that file lots of patent applications use patent attorneys for a reason that you almost certainly will get a better patent if it is done by a patent attorney.

If the inventor does not work with a patent attorney, some of dangers may occur in registering patent in Vietnam as following:

-Failure in providing enough file for patent registration;

-Making inaccurate statement such as incorrect description;

-Wasting time because the documents is not valid;

-Loss of patent right because of other patents;

-Loss of capability on exploiting economic from patent right;

With the above – mentioned risks, patent registration in Vietnam with the assistance of the patent attorney seem to be an effective way to ensure the client’s right. The patent attorney in Vietnam may help clients obtain patent quickly. The inventor also save time to focus on their core specialization if they use patent filing service.

The patent attorney in Vietnam assist clients as following:

-Advise about the procedure for registration prior submitting application;

-Compile all forms related to patent registration procedure;

-Prepare for registration dossier and conduct the registration;

-Subscribe to the application already filed and report to clients on the status of the application;

-Inform, advise and handle mission or refusal of Patent Agency;

-Get Patent and hand over to clients after receiving patent from patent Agency;

-Consult clients about the use of the invention, rights and obligations related to invention after successful registration.

All things become easy, convenient and safe if you get the assistance from a patent attorney in Vietnam in patent registration.

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Potential to attract investment when iPhone can be assembled in Vietnam

Potential to attract investment when iPhone can be assembled in Vietnam 

iPhone is the name of the smartphone line from Apple – a large American technology corporation. The iPhone is a high-end technology product and is used by many people around the world. Currently, Apple assembles the majority of iPhones in factories located in China, and components are manufactured in India, Thailand, the US and many other places. The setting up of iPhone manufacturing facilities in Vietnam will attract other investors to set up company in Vietnam.

Pegatron is one of three iPhone production partners for Apple that is under pressure to expand production outside of China. In addition, China’s application of Covid control measures has pushed the plan to expand production even more strongly. Accordingly, one of the expected locations to be selected is Vietnam.

Although in China the social distancing orders to control Covid-19 have been gradually removed, the labor shortage is still a serious problem. On the other hand, in the peak season, the demand for labor to increase production increases. Therefore, expanding production activities to other regions like Vietnam is a necessary solution to solve the labor shortage.

Besides, there are many different reasons for Pegatron to set up a factory in Vietnam. One of the reasons mentioned is that the stakeholders want to reduce the concentration of production in the current areas and limit the difficulty in recruiting personnel. Meanwhile, Vietnam has young and abundant human resources and production areas are planned and created more favorable conditions for foreign investors.

Moreover, Pegatron previously intended to expand the production line to Vietnam and Pegatron is building a factory in Hai Phong. In addition, many of Apple’s assembly partners also have factories in Vietnam, but no factories have yet assembled iPhones. Therefore, if iPhone is assembled in Vietnam, it will create a strong effect to attract foreign investors to invest in Vietnam and establish company in Vietnam. Accordingly, this will also be a great opportunity for the labor market in Vietnam and promote investment and development.

Currently, the Vietnamese market is gradually becoming an investment target of many large foreign investors. Therefore, besides the government’s open door policies, Vietnamese businesses and workers need to make more efforts to promote their capacity when participating in cooperation and working for large enterprises like Apple.

With highly professional staff and great experience in business, ANT Lawyers – Law firm in Vietnam would like to support you to establish company in Vietnam.

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Benefits of Setting Up Company in Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City is considered as Vietnam’s economic hub. During the long history of foundation and development, the city’s economy is growing constantly and motivating the development of the country.

 

Setting up company in Vietnam

The city is therefore considered as a potential investment environment for domestic investors as well as foreign investors. The investment through establishing companies and conducting business activities in Ho Chi Minh city certainly promises to achieve multiple benefits. These benefits come from the following reasons.

First, Ho Chi Minh City has strategic location advantage in Vietnam. Southeast Asia Region, Ho Chi Minh City is 1,700 km south of Hanoi, 297 km east of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 881 km east of Bangkok, Thailand.

Food, glass, textiles, paper products, plastics, chemicals, building materials and machinery are produced here. Ho Chi Minh City accounts for 20% of total gross domestic product (GDP), 30% of industrial production and 40% of export products of Vietnam. The city also accounts for 33% of the national budget and 60% of foreign investment flows into the region. In the past few years, the economy have been grown at a rate greater than 10% (6% to 8% nationally).

Second, Ho Chi Minh City is home of  well – qualified, abundant and young human resources.

With a population of more than 8 million, accounting for more than 10% of the total Vietnamese population, Ho Chi Minh City itself has potential employment market to make any business investment. The work force in Ho Chi Minh City was estimated to reach 4.7 million people in 2012, making up more than 50% of the total population of the city. The percentage of trained labor increased from 40% in 2005 to 55% in 2010 and was forecast to reach 70% in 2015. The percentage of labor source holding postgraduate degree is also increasing year by year and most of them tend to stay in the city after holding degrees. Ho Chi Minh City is also home to more than 80 universities and colleges, vocational schools with over 400,000 students providing an abundant trained work force.

With the above – mentioned abundant labor force, any companies set up in Ho Chi Minh City can easily recruit suitable employees in a short time..

Third, the city has modern and high infrastructure system. Namely, when setting up company in Vietnam, the owners will benefit from the modern and comprehensive infrastructure system.

Tan Son Nhat Airport is the largest airport in the country with the capacity to accommodate 20 million people a year. From Tan Son Nhat Airport, there are 50 routes to other countries all over the world such as China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, European countries, etc.

Saigon Port serves as a gateway to the Mekong River Delta, the South China Sea (83 km away from the sea) and the Asia continent. The port has a total area of 500,000 m² with 5 terminals meeting the international standards, and it handles about 8.3 million tons of cargo annually. Throughout the history of foundation and development of Saigon, Saigon Port plays an important role in making Ho Chi Minh City a flourishing trading center. It accounts for a fifth of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product and almost a third of its industrial production.

Ho Chi Minh City is also home to industrial zones. According to the statistics of Cushman & Wakefield, the city has 18 industrial parks that are operating with a total area of 3635 ha. When investing in such industrial zones in Vietnam, enterprises can benefit from various incentive policies such as low rate tax or other incentive policies.

Telecommunication and information technology in the city is modern. The system of post and telecommunication in Ho Chi Minh meets international standard, providing fast, reliable and high quality services such as ADSL, rapid data transfer, wide broadband MAN. The Internet service in Ho Chi Minh city is also among the cheapest in the world.

Besides, the city is also considered the best working conditions. Enterprise will not be fear that it is not enough place for working. The city with the system of offices provide ideal working environment for all investors.

With highly professional staff and great experience in business in Vietnam, ANT Lawyers would like to support you in establish company in Vietnam.

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Measures to Prevent and Ensure Administrative Sanctions of Software Piracy in Vietnam

Measures to Prevent and Ensure Administrative Sanctions of Software Piracy in Vietnam

Vietnam is among countries with the highest rate of software piracy in the world, although the rate has reduced from 92% in 2004, to 81% in 2011, 78% in 2015 according to the report of BSA, The Software Alliance that promote legal software use and advocates for public policies that foster technology innovation and drive growth in the digital economy.

Software compliance lawyers in Vietnam

Computer software is protected as literary works, one of types of works eligible for copyright protection in accordance with Article 14 of Vietnam law on intellectual property 2005, amended and supplemented in 2009. Unlicensed software is unauthorized use or distribution of copyrighted software. Copyright infringements include publishing, distributing, copying, using, leasing out, duplicating, importing, exporting a work without permission from the author or copyright holder according to Article 28 of Vietnam law on intellectual property 2005, amended and supplemented in 2009.

The government of Vietnam has been striving to coordinate between ministries to increase awareness and encourage the software license compliance. Further, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has coordinated with Ministry of Public Security to increase frequency of inspecting the software license compliance in Vietnam as part of intellectual property right enforcement effort.

According to the provisions of Article 215 of the 2005 Intellectual Property Law, there are measures under the law of Vietnam to prevent and secure administrative sanctions.

In the following cases, organizations and individuals may request Vietnam competent agencies to apply preventive measures and ensure administrative sanction as provided for in Clause 2, Article 215 of the 2005 Intellectual Property Law:

-An act of infringement of intellectual property rights is likely to cause serious loss and damage to consumers or society;

-Material evidence of the infringement is likely to be dispersed or there are indications that the offender will evade responsibility;

In order to secure enforcement of a decision imposing an administrative penalty, preventive measures and/or measures to secure enforcement of administrative penalties which may be applied in accordance with administrative procedures to acts of infringement of intellectual property rights shall comprise:

-Temporary detention of persons;

-Temporary custody of infringing goods, material evidence and facilities;

-Body searches;

-Searches of means of transport and objects; searches of places where infringing goods, material evidence and facilities are hidden;

-Other administrative preventive measures in accordance with the law on dealing with administrative breaches.

Our software compliance lawyers in Vietnam at ANT Lawyers always monitor legal regulations to update our clients with changes and provide the best service.

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10 Questions to Ask Before Setting up Company in Vietnam

Foreigners are encouraged to make investment in Vietnam through direct investment by setting up company in Vietnam.

However there are restrictions in some cases in regard to investment capital, investment area, special licenses required. The investor is suggested to consult with a law firm in Vietnam for advice and service offering.

10 Questions to Ask Before Setting up Company in Vietnam

Before setting up company in Vietnam, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Which business should I invest in Vietnam?

There are non-conditional investment areas and conditional investment areas. Establishing company in the non-conditional investment areas are more simple than in conditional investment areas. Investment in IT services, manufacturing, management consulting, business promotion are a few samples of non-conditional investment areas. Example of conditional investment areas are real estate, trading, travel agencies, freight forwarding… which are more complicated with investment conditions. Investment conditions might also be changed over the time depending on the WTO commitments which Vietnam enters.

2. What should I name the business in Vietnam?
The company in Vietnam has to have Vietnamese name, and English name. The company could also have abbreviated name. The name of the company in Vietnam indicates the structure of the company, the business lines, and the name that differentiate against other businesses.  For instance, the company could be named Alpha consulting limited liability company.

3. Where should I register the address of the business in Vietnam?
Not every address could be used to register a company.  The address has to be an address of a house with leasing agreement or office building which owner has license to operate as office building.

4. What is the legal structure of the company?
Depending on the number of investor contributing capital, company could be set-up as one member limited liability company or two ore more member limited liability company or joint stocks company.

5. How much capital is required to set-up a company in Vietnam?
The investment amount depends on the business plan and is subject to the approval of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment evaluating application dossier. In some business areas like real estate, banking and finance, minimum capital is required. In general for non-conditional investment area, the law does not specify the minimum capital to establish a company in Vietnam however the State agencies that evaluate investment plan could reject the investment project which are not feasible. Bank statement in foreign banks could be used to prove sufficient fund of investment capital.

6. Whom will be legal representative and work permit in Vietnam?
The investor will need to appoint the legal representative in Vietnam to oversee the business performance and take legal responsibility in Vietnam. If the legal representative is an expatriate, whom is a capital contributing member or owner of a limited liability company or a member of the Board of Management of a shareholding company which is registered to operate in Vietnam, he or she will be exempted from work permit in Vietnam. Otherwise, he or she will need to have a work permit to work in Vietnam legally.  The work permit holder would then apply for temporary residence card to live in Vietnam as long as the work permit allows.

7. How long does it take to set-up a company in Vietnam?
It depends on what type, scale, and whether or not conditions are required. For a simple minimum capital without conditions to set-up, it would take 30 working days. For setting up company in conditional investment areas i.e.  trading company in Vietnam, time would be lengthen due to the involvement of a number of State agencies approving the investment project and it would take 60 working days. For setting up company in other investments in areas requiring conditions to meet, time might be taken depending on the type of conditions and the government agencies evaluating the conditions of investment.

8. Whom will be granting the investment license in Vietnam?
For most of the investment projects, the provincial state agencies with the approval of the Department of Planning and Investment (DPI) will be granting the Investment Certificate in Vietnam. However, depending on the type, scale, and whether or not conditions are required, other Vietnam State agencies might be involved. For the case of trading company, ministry of trade and commerce, ministry of finance, provincial people’s committee will be reviewing the investment application dossier as well.

9. What are the tax liability in Vietnam?

Major taxes in Vietnam are corporate income tax, import and export tax, value added tax, and personal income tax in Vietnam. In some special areas, there are other taxes. The corporate income tax is currently at 22% and will reduce to 20% beginning 2016. Export is mostly encouraged as such the export tax is 0 however there are special cases when export tax is larger than 0. Import tax varies according to tariff. Value added tax is mostly at 10% however in some cases, VAT could be 5% or 0%. Personal Income tax varies according to income level and is applicable from VND 9,000,000 above.

10. What are mandatory reports submissions requirement in Vietnam?
Companies are required to keep accounting books, prepare and submit tax reports on monthly, quarterly and annually. Foreign companies are also required to have financial audit taken before the financial year end. The financial year in Vietnam is from January to December and the deadline to submit financial report is March 30th for the previous year. Other reports are required to be submitted at other State agencies.

With highly professional staff and great experience in business in Vietnam, ANT Lawyers would like to support you in establishing company in Vietnam.

Source ANTLawyers: https://antlawyers.vn/library/10-questions-to-ask-before-setting-up-company-in-vietnam.html

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