Industrial Design Registration in Vietnam

Quick summary

Legal basis

• Law on Intellectual Property No. 50/2005/QH11, as amended and supplemented by Law No. 36/2009/QH12, Law No. 42/2019/QH14 and Law No. 07/2022/QH15 (effective from 01/01/2023).
• Decree No. 65/2023/ND-CP; Circular No. 23/2023/TT-BKHCN on procedures for establishing industrial property rights.
• Articles 63–67 (conditions for industrial design protection), Article 93 (term of patents), Article 119 (application processing time limits) of the Law on Intellectual Property.

Update note: Law No. 131/2025/QH15 (effective from 01/4/2026) has shortened the substantive examination period for industrial design applications to 05 months from the date of publication of the application. Always check the latest consolidated text when filing.

What is an industrial design

Article 63 of the Law on Intellectual Property defines an industrial design as the outward appearance of a product embodied by shape, lines, colours or a combination of these elements. What is protected is the aesthetic value, the look of the product — not its internal technical function.

It must be distinguished from neighbouring subject matter. A patent for invention protects a technical solution (how something works), while an industrial design protects the outward appearance; a single product can enjoy both at once — for example, the folding mechanism of a chair (invention) and its design lines (industrial design). A trademark protects signs that distinguish the origin of goods; copyright can protect applied art works, but with very different conditions and terms. A business developing a new product should assess all three layers of protection right from the design stage.

A single application may claim protection for several variants of the design for the same product, provided the variants do not differ fundamentally from each other and the basic variant is clearly indicated — saving costs compared with filing multiple separate applications.

Protectability conditions and excluded subject matter

An industrial design is protected when it satisfies three conditions. Novelty (Article 64): significantly different from designs publicly disclosed anywhere in the world before the filing date (or priority date). The standard is worldwide — a chair model already sold in Europe can destroy the novelty of an application filed in Vietnam.

Inventive step (Article 66): it cannot be easily created by a person of average skill in the relevant field. Industrial applicability (Article 67): it can serve as a model for mass production of products by industrial or handicraft methods.

The law provides a grace period: a design disclosed in certain specified circumstances (disclosure by the person entitled to registration, unauthorised disclosure, display at an official exhibition) within the statutory period before the filing date is not deemed to have lost novelty. Even so, filing before any disclosure is always the safest option.

The law excludes certain subject matter: shapes entirely dictated by technical features that cannot be changed (this belongs to invention patents); the appearance of civil or industrial construction works; the appearance of products not visible during use. In practice, the Office also rejects “designs” that merely change colours or reproduce the common shape of the product. If the value of the design lies in its function, take the patent filing route; if it lies in its look, industrial design registration is much faster and cheaper.

Industrial design registration dossier

• Declaration for registration in the prescribed form, stating the product bearing the design and its classification under the Locarno Classification;
• A set of photographs or drawings: fully showing all views (perspective view and projections) so that the entire appearance can be understood; clear images on a neutral background;
• A description of the design: stating the new design features, the part for which protection is claimed;
• A power of attorney (if filed through an industrial property representative organisation);
• Fee payment receipts; priority documents and their Vietnamese translation (if any).

The quality of the photographs and drawings directly determines the scope of protection: whatever is not shown in the images is deemed unprotected, and after filing you may not supplement images in a way that changes the essence of the design. Invest in professional photography or technical drawings from the start, and keep the design confidential until the filing date so as not to lose novelty.

Process and timeline

Formality examination (01 month). The Office checks the validity of the declaration, photographs, drawings, product classification and the applicant’s standing. Deficient applications receive a notice requiring correction and supplementation.

Publication of the application (02 months from the date the application is accepted as valid). The application is published in the Industrial Property Official Gazette; third parties may submit opinions on the grant of the patent (Article 112).

Substantive examination (07 months from the date of publication of the application). The Office assesses novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability based on a search of reference designs. If the application appears not to qualify, the Office issues a notice of intended refusal for the applicant to respond to.

Grant of the patent. A qualifying application is granted an Industrial Design Patent.

The total statutory timeline is about 10 months; in practice it usually takes 9–15 months. Compared with inventions (3–5 years), industrial design registration is a much faster and cheaper route to exclusive rights — well suited to industries with short product life cycles such as fashion, furniture, packaging, household goods and consumer electronics.

Term of the patent and renewal

An Industrial Design Patent takes effect from the date of grant and lasts until the end of 05 years from the filing date, renewable for 02 consecutive terms, each of 05 years (Article 93(4)). The maximum period of exclusivity is 15 years — after which the design falls into the public domain.

Renewal procedures must be carried out within the statutory time limit before the patent expires; where a patent covers several variants, renewal may be sought for all or for some of them (which must include the basic variant). Businesses with a large design portfolio should maintain a centralised renewal-tracking calendar, because missing the deadline means losing the rights permanently.

While the patent remains in force, the owner may prevent others from manufacturing, selling or importing products bearing an identical or confusingly similar appearance, and may assign or license these rights to partners.

Registering an industrial design abroad

Vietnam is a member of the Hague Agreement concerning the international registration of industrial designs, so Vietnamese applicants may file a single international application through IP Vietnam to seek protection in multiple member states — instead of filing separate applications in each country. An international application designating Vietnam is also substantively examined under Vietnamese law standards.

For exporting businesses (furniture, handicrafts, electronics), the usual strategy is: file a national application in Vietnam first to secure a priority date, then within 06 months file an international application or applications in key export markets to claim priority under the Paris Convention. The preparation of photographs and drawings should be planned for the international application from the start, as each country may have its own requirements on the form of representation.

Common risks and how to prevent them

Disclosing the product before filing. Posting photos on social media, exhibiting at trade fairs, or offering the product to customers before the filing date can all destroy novelty. Internal procedures should require that every new design go through an IP assessment before any disclosure.

Incomplete photographs or drawings. Angles not shown or details hidden in the images will not be protected. Photograph the product from all directions and check carefully before filing.

Confusion with applied art copyright. Copyright arises automatically, but proving infringement is harder; for commercial products, an industrial design patent gives stronger enforcement power.

Designs created by employees or contractors. The right to register a design created by an employee in the performance of assigned duties belongs to the assigning party, unless otherwise agreed — this must be reflected in employment and design contracts.

Failure to track renewals. Losing rights through a missed renewal is an irrecoverable loss. Maintain a renewal reminder calendar for the entire patent portfolio.

What FLAT LAW FIRM does

FLAT LAW FIRM supports businesses from the design stage through to rights enforcement: assessing protectability and classifying products under the Locarno Classification; preparing photographs, drawings, descriptions and filing national applications and international applications via the Hague Agreement; monitoring examination, responding to notices from IP Vietnam; renewing, assigning and licensing industrial design rights; and representing clients in infringement and dispute proceedings.

For manufacturing and exporting businesses, we advise on integrated protection strategies covering designs, inventions and trademarks for each product line and each market. Please contact us for advice on your specific case.

Frequently asked questions