Accelerated Patent Examination in Vietnam: Mechanisms and Solutions for Shortening Examination Timelines

Unlike trademark or industrial design applications, the substantive examination process for patent applications can take a considerably longer time. Although recent regulatory amendments have introduced measures aimed at shortening examination timelines, under the ordinary procedure, applicants may still have to wait up to 31 months from the filing date to receive the substantive examination results. Such prolonged waiting periods pose significant challenges for individuals and businesses seeking to secure industrial property rights at an early stage and commercialize their inventions. Accordingly, proactively understanding the applicable legal framework and taking advantage of available accelerated examination mechanisms are practical solutions to reducing waiting times.

Requests for Early Publication and Early Substantive Examination: Essential prerequisites for shortening patent examination timelines

One of the key factors applicants should consider when seeking to shorten the examination process for a patent application is the timing of publication. Under the ordinary procedure, a patent application only proceeds to the substantive examination stage after it has been published. Therefore, proactively requesting early publication is an important measure to accelerate substantive examination.

In particular, if a request for early publication is filed at the time of filing the patent application, the applicant can significantly reduce the publication waiting period, thereby enabling substantive examination to commence earlier and potentially saving up to 18 months compared with the ordinary procedure. Specifically, the application will be published within one month from the date on which it is deemed valid, instead of being published in the 19th month under the ordinary procedure. Once publication has been completed, the application may proceed to substantive examination, provided that the applicant has also filed a request for substantive examination.

In addition, to shorten the substantive examination timeline, applicants should proactively file a request for substantive examination as early as possible, preferably at the time of filing the application, together with the request for early publication. Filing these two requests simultaneously helps minimize waiting time and facilitates the application’s early entry into the examination stage for assessment of its patentability.

Accelerated Substantive Examination Mechanisms and Cooperative Programs Currently Available in Vietnam

Request for Accelerated Substantive Examination of Patent Applications

For the first time, the mechanism for accelerated substantive examination of patent applications has been formally introduced in the amended Law on Intellectual Property 2025. Under this mechanism, eligible patent applications will undergo substantive examination within three months from the date of publication or the date on which the request for substantive examination is received, whichever is later. This mechanism has the potential to significantly shorten the waiting time for examination results compared with the ordinary procedure. However, to qualify for this mechanism, a patent application must satisfy all the conditions stipulated in Article 14a.1 of Decree No. 100/2026/ND-CP. These requirements are relatively stringent, covering various aspects, including the technological field of the invention, its commercial exploitation status, the number of claims, and the timing of the request for early publication. Consequently, the scope of application of this mechanism remains relatively limited and may not be suitable for most conventional patent applications.

Utilization of Search Results and Substantive Examination Results Issued by Foreign Patent Offices

Pursuant to Article 24 of Circular No. 10/2026/TT-BKHCN, before the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (IP Vietnam) issues a notice of substantive examination results, applicants may request IP Vietnam to use the substantive examination results of a corresponding patent application previously filed overseas as a basis for assessing patentability. Under this mechanism, applicants may receive substantive examination results within eight months from the date of filing the request. Accordingly, for patent applications that have corresponding applications filed in foreign jurisdictions, applicants should proactively take advantage of this mechanism to substantially reduce the waiting time for substantive examination results in Vietnam.

International Cooperation Programs for Accelerated Patent Examination Currently Available in Vietnam

In addition to the accelerated examination mechanisms established under domestic legislation, Vietnam also participates in several international cooperation programs aimed at expediting the examination of patent applications, including:

PPH (Patent Prosecution Highway) between Vietnam and Japan/South Korea: This cooperation program allows applicants to leverage patent examination results issued by the intellectual property offices of partner countries to request accelerated examination in Vietnam.
ASPEC and ASPEC+ (ASEAN Patent Examination Co-operation) among ASEAN member states: These patent examination cooperation programs enable intellectual property offices to consult and share search and examination results, thereby facilitating and expediting the processing of patent applications.
CS&E between Vietnam and Singapore: This cooperation program enables the two intellectual property offices to conduct coordinated searches and examinations of patent applications, with the aim of improving examination quality and shortening the time required to receive the first examination result.

These international cooperation programs generally allow applicants to receive examination results within less than 12 months from the date of the request.

If you are planning to file a patent application and wish to obtain substantive examination results as soon as possible, please contact HAVIP for professional advice and assistance in selecting the most appropriate solution to accelerate the examination process.

Thoa Nguyen