On 12 January 2009, NOIP organized the Conference “Review 2008 and Directions 2009” and the Staff Meeting of the NOIP. H.E. Mr. Nguyen Quan, Vice Minister of Science and Technology attended the Conference. The Conference was also attended by Mr. Tran Van Tung, Director General of Personnel Department and representatives of some functional agencies of Ministry of Science and Technology.
Mr. Tran Viet Hung, Director General of the NOIP, presented Report on Review 2008 and Directions 2009 of the NOIP. The year 2008 is the second year after the accession of Viet Nam to the World Trade Organization. Being levered by international economic integration, IP activities of Viet Nam have also made some achievements, making positive contribution to the socio-economic development of the country. The NOIP has basically fulfilled its obligations in 2008. There are positive developments in receiving and handling industrial property applications. By 31 December 2008, the NOIP has received 60.282 applications in all types, including 40.356 applications for registration of industrial property rights (inventions and utility solutions: 3.484, industrial designs: 1.753, national trademarks: 27.724, international registration marks: 7.386, geographical indications: 8, layout designs: 1) and 19.926 applications for other purposes (amendment of applications: 2.074, assignment of applications: 617, re-grant: 489, extension of validity: 2.379, amendment of protection titles: 4.121, maintenance of protection titles: 4.042, assignment of protection titles: 1.337, transfer of the rights of use of industrial property subject matters: 745, appeal: 827, search: 1.084, others: 2.211). In 2008, the NOIP has handled 51.037 applications of all types, including grant of protection titles/acceptance of protection for 29.001 industrial property subject matters (inventions and utility solutions: 741, industrial designs: 1.337, national registration trademarks: 23.290, international registration trademarks: 3.631, geographical indications: 2), refusal of protection of 4.910 industrial property subject matters (including 737 international registration trademark), and has handled 17.126 applications of other types (amendment: 429, assignment of applications: 112, re-grant: 513, renewal of protection titles: 2.361, amendment of protection titles: 4.163, maintenance of protection titles: 4.052, assignment of protection titles: 1.305, licensing of IP subject matters: 878, invalidation of protection titles: 209, cancellation of protection titles: 371, appeals: 426, search: 985, others: 1.322). The number of applications for industrial property registration is increasing, bringing about serious overloading of work and backlog, especially applications for trademark and invention registration. Although the NOIP has made various solutions and great efforts, even one of which is to work on Saturday, resulted strongly rising speed of application handling at the end of the year, particularly for trademark registration applications (increased by 49% compared to 2007), such a backlog is still a hot issue that needs being focused in the coming time. (See details in the Report on Review 2008).
The Report was ebulliently commented by representatives of units in the NOIP.
H.E. Mr. Nguyen Quan, Vice Minister of Science and Technology gave some orientations at the Conference. On behalf of the Party’s Committee and Leadership of Ministry of Science and Technology, Mr. Vice Minister highly appreciated NOIP’s achievements in 2008 and said that the Office well completed its assignments. He agreed with the Directions 2009 and pressed some obligations relating to the establishment and completion of IP legislation of Viet Nam, continuously consolidating and advancing the organizational structure of the NOIP, improving the staff’s capacity. Paralleling with the handling of industrial property applications, the NOIP should have a specific plan to bring databases of Vietnamese and international patent information into use, timely serving the society’s demand, applying in production and trade of enterprises and best exploiting this valuable sources through dissemination activities.