Vietnam's 2025 Amended IP Law: Faster Protection, Stronger Enforcement and AI Clarity from April 2026

On 10 December 2025, Vietnam's National Assembly approved significant amendments to the Law on Intellectual Property.   Effective 1 April 2026, the reforms will modernise and streamline Vietnam’s IP regime, introducing faster prosecution timelines, broader protection for digital innovation and enhanced enforcement tools, including in the online environment.

We highlight below some of the most notable changes introduced by the amendments: 

1. Faster and More Efficient IP Procedures 

Shorter timelines across all major IP rights:  

• Trade mark & design oppositions: 3 months (down from 5). 

• Substantive examination:  

                  - Trade marks: 5 months (down from 9). 

                 -  Industrial designs: 5 months (down from 7). 

                  - Patents: 12 months (down from 18). 

• Patent examination requests must be filed within 36 months (previously 42).  

Fasttrack mechanism: examination may conclude within 3 months in designated cases. 

Simplified appeals for foreign applicants: no notarisation/legalisation required for Powers of Attorney. 

2. Broader Protection for Designs and Patents 

• Partial and non-physical designs (e.g., GUIs) now protectable. 

• Grace period broadened: disclosures by the applicant or others with access do not destroy novelty of designs if filed within 6 months. 

• Inventors must be human; AI systems cannot be named as inventors, though AI-assisted inventions may still be patentable.  

• Relaxed first-filing rules related to national security. 

• Compulsory licensing compensation to follow government-set formulae. 

• New invalidation grounds, including improper inventorship and violation of first-to-file for designs. 

3. Stronger Enforcement and Online IP Protection 

• Broader ISP obligations: digital platforms must implement proactive IP protection measures in line with IP, cybersecurity, and ecommerce regulations. 

• Expanded court powers:  

• Order removal or blocking of infringing online content, accounts, websites, apps. 

• Destroy or divert counterfeit goods and production tools. 

• Higher statutory damages:  

• Material damages: up to VND 1 billion (approximately £31,000) when losses cannot be quantified. 

• Moral damages: 10–100× the State base salary. 

• New preliminary injunctions specifically for digital content. 

• Administrative sanctions extended to include storage of counterfeit goods. 

4. Plant Variety Protection 

• Self-testing for plant varieties must start within 24 months of application acceptance, or the application will be deemed withdrawn. 

5. AI and IP-Related Data Use 

• Government to issue rules on how IP rights arise from AI-assisted creation. 

• Publicly available IP-related data may be used for scientific research and AI training, provided rights holders’ interests are not unreasonably affected. 

Overall Impact 

The 2025 Amended IP Law significantly upgrades Vietnam’s IP framework by: 

• speeding up prosecution, 

• expanding protection to digital forms of innovation, 

• clarifying rules around AI, 

• modernising enforcement (especially online), 

• increasing remedies for right holders. 

Businesses with existing or planned IP filings in Vietnam should review their strategies now.  If you would like to discuss how these reforms may affect your portfolio or enforcement approach, please contact our team.