Some Modifications on Business Registration from October 10th, 2018

Decree no.108/2018/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No.78/2015/ND-CP effective from October 10^th, 2018 has provided many new procedures of business registration.

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The new decree stipulates clarification on some contents about the procedure on business registration, of which, the highlight are the procedures that do not to require the seal stamped on the dossier on business registration and that the power of attorney for a person whom establishes the company does not need notarization, authentication at Clause 1 and 2 of Article 1 Decree No. 108/2018/ND-CP.  In the past, due to the lack of clarification on the above matters, some competent authorities require to affix the seal on the dossier of business registration and request the notarization of the power of attorney.  These procedures created some troublesome in practice.

Another regulation that facilitate the business transaction is that previously enterprises can only set up business locations in the province or city under central authority where their head office or branch is located. It means that if an enterprise wishes to set up another business location where the office is located, it has to go through two procedures: setting up a branch first then setting up a businesslocation.  The procedure of setting up a branch is more complex more than the establishment of business locations.  With the changes in the decree 108/2018/ND-CP, enterprises are allowed to set up business locations in other provinces or centrally-run cities where their head offices or branches are opened. The scope of work is simpler and more cost-effective, the transactions of the place of business are accounted for by the parent company, thereby reducing the workload for the accountant of the company.

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How can I copyright my app?

If you are interested in obtaining copyright protection for a newly created app, you should be aware that copyrighting an app is likely eligible for two separate tiers of copyright protection. The process of copyrighting an app is actually automatic. Registering an app with the U.S. Copyright Office takes several steps. Copyright protections apply to works that are both published and unpublished, so please note to copyright your app it does not have to exist in the marketplace for the automatic protections associated with copyrights to apply to it.

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According to the U.S. Copyright Office, an eligible work attains automatic copyright protection “the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.“ This means that original works of authorship like apps are copyright protected by default. But, many rights ordinarily associated with intellectual property protections may not be enforceable in court unless you or your company registers your copyrighted work with the government.

The Registration Process

Registering your app with the U.S. Copyright Office is generally a good idea because you will need to have done so in order to file a lawsuit in the event that another individual or business infringes upon your intellectual property protections. Registration also allows you to ensure that the details of your copyright registration become part of the public record, which may be advantageous for any number of reasons.

The copyright registration process is relatively straightforward. The U.S. Copyright Office provides creators with copyright application forms and fee-related details on its website. A copy of your work must be sent with your copyright application and is non-returnable. It is important to fill out the detailed copyright application completely and correctly or you will risk rejection of your registration. Any delay in registration approval may affect future intellectual property litigation. For this reason, it may be beneficial to have an attorney review your copyright registration application before you submit it. Taking this step will better ensure that your copyright application is approved upon its initial submission.

It is worth noting that you can protect your app in a variety of ways beyond copyright protection. For example, elements of your creation may benefit from patent and/or trademark protection. An intellectual property attorney will be able to advise you of what steps you may need to take in order to better ensure that your rights are fully addressed in the event of infringement. The app marketplace is competitive, so this risk is increasingly becoming a reality for app developers.

Copyright is violated on a regular basis in the music, publishing and software industries. ANT Lawyers IP practice offers client in protecting and enforcing copyrights and similar intellectual property rights as following:

• Advise legal matters of copyright and related rights in Vietnam and abroad;
• Conduct searches and provide information on copyright and related rights, advice measures to protect copyright and related rights in Vietnam and abroad;
• Complete the applications and file to register copyright and related rights;
• Enforce the copyright and related rights, including investigation, supervision, negotiation, mediation, lawsuit initiation to handle infringement in Vietnam and oversea.

Learn more about ANT Lawyers IP practice, experience and team members here;

For advice and specific details in each case, please contact us directly at ant@antlawyers.vn or call  +84 912 817 823.

Let ANT Lawyers help your business in Vietnam.

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Is it necessary to register a idea?

An idea is an intangible concept, but If you believe it could be a valuable asset to a person or business, you should treat it as intellectual property consider the many routes to patent an idea. Patents are valuable for protecting an idea and your inherent intellectual property rights.

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Intellectual property is generally broken into four categories:

Trade Secret

Patent

Trademark

Copyright

Of these forms of intellectual property protection, trade secret most closely related to the protection of an idea. Common law protects information (including ideas) that have value to a company as well as your intellectual property rights to own and use the concept. Basically, the idea must have some economic value, not be generally known to the public, and subject to protection by the company.

Patent rights relate to protection an invention, such as a process, machine, or composition of matter that is novel, non-obvious, and (in the case of a utility patent) useful. While these relate to a physical creation, the patent rights apply to the claimed attributes of the invention. In this way, it could be said that a patent relates to the protection of an idea that has materialized.

Trademark concerns any symbol, mark, word, phrase, or sound that comes to represent a business’s products, services, or brand. It is only loosely related to the concept of protecting an idea.

Copyright concerns the recording of original, creative expressions. The creative expression might be a novel way of saying something. This concept is related, but still distinct from the idea itself.

Trade Secret Protection for an Idea

Trade secret protection covers formulas, processes or methods, or compilations of information, and can be effective when trying to patent an idea. These intellectual property rights allow you to take action ifthe informationis misappropriatedor used without consent. Of course, if a third party is able to figure out the information on their own, then there is no misappropriation. Perhaps some of the most well-known trade secrets are Coca-Cola’s formula and KFC’s secret recipe. Most businesses have client lists or other compilations of information that constitute trade secrets.

The major benefit of trade secret protection is that the protective rights continue indefinitely. The rights in the information are lost when the information becomes commonly known or the company stops taking reasonable steps to protect the information.

Utility Patentfor an Idea

Inventors often begin with an idea. To seek utility patent protection of that idea, the inventor must demonstrate how the idea can be transformed or assembled into a novel, non-obvious, and useful invention. The claimed elements of the invention that bear these characteristics are really physical representation of the idea itself. That idea must not have been commonly known to the public at the time of filing for patent protection. A design patent regards the ornamental or aesthetic elements of an article of manufacture. In this way, the patent rights protect a design concept or idea.

Consultan Intellectual Property Lawyer

Determining whether an idea can be protected is the most difficult aspect of intellectual property law. It is very difficult to show the novelty or uniqueness of a creation. Nonetheless, the USPTO issues thousands of patents every year to creators. At the same time, it issues thousands of rejections to applications. Don’t try to navigate this legal maze alone. The experienced intellectual property lawyers at ANTLawyers.vn are both experienced and affordable. They can provide support in identifying creations that are capable of intellectual property protection, securing those intellectual property rights, and providing on-going protection of those rights.

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What is difference between copyright and patent?

When an individual or business creates something new, it Is important to protect that unique design, product, logo, name, art or work of authorship. Most individuals and businesses are aware that legal protections exist for new inventions and creations. But not everyone is sure exactly what kinds of protections they need in order to ensure that other individuals and businesses do not infringe upon the fruits of their labor. Though both are popular and well known, what is the difference between copyright and patent?

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Thankfully, experienced intellectual property attorneys are generally happy to help both individuals and businesses navigate the process of protecting their inventions and creations. If you have produced a new and unique product, design, piece of art, etc. please consider asking a lawyer with specialized intellectual property knowledge to aid you in submitting the legal paperwork required in order to obtain any protections your work may be eligible for under the law. Depending on the nature of your creation, these protections may include copyrights and/or patents.

What Falls Under Copyright Protection?

Unlike patents, which protect physical inventions, new designs for existing products and certain discoveries, copyright protection coversoriginal works of art and authorship when expressed in tangible mediums. Literary, artistic, musical and dramatic works of art are protected via copyright. In addition, computer software and architecture may be protected by copyright as well.

An important difference between copyright and patent is that copyright protections are granted automatically. You do not need to file for a copyright per se, as copyright protections apply, “the moment (a work) is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device” according to the U.S. Copyright Office. However, you cannot generally file suit protecting your work against infringement unless your copyright has been registered with the USCO. The USCO highly recommends registering one’s artistic work because absent this process, copyright protections cannot generally be effectively enforced.

What is Covered by Patent Protection?

 There are three primary kinds of patent protectionavailable to businesses and the general public. Plant patents protect new asexually reproducing plant species and hybrids. Utility patents protect new products and processes, while design patents protect new design elements integral to existing manufactured products or processes. In general, works eligible for patents are novel, non-obvious and useful, but some exceptions to this rule may apply.

It is worth noting that unlike copyright protections, no patent protection is granted automatically upon the creation of a product or process. Therefore, it is imperative that inventors and businesses formally apply for patent protection as soon as their work is prototyped and capable of reproduction.

Consult an Intellectual Property Attorney

 If you are interested in registering a work of art or authorship or patenting a product, process, design or discovery, please consider reaching out to an knowledgeable intellectual property attorney in Vietnam. We have extensive experience aiding both individuals and businesses in obtaining the intellectual property protections that their works are eligible for. The registration process and patent application process are detailed and are often difficult to navigate. Filling out even a single section of paperwork incompletely or incorrectly can result in rejection. Let our team help you get this process right the first time around in order to better ensure that your work is safeguarded from infringement as soon as it becomes eligible for protection.

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The Secret Of Trade Secret Success

Coca-Cola 's recipe is one of the best kept secrets in the world. Developed by a pharmacist, it has been closely guarded and known to only a few privileged employees for more than 100 years. Coca-Cola built a successful global brand on it, and competitors have fiercely hunted it. Similarly Col. Sanders' secret recipe of 11 herbs and spices for KFC and the formula for WD-40 are also both closely kept secrets that have helped to build their companies' flagship products.

Unfortunately many executives don't even know what trade secrets are, much less how to protect them and, as a result, use them. It's a term that's often thrown around in legal meetings, but the truth is trade secrets are complex and can have an extraordinary impact on a company's bottom line. They are extraordinarily valuable information for a company, yet often company employees, including officers, do not understand how best to keep them, well, secret.

If a trade secret is poorly managed a company can quickly lose its competitive advantage: What would happen to Coca-Cola if someone figured out a way to replicate its secret recipe and posted the formula on the Internet? So then, what can you do to effectively monitor your trade secrets? How do you ensure your company's secrets are kept safe?

First you need to understand what a trade secret is, since you can't protect something you don't know you have. For the C-suite, trade secrets include any privileged information that can provide your company with an advantage in the market. That may encompass customer identities and pricing information, current research projects and even failed projects. In the case of WD-40 , the product's name comes from the 40th try by scientists in 1953 to come up with a "water displacement" formula for a rust-prevention solvent and degreaser for the aerospace industry. Not only is that formula a trade secret, but so are the formulas and work that went into the preceding 39 attempts. If a competitor learned about those failed attempts alone, it might still save a lot of research and development time.

Next the C-suite needs to understand who has access to its trade secrets, particularly the difference between corporate insiders and outsiders.

Corporate insiders are people and organizations with a legal obligation to the company. Of course employees are legally obligated to hold a company's proprietary information in confidence and not to copy, disclose or use the information for their own benefit or the benefit of others. But insiders also include third parties such as contract employees, consultants, suppliers and customers.

Outsiders are everyone else. They have no legal obligation to hold a company's proprietary information in confidence. They are strangers who include the general public and also more sophisticated parties like competitive intelligence professionals, hackers, reporters and competitors.

Companies go to great lengths to protect their prized secrets. KFC recently built a brand new, high-tech home for the colonel's handwritten Original Recipe from 1940. The new FireKing digital safe weighs more than 770 pounds and is encased in two feet of concrete with a 24-hour video and motion-detection surveillance system. That kind of security wouldn't be needed if people didn't try to steal the recipe.

To be able to protect your secrets, you need to understand how people can get at them. Imagine a fence built around your office. The fence represents the company's security measures, and within it is where proprietary information is developed, used and stored. Insiders move freely in and out of the office, while outsider entry and exit is carefully controlled. It is easy to see how in such a situation insiders and outsiders alike can gain access to trade secrets. When insiders move in and out of the company, proprietary information moves with them--in their minds, in portable computers and in media such as drawings, CD-ROMs and USB flash drives. Outbound mail, courier and parcel shipments can also allow proprietary information to leave the office. Outsiders are often let in, usually with badge systems and escorts, and they may gain access to proprietary information while they're inside the company.

It would be easy to keep your information secure if you eliminated all avenues of information transfer, such as your Internet connection and mail services, and prohibited outsiders to visit the company. You wouldn't have security problems then, but you would destroy your ability to conduct business. Besides, you'd still have to let your employees go home at night, and they carry proprietary information in their heads.

Not every company can lock its trade secrets in a vault, as with WD-40 and KFC. There is no silver bullet for trade secret protection, no hardware widget or software program or canned process that you can buy to make you safe. But the basic solution is simple: You must use your employees to protect your secrets. And since you already pay them, that incurs no additional out-of-pocket cost. Employees are the foundation of an effective trade secret protection program.

A successful strategy requires that all employees participate and that management unambiguously and explicitly expound a trade secret culture. You can't just name a few employees as a trade secret protection group, or install some new security product, while the rest of your employees continue business as usual. You must enlist the support of every company employee to work toward a culture of full trade secret awareness.

Cultural awareness is much more effective than mere employee training, especially new-employee training, for a single learning experience fades from memory over time while a healthy trade secret culture reinforces itself. But if the C-Suite often doesn't understand trade secrets, employees are even more confused. For a trade secret culture to be effective, management must very effectively convey its goals to employees. This requires much more than "Here is the new proprietary information policy--read it, sign here and return it."

Senior managers need to work to make sure employees understand what the company's trade secrets are and what their responsibilities for them are. They need to know that risks to the company's secret information are risks to its revenues, earnings and share price, and ultimately to their own jobs. Management's efforts to protect the company's trade secrets are efforts to protect the employees' jobs, their stock options and their pensions. The employees have to know that.

They also need to be reminded that any type of company information can be a trade secret, including supplier identities, upcoming price changes, R&D activities and corporate policies--anything that can help a competitor compete against the company. In this era of high technology, employees also need to understand that any unsecured e-mails may be intercepted, any conversation may be overheard and any computer screen in a public place may be read. Diligence and common sense must be part of the trade secret culture. Once a secret is divulged, no matter the reason, it is lost forever.

If employees understand their part in an unambiguous and committed trade secret culture, company information security policies will more likely be accepted and followed. Without that understanding all the company policy manuals and policy communications in the world will be worthless. Embodiment of the culture at every level of management will help employees understand your expectations. Not every CEO needs to ride into Times Square on the back of a horse in a suit of armor with his trade secret formula safely in hand--as did Garry Ridge, president and CEO of WD-40, on his company's 50th birthday. But it sure doesn't hurt.

R. Mark Halligan, a partner with the law firm Nixon Peabody, has developed an extensive practice as an intellectual property litigator focused on protecting and enforcing trade secrets. David Haas is a senior managing director in FTI Consulting's forensic and litigation consulting segment and is based in Chicago. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and not of FTI Consulting.

Source:https://www.forbes.com/2010/02/19/protecting-trade-secrets-leadership-managing-halligan-haas.html#1d93e78f1372

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What are the disadvantages of getting a patent, if any?

There are many advantages to patenting your inventions. You are granted a monopoly on your invention by the government in your jurisdiction for a known period of time.

You can license it to others and collect licensing fees and royalties.

You may also use it as a trading card with a competitor, e.g., licensing your patent to a competitor, and in return, obtaining licensing rights to a patent that is owned by the competitor. It is a very common practice used by large companies to avoid expensive infringement lawsuits.

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You can use it in a public relations campaign to position your company as an innovator.

However A patent is published for everybody to see and learn how you have implemented your invention. This is the only disadvantage that I see. Anybody can implement your invention, after its publication, without telling you about it. Proving infringement is a very expensive and time consuming process.

If you wish to keep your invention confidential for ever, don’t file a patent. Treat it as a trade secret by making sure to take adequate steps to always keep it confidential like Coca-Cola keeps it formula secret. The Secret Of Trade Secret Success

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What is intellectual property act?

IPR stands for Intellectual Property Rights. To understand about Intellectual Property Rights, it is important to understand about the Intellectual Property (IP). Intellectual Property refers to the property which has both moral and commercial value and that comes out from the human intellect that may be a creation of human minds, inventions, copyrights on musical, literary, dramatic, artistic works and symbols, names, images used in commerce.

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Basically, Intellectual Property (IP) is divided into two categories:-

 One area can be Industrial Property:-

Industrial Property again can be divided into two areas;

distinctive signs for Trademarks (TM) that distinguish the goods or services of one enterprise or undertaking from those of other enterprises or undertakings.Geographical Indications (GI) that identify a good originating in a place where a given characteristics of the good is essentially attributable to its geographical origin.

Other areas include Patents, Industrial Designs (IDs), Trade Secrets (TS) for innovation, design and the creation of technology.

Copyrights and Rights related to Copyrights deals with;

Authors’ Literary works (e.g. novels, poems, plays, writings and books), Artistic works (e.g. paintings, sculptures, drawings and photographs), films, computer programs, musical compositions and architectural designs.

Neighboring Rights include rights of performers (e.g. actors, singers and musicians), broadcasting organizations in their radio and television programs, and producers of phonograms in their recordings.

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)

Deals with the legal rights granted to protect the creation of the intellect. These rights are same as of other property right. Rights allow creator or owner to get benefits by exploiting their creation.

IPR provides an exclusive right for the limited period of time to the individuals, enterprises and other entities to exclude others from unauthorized use, copy, sell, distribution or license.

Further Intellectual Property Rights are outlined in Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which talk about the right to benefit from the protection of moral and material interests resulting from authorship of scientific, literary or artistic productions.

The Importance of Intellectual Property (IP) was first recognized in the Paris Convention for the protection of Industrial Property in year 1883 and the Berne Convention for the protection of Literary and Artistic Works in year 1886. Both treaties are administered by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

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Property Liability of Husband and Wife in the Marriage Period

According to the laws of Vietnam, marriage relation is established between a man and a woman based on marriage conditions and registration. Marriage registration means establishment of legally valid marriage relation and is protected by State, binding the wife and the husband with certain liability – joint liability.

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Joint liability means a liability which shall be performed by both wife and husband and which the obligee has the right to request other to perform in its entirety. This liability could arise from property obligation in marriage period.

Property of wife and husband include two types: common property and separate property. For the transaction of common property, both wife and husband mutually agree implement, joint liability shall always exist. Moreover, the following transactions which are made by either wife or husband including but not limited to: legitimate representation in civil transaction, business relations; representation in the ownership certificate of property; the obligations performed by either wife or husband in order to meet the family’s essential demand will bind both wife and husband by a joint liability.

Despite one of the principles of Civil Code on separate property that the owner has a right to possess, use and dispose its assets and the obligations, liabilities arising out such rights shall be performed by the owner in itself, the transaction performed by either wife’s assets or husband’s assets can arise joint liability to other party such as the usage of separate property for maintenance, development of common property or making family’s primary income.

In conclusion, the provisions of joint liability on spouses’ assets not only ensure the right, benefits of wife, husband, family and third party but also is legal foundation for resolution of dispute.

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Why does Coca Cola Company fail to protect their receipe with patents?

We shall remember that, at any time, choices of IP protection shall always rest on profitability. If the patent protection make people lose money, then people would choose to avoid that.

By patenting the receipe of coke, Coca Cola company have to DISCLOSE the receipe to the world. In return, the receipe MAY be protected for a max of 20 years. After the protecting period expires, Coca Cola receipe falls into public knowledge, and anyone may use it anywhere.

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It is not so easy to crack the coke receipe. Why would Coca Cola disclose their receipe to exchange for a short protection?

Surely, if the receipe is disclosed accidentally, anyone in the world may begin to use this receipe, and numberous competitors appear. In order to minimize the harm brought by the possible competitors, Coca Cola has invested a lot of money on their Trademarks and Scale of Production.

Now Coca Cola have a famous brand. Even two coke products taste the same, you would still choose Coca Cola.

By holding huge scale of production, Coca Cola is able to produce coke at a very very low cost. Even when another company begin to produce the same coke, they can never make coke this cheap.

Even when it is profitable to patent your product, you may still see no “patent” directly linked to a particular “product model”. See iPhone. Thousand of patents may be linked to the product, and there is no patent to protect “iPhone X”. We may need such strategies to mislead competitors, max the protection range, …

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Anti-dumping of Goods Imported to Vietnam

Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam has carried out investigations to apply anti-dumping measures against some commodities imported into Vietnam.

The law of Vietnam also has a number of law documents governing this matter in detail. Specifically, ordinance No. 20/2004/PL-UBTVQH11 issued on April 29^th, 2004 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and the Decree No. 90/2005/ND-CP issued on July 11^th, 2005 governs the anti-dumping matters and the regulations on the implementation of several articles of the ordinance on anti-dumping of goods imported to Vietnam.

In terms of content, ordinance 20/2004 regulating the anti-dumping measures; procedures, contents of investigation for application and the application of such measures against dumped goods imported into Vietnam. Decree 90/2005 regulating the implementation of some articles of the Ordinance 20/2004 on the anti-dumping investigation agency, the Council that handling anti-dumping cases; procedures, contents of investigation and the application of anti-dumping measures to goods imported into Vietnam.

On December 24th, 2015, Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam has received written request from 4 Vietnam companies about applying anti-dumping measures to galvanized steel products imported into Vietnam from People’s Republic of China (including Hong Kong) and South Korea.

The requesting parties (4 Vietnam companies) believe that quantity and prices of the product under investigation and other factors have created negative impact their goods consumption, leaded to negative effects on production activities; for example, domestic goods’ market share has decreased, loss ratio has increased, price of domestic products has fell and inventory has risen… Moreover, increasing import products brings about damage to domestic industry. Hence, an investigation has been implemented by the investigation agency, which is the Vietnam Competition Authority (VCA), under the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The VCA will publicly hold a consultation with related parties before finishing the investigation stage. The Vietnam Ministry of Industry and Trade will apply anti-dumping tax which comes into effect retroactively in order to prevent the considerable increase of dumping goods in Vietnam that have caused damages to the domestic industry.

ANT Lawyers is a law firm in Vietnam having lawyers with specialization in international trade, and dispute especially WTO laws and anti-dumping laws to handle the anti-dumping matters on behalf of manufacturers and traders to achieve the best result.

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