The Intellectual Property Office of Viet Nam (IP Viet Nam) has clarified how the amended intellectual property (IP) rules apply to industrial property applications and powers of attorney (POAs) around the 1 April 2026 cut-off date.
In Notice No. 4863/TB-SHTT dated 5 October 2026, IP Viet Nam explains how to determine the applicable rules for processing applications and for POAs. The relevant date is not the same in every situation: it depends on the filing route for an application and, for POAs, on the type of application or procedure carried out through a representative.
Accordingly, a POA submitted for a PCT national phase entry in Viet Nam, or for a procedure involving a Madrid or Hague designation of Viet Nam, on or after 1 April 2026 may be subject to the new POA rules even if the relevant international filing or registration date predates that date.
The notice concerns Law No. 131/2025/QH15 of 10 December 2025, which amends the Law on Intellectual Property, and Circular No. 10/2026/TT-BKHCN of 31 March 2026. It is particularly relevant to foreign applicants and agents handling pending national applications, PCT national phase entries, and Madrid or Hague matters involving Viet Nam.
Which law applies to your application?
The new rules apply to applications whose relevant “time of filing” falls on or after 1 April 2026. Notice No. 4863/TB-SHTT explains that the “time of filing” is determined differently depending on the filing route:
| Filing route | “Time of filing” for this purpose |
| National application | The date on which the application meets the conditions for being accorded a filing date. |
| PCT application entering the national phase in Viet Nam | The international filing date. |
| Madrid application designating Viet Nam | The international registration date or the date of subsequent designation. |
| Hague application designating Viet Nam | The international registration date. |
Applications filed before 1 April 2026 generally remain subject to the previous rules, unless they fall within the transitional cases specified in Article 3.1(a)–(c) of Law No. 131/2025/QH15 or Article 139.1–2 of Circular No. 10/2026/TT-BKHCN. In this notice, “processing” refers to IP Viet Nam’s procedural work on industrial property applications, such as formality examination and publication.
For invention applications, the rules governing requests for substantive examination, including requests for expedited substantive examination, are also determined by the relevant filing date. For a PCT application entering the national phase in Viet Nam, this is the international filing date.
Powers of attorney: which date counts?
For POAs, the applicable rules depend on the date specified for the relevant application or procedure in Notice No. 4863/TB-SHTT. This is not necessarily the original filing date of the underlying application. Procedures carried out through a representative before 1 April 2026 are governed by the previous IP Law (No. 50/2005/QH11) and Circular No. 23/2023/TT-BKHCN. Procedures carried out through a representative on or after 1 April 2026 are governed by Law No. 131/2025/QH15 and Circular No. 10/2026/TT-BKHCN, including the rules on the term of authorization.
The notice identifies the following dates for determining which POA rules apply:
| Application or procedure | Date that determines the applicable POA rules |
| National applications and other industrial property procedures | The date on which the representative files the application or request. |
| PCT application originating from Viet Nam | The filing date of that PCT application. |
| PCT application entering the national phase in Viet Nam | The date of entry into the national phase, not the international filing date. |
| Hague or Madrid application originating from Viet Nam, and requests relating to Vietnamese-origin Madrid applications | The filing date of the application or the relevant request. |
| Hague or Madrid designation of Viet Nam | The date on which the representative carries out the relevant procedure that must be conducted through a lawful representative in Viet Nam. Examples include responding to a provisional refusal with a POA or requesting a certificate confirming protection in Viet Nam for an international trademark registration. |
| Divisional or converted application | The date on which the divisional or converted application is received, not the filing date of the parent application. |
Two transitional situations are particularly important:
- Late submission of a POA for an earlier application. For an invention, layout-design, trademark, industrial design or geographical indication application filed before 1 April 2026, the previous POA rules continue to apply even if the POA is submitted after that date, provided it is submitted within the applicable deadline.
- An earlier-signed POA used for a later filing. Where the relevant application or procedure falls under the new rules, those rules apply even if the POA was signed before 1 April 2026. The same principle applies when a copy of a POA is submitted with a reference to the original POA already filed for another application before that date.
What applicants should do now
- Missing POAs for pre-April applications. Submit any outstanding POA within the applicable deadline so that the transitional treatment for the earlier application can be relied upon.
- General POAs signed before 1 April 2026. Check the POA against the new requirements, including the term of authorization, before reusing it or referring to it in a new filing.
- PCT national phase entries. For entries into the national phase in Viet Nam on or after 1 April 2026, check and prepare the POA under the new rules, even if the international filing date is earlier.
- Madrid and Hague designations of Viet Nam. For procedures carried out on or after 1 April 2026 that must be handled through a local representative, ensure that the POA meets the new rules, regardless of the international registration date.
- Divisional and converted applications. Determine the applicable POA rules by reference to the date on which the divisional or converted application is received, rather than the filing date of the parent application.
Source: Notice No. 4863/TB-SHTT dated 5 October 2026 of IP Viet Nam [View Here]
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