1. Cases where an invention is deemed not to lose its novelty
Law on amendments to some Articles of Law on Insurance Business and Law on Intellectual Property, excluding a number of regulations on intellectual property rights, is effective from November 1, 2019.
According to this Law, an invention is considered not to lose its novelty after its disclosure if the patent application is submitted in Vietnam within 12 months from the date of disclosure by:
- The person entitled to file such application as specified in Article 86 of the 2005 Law on Intellectual property; or
- The person who has received information about the invention directly or indirectly from the person entitled to file the patent application.
(In the 2005 Law on Intellectual Property currently in force, there are 3 cases where an invention is not deemed to have lost its novelty provided that the patent application is submitted within 6 months from the date of its publication).
2. Definition of “molestation” cues in the Criminal Code
According to the Resolution No. 06/2019/NQ-HDTP by the Council of Justices of the Supreme People’s Court, the act of “molestation” stated in Clause 1 Article 146 of the Criminal Code is defined as follows:
“molestation” means an act committed by a person against another person of different or the same sex that involves direct or indirect physical contact via clothing with a reproductive organ, private part or one of the other body parts of a person under 16 that is sexual in nature but is not committed with the intention to engage in sexual intercourse, specifically including:
- An act of using one of the other body parts (e.g. finger, toe, tongue, etc.) to touch (e.g. caressing, groping, squeezing, pinching, kissing, licking, etc.) a reproductive organ or private part of a person under 16;
- An act of using a sex aid to touch (e.g. groping, rubbing, etc.) a reproductive organ or private part of a person under 16;
- An act of enticing or forcing a person under 16 to use one of their other body parts to touch (e.g. caressing, groping, squeezing, pinching, kissing, licking, etc.) a private part of the offender or another person;
- Other acts that are of a sexual nature but are not meant to engage in sexual intercourse (e.g. kissing the mouth, neck, ear, nape, etc. of a person under 16).
The Resolution No. 06/2019/NQ-HDTP comes into force from November 05, 2019.
3. Changes to information on responsibility for submission of electronic tax returns
The Circular No. 66/2019/TT-BTC amending the Circular No. 110/2015/TT-BTC highlights the instructions on electronic tax transactions.
According to this Circular, if the tax type, sample tax return, tax assessment period, tax declaration period or From/To date for tax return submission on the web portal of the General Department of Taxation is incorrect or has changed, the following steps must be followed:
- the taxpayer may sign in their account to access the web portal of the General Department of Taxation or the T-VAN service provider and make any authorized change.
- the tax authority verifies and updates information on the taxpayer’s responsibility for tax return submission.
The tax authority will also send the confirmation feedback to the taxpayer via the web portal of the General Department of Taxation or via the T-VAN service provider within 02 working days from the date on which such change is made (unlike 05 working days prescribed in existing regulations).
The Circular No. 66/2019/TT-BTC enters into force from November 05, 2019.
4. Increase in guest worker’s minimum secured loan amounts
The Decree No. 74/2019/ND-CP provides amendments to regulations on loan guarantee requirements laid down in the Decree No. 61/2015/ND-CP as follows:
If the minimum loan amount is VND 100 million, the contract guest worker entitled to take out a concessional loan must provide collateral as security for such loan in accordance with law regulations on secured transactions.
(According to applicable regulations, collateral is required if the minimum loan amount is VND 50 million).
The Decree No. 74/2019/ND-CP comes into force from November 08, 2019.
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