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THE
GOVERNMENT
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SOCIALIST
REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM
Independence - Freedom - Happiness
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No:
42/2003/ND-CP
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Hanoi,
May 2, 2003
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DECREE
ON THE PROTECTION OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OVER
SEMICONDUCTOR INTEGRATED CIRCUIT LAYOUT DESIGNS
THE GOVERNMENT
Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on
Organization of the Government;
Pursuant to the Civil Code of October 28, 1995;
At the proposal of the Minister of Science and Technology,
DECREES:
Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1.- Scope of regulation
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Article 2.- Subjects of application
1. This Decree applies to all Vietnamese
organizations and individuals.
2. This Decree also applies to foreign
organizations and individuals enjoying the protection of industrial property
rights over semiconductor integrated circuit layout designs according to the
provisions of the international treaties which Vietnam has signed or acceded
to.
In cases where an international treaty which the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam has signed or acceded to contains provisions
different from those of this Decree, the provisions of such international
treaty shall apply.
Article 3.- Interpretation of terms
In this Decree, the following terms shall be
construed as follows:
1. "Semiconductor integrated circuit"
means a product in its final form or intermediate form, in which the elements -
at least one of which is an active element, and some or all of interconnections
are integrally formed in or on a piece of semiconductor material and which is
intended to perform an electronic function. "Integrated circuit" is
synonymous to "IC", "chip" and "microelectronic
circuit";
2. "Semiconductor integrated circuit layout
design" means a three-dimensional disposition of circuit elements and
their interconnections in semiconductor integrated circuits (hereinafter
referred to as "layout designs");
3. "Layout design author" means person
or persons who create a layout design with their own creative labor.
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4. "Owner" means subjects those who
are granted protection titles or lawfully transferred the industrial property
right over layout designs;
5. "Distribution" means all forms of
commercial circulation, including sale, lease, transfer, including
advertisement, offering or storing for the said purposes;
6. "Exploitation of layout designs for
commercial purposes" means the public distribution of semiconductor
integrated circuits manufactured according to such layout designs or
commodities imbued with semiconductor integrated circuits manufactured
according to such layout designs.
Article 4.- Objects to be protected
1. Objects to be protected under this Decree are
layout designs of the original nature.
2. Layout designs shall be recognized as of the
original nature if they fully meet the following conditions:
a/ Such layout designs are the result of their
authors’ own creative labor;
b/ At the time of their creation, such layout
designs are not commonplace among layout design creators and integrated circuit
manufacturers.
Article 5.- Objects not to be protected
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1. Principles, processes, systems and methods
performed by semiconductor integrated circuits.
2. Information and software incorporated in
semiconductor integrated circuits.
Chapter II
ESTABLISHMENT OF
INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OVER LAYOUT DESIGNS
Article 6.- Bases for establishing the rights of owners and the rights
of layout design authors
The industrial property rights of owners over
layout designs and the rights of layout design authors shall be established
under layout design protection titles (hereinafter referred to as protection
titles) granted by the National Office of Industrial Property under the
Ministry of Science and Technology according to the provisions in this Chapter.
Article 7.- Protection titles
1. Protection titles are named "certificate
of registration of semiconductor integrated circuit layout designs" and
valid throughout the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
2. The valid duration of a protection title
commences on the date of title issuance and ends on the earliest of the
following dates:
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b/ The date ending 10 years, as from the date
the competent person files the application for a layout design or permits the
commercial exploitation thereof for the first time anywhere in the world;
c/ The date ending 15 years, as from the date of
layout design creation.
3. Contents of protection titles are determined
under decisions on granting of protection titles prescribed in Clause 1,
Article 14 of this Decree.
Article 8.- Temporary right of owners
In cases where layout designs have been
commercially exploited by their applicants (or persons authored by the
applicants) before the date the protection titles are issued, and such layout
designs had been used by the third parties for commercial purposes during the
period from the date of commercial exploitation to the date of issuance of the
protection titles, the applicants may notify the above-said third parties of
their already filed applications.
If the third parties, after being notified,
still continue using the layout designs, the layout design owners, after being
granted the protection titles, may request the third parties to pay a
compensation equal to the amount paid for the transfer of the right to use such
layout designs corresponding to the scope within which they have been used
during the period from the date of notice receipt to the date of issuance of
the protection titles.
Article 9.- Applications for granting of protection titles
1. An application for a protection title is a
collection of documents and samples expressing the applicant’s request for the
protection title.
2. Each application shall request the granting
of protection title for only one layout design.
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4. Applications for protection titles must
satisfy the requirements on forms and contents according to the regulations of
the Minister of Science and Technology.
Article 10.-
The right to file protection title applications
1. The following organizations and individuals
have the right to file protection title applications:
a/ Authors who create layout designs with their
own labor and expenses;
b/ Organizations and/or individuals that provide
funding and material facilities for authors to create layout designs in form of
work assignment or job performance hiring, unless otherwise agreed upon in
labor contracts or job performance hiring contracts.
2. Persons having the right to file protection
title applications, defined in Clause 1 of this Article, shall be entitled to
transfer such right as well as the already filed applications to other
organizations or individuals in form of written transfers or inheritance.
3. If many organizations and/or individuals that
fall under the cases prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article jointly create one
layout design, the right to file applications shall go to all such organizations
and/or individuals and such right shall be exercised only when all such
organizations and/or individuals so agree.
4. If many organizations and/or individuals that
fall under the cases prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article independently
create identical layout designs, all such organizations and/or individuals
shall have the right to file applications for protection titles and all
protection titles (if granted) shall be independently valid.
Article 11.-
The statute of limitations for exercising the right to
file applications for protection titles for already commercially exploited
layout designs
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Article 12.-
Exercise of the right to file protection title
applications
1. To be granted protection titles,
organizations and individuals having the right to file applications defined in
Clause 1, Article 10 of this Decree shall have to file protection title
applications with the National Office of Industrial Property. Protection titles
shall be granted by the National Office of Industrial Property on the basis of
the results of examination of protection title applications according to the
order and procedures prescribed in this Chapter.
2. Vietnamese organizations and individuals may
directly file or authorize industrial property representation service
organizations to file protection title applications and proceed with relevant
procedures.
3. Foreign organizations and individuals shall
exercise the right to file protection title applications and proceed with the
relevant procedures as follows:
a/ Foreign individuals permanently residing in
Vietnam, foreign legal persons having their lawful representatives in Vietnam,
foreign individuals or legal persons having their production and business
establishments in Vietnam shall directly file or authorize industrial property
representation service organizations to file protection title applications and
proceed with relevant procedures;
b/ Foreign individuals and legal persons not
falling under the cases prescribed at Point a of this Clause shall file
protection title applications and proceed with the relevant procedures by
authorizing industrial property representation service organizations to carry
out them.
4. Organizations providing industrial property
representation service mentioned in Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article are those
operating under the Government’s Decree No. 63/CP of October 24, 1996
specifying the industrial property, which was amended and supplemented under
Decree No. 06/2001/ND-CP of February 1, 2001.
5. Applicants must ensure the truthfulness of
information on the right to file protection title applications, applicants and
authors named in the applications. When protection titles are invalidated
because the said information is untruthful, the protection title holders shall
be held responsible for consequences caused by their dishonesty.
Article 13.-
Examination of protection title applications
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Objects stated in applications shall not be
examined in terms of their protectability according to the protection criteria
prescribed in Article 4 of this Decree,
2. Procedures and duration for examining the
formality of applications for protection titles shall be prescribed by the
Minister of Science and Technology.
Article 14.-
Granting, refusal to grant and registration of
protection titles
1. The director of the National Office of
Industrial Property shall issue decisions on granting of protection titles,
except for the cases prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article. The decisions on
granting of protection titles must clearly state the names and addresses of
protection titles grantees; the serial numbers of protection title applications
and the dates of filing applications; the names of industrial property
representation service organizations; the full names of layout design authors
(or co-authors); the appellations and classification of semiconductor
integrated circuits manufactured according to the protected layout designs and
the dates of exploitation of layout designs for commercial purposes for the
first time (if declared in applications); the dates of layout design creation;
the titles and serial numbers of protection titles; protection duration.
2. In the following cases, the director of the
National Office of Industrial Property shall issue notices on the refusal to
grant protection titles, clearly stating the reasons therefor to the applicants:
a/ Protection title applications fail to meet
the requirements prescribed in Clauses 2, 3 and 4, Article 9 of this Decree;
b/ Applications are filed by persons having no
right to do so;
c/ The right to file protection title
applications belongs to many organizations and individuals according to the
provisions in Clause 3, Article 10 of this Decree, but one or several of them
do not agree to file protection title applications;
d/ Protection title applications are filed after
the statute of limitations prescribed in Article 11 of this Decree expires;
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f/ Applicants fail to pay the fee as prescribed
in Article 20 of this Decree;
3. Protection titles shall be recorded in the
national register on semiconductor integrated circuit layout designs.
4. Protection titles are handed over to
applicants.
If applicants are collectives, only the first
member on the list of such collectives’ members shall be handed the protection
titles and names of such members shall be noted in the national register. Other
members have the right to request the National Office of Industrial Property to
issue copies of protection titles according to the procedures prescribed by the
Minister of Science and Technology and shall have to pay a fee for the issuance
of protection title copies.
Article 15.- Re-granting of protection titles, issuance of document copies
At requests of owners (or co-owners), the
National Office of Industrial Property shall re-grant protection titles
(including protection title copies) when it deems the reasons therefor are
plausible.
At the requests of organizations and
individuals, the National Office of Industrial Property shall issue excerpts of
the national register and copies of documents included in protection title
applications, except for documents classified secret according to the
regulations of the Minister of Science and Technology. Particularly for
documents identifying layout designs, copies thereof shall only be issued to
the competent agencies and organizations and individuals related to the
procedures for invalidating protection titles or the procedures for handling acts
of infringing upon the rights.
Organizations and individuals that request the
re-granting of protection titles or issuance of document copies shall have to
pay charge and fee therefor according to the regulations.
Article 16.-
Suspension of validity of protection titles
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a/ Owners announce to waive all the rights they
are entitled to under protection titles;
b/ Owners cease to exist with no lawful heir.
2. In case of suspension of validity of
protection titles according to the provisions at Point a, Clause 1 of this
Article, the validity of protection titles shall be suspended as from the date
their owners announce to waive them.
In case of suspension of validity of protection
titles according to the provisions at Point b, Clause 1 of this Article, the
validity of protection titles shall be suspended as from the date their owners
cease to exist.
3. Owners shall have the right to file
applications with the National Office of Industrial Property to request the
suspension of validity of protection titles for the reason mentioned at Point
a, Clause 1 of this Article.
All organizations and individuals shall have the
right to file applications with the National Office of Industrial Property to
request the suspension of validity of protection titles for the reason
mentioned at Point b, Clause 1 of this Article. Requesters of protection title
validity suspension shall have to pay the prescribed fee.
Basing himself/herself on the result of
examination of requests for protection title validity suspension and opinions
of concerned parties, the director of the National Office of Industrial
Property shall issue decisions on suspension of validity of protection titles or
notices on rejection of such requests.
4. Procedures and order for handling requests
for protection title validity suspension shall be prescribed by the Minister of
Science and Technology.
Article 17.-
Cancellation of validity of protection titles
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a/ Protection title applications fall into the
cases prescribed at Points b, c and d, Clause 2, Article 14 of this Decree;
b/ Protected layout designs fail to meet the
protection conditions prescribed in Article 4 or fall within the subjects
uneligible for protection according to the provisions in Article 5 of this
Decree.
2. Validity of protection titles shall be
partially canceled in the cases where certain parts fail to meet the protection
criteria.
3. All organizations and individuals shall have
the right to file applications to request the National Office of Industrial
Property to cancel the protection title validity in the cases prescribed in
Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article. Requesters of protection title validity
cancellation shall have to pay the prescribed fee.
Basing himself/herself on the result of
examination of requests for protection title validity cancellation and opinions
of concerned parties, the director of the National Office of Industrial
Property shall issue decisions to cancel part or whole of the validity of
protection titles or notices on rejection of such requests.
4. Procedures and order for handling requests
for protection title validity cancellation shall be prescribed by the Minister
of Science and Technology.
Article 18.-
Complaints about decisions related to the granting,
suspension or cancellation of validity of protection titles
1. The right to lodge complaints about decisions
and notices of the National Office of Industrial Property related to the
granting, suspension or cancellation of validity of protection titles is
provided for as follows:
a/ First-time complaints:
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All organizations and individuals having rights
and interests directly related to the granting of protection titles, suspension
or cancellation of protection title validity shall have the right to complain
about decisions on granting of protection titles, decisions on suspension or
cancellation of protection title validity.
b/ Second-time complaints, initiation of
lawsuits:
If, upon the expiry of the time limit for
settling first-time complaints prescribed in Clause 4 of this Article, the
complaints remain unsettled, or if disagreeing with the complaint settlement
decisions of the director of the National Office of Industrial Property, the
persons who have exercised the right to lodge first-time complaints according
to the provisions at Point a of this Clause may lodge complaints with the
Minister of Science and Technology (second-time complaints) or initiate
lawsuits according to the administrative procedures.
2. Complaints must be made in writing, clearly
stating the full names and addresses of complainants; the serial numbers,
signing dates and contents of complained decisions or notices; the serial
numbers of related protection title applications; the names of to be protected
objects stated in applications; contents, arguments and evidences to support
complaining arguments; specific requests for amendment to or cancellation of
related decisions or conclusions.
3. The statute of limitations for lodging
first-time complaints is 90 days as from the date the persons with the complaining
right receive or are notified of decisions or notices specified at Point a,
Clause 1 of this Article.
The statute of limitations for lodging
second-time complaints is 30 days as from the date of expiry of the time limit
for settling first-time complaints prescribed in Clause 4 of this Article but
such complaints remain unsettled or from the date the persons with the
complaining right receive or are notified of decisions on first-time complaint
settlement.
In cases where, due to objective obstacles or force
majeure circumstances, complainants cannot exercise the complaining right
within the statute of limitations, the period when such obstacles or
circumstances exist shall not be calculated into the statute of limitations for
lodging complaints.
4. The time limit for settling first-time
complaints is 30 days, for second-time complaints is 45 days after the date of
complaint acceptance. For complicated cases, the time limit for settling
first-time complaints may be prolonged to 45 days and for settling second-time
complaints to 60 days after the date of complaint acceptance. The duration for
modifying or supplementing complaint dossiers shall not be calculated into the
above-said time limits.
5. The competence, order and procedures for
settling complaints shall comply with the provisions of the legislation on
complaints and denunciations. Complainants shall have to pay charges for
services on settling industrial property complaints as prescribed.
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1. All applications for protection titles, which
have been recognized valid, shall be publicized in the form accessible for
direct reference (no photocopying nor duplication) at the National Office of
Industrial Property. For secret information classified under the regulations of
the Minister of Science and Technology, only the competent agencies and
concerned parties involved in the procedures for canceling validity of
protection titles or procedures for handling acts of infringing upon rights may
refer to them.
2. All decisions on the establishment,
amendment, suspension, cancellation or transfer of industrial property right
over layout designs shall be published by the National Office of Industrial
Property in the Industrial Property Official Gazette within 60 days after such
decisions are issued.
Article 20.-
Charges and fees
1. Organizations and individuals carrying out
the procedures for establishing, amending, suspending or canceling the validity
of protection titles, for transferring industrial property right over layout
designs, the procedures for lodging complaints or other relevant procedures at
the National Office of Industrial Property or other competent agencies shall be
obliged to pay to the agencies carrying out such procedures the prescribed
charges and fees.
2. The National Office of Industrial Property
and other competent agencies defined in Clause 1 of this Article are obliged to
collect fully, according to schedule and the procedures the relevant charges
and fees and shall have to remit them into the State budget according to the
provisions of current legislation.
The charge and fee-collecting agencies shall be
allowed to use part of the collected fee amount in compliance with the
provisions of the legislation on charges and fees in order to raise the
professional capability and encourage persons directly performing jobs
generating revenue sources.
3. Charge and/or fee amounts already paid for
works which have not been performed due to the non-occurrence of anticipated
circumstances or faults of the agencies obliged to perform such works must be
refunded to the charge and/or fee payers, and the reimbursement must be
certified by the charge and/or fee payers or evidenced with reimbursement
vouchers.
Chapter III
RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS
OF OWNERS, RIGHTS OF AUTHORS OF LAYOUT DESIGNS
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Owners have the following rights:
1. To exclusively use their layout designs;
2. To transfer the right to use layout designs;
3. To have the temporary right defined in
Article 8 of this Decree;
4. To transfer or waive all industrial property
rights over layout designs;
5. To request the handling of, or initiate
lawsuits against, infringements of their above-said rights.
Article 22.-
Exclusive right to use layout designs
Owners’ exclusive right to use layout designs,
as defined in Article 21 of this Decree, is the right to perform or forbid
other persons from performing any acts specified below toward the protected
layout designs for business purposes:
1. Reproducing protected layout designs; manufacturing
semiconductor integrated circuits after the protected layout designs;
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Article 23.-
Transfer of the right to use layout designs
1. The right to transfer the right to use layout
designs of owners defined in Article 21 of this Decree is the right to allow
other persons to perform any acts within the exclusive right to use layout
designs defined in Article 22 of this Decree.
2. In cases where the industrial property rights
over a layout design are under joint-ownership, the transfer of the right to use
such layout design by one or several co-owners to other persons must be
consented by all other co-owners.
3. The transfer of the right to use layout
designs must be expressed in written contracts. Contents of contracts on
transfer of the right to use layout designs must comply with the regulations of
the Minister of Science and Technology and other relevant provisions of law.
4. Contracts on transfer of the right to use
layout designs must be registered at the National Office of Industrial Property
according to the regulations of the Minister of Science and Technology.
Contracts on transfer of the right to use layout designs shall be valid as from
the date of registration. The transferees (receiving parties) may use layout
designs within the scope and under the conditions inscribed in the already
registered contracts on transfer of the right to use layout designs.
5. Contracts on transfer of the right to use
layout designs shall be automatically suspended from validity or invalid when the
transferors’ industrial property right over the layout designs is suspended or
invalidated.
Article 24.- Transfer or waiver of industrial property rights over
layout designs
1. The transfer of industrial property rights
over layout designs shall be effected in form of agreement, bequeathal or
removal in case of merger, consolidation, division or separation of legal
persons.
2. Where the industrial property rights over
layout designs are under joint ownership, the transfer thereof must be
consented by all co-owners.
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4. All forms of transferring the industrial
property rights over layout designs must be registered at the National Office
of Industrial Property according to the regulations of the Minister of Science
and Technology.
5. After the date the transfer of the industrial
property rights over layout designs is registered at the National Office of
Industrial Property, the transferees shall become owners and receive all the
rights and obligations of the transferors which arise from protection titles as
well as the rights and obligations of the transferors which arise from
transactions with the third parties, provided that this must be inscribed in
the transfer contracts or hand-over documents.
6. Owners must not waive the industrial property
rights over layout designs when they fail to obtain consents of the transferees
of the right to use layout designs and the contracts on transfer of the right
to use layout designs are still valid. This provision shall not apply to cases
where one or several co-owners waive their right portion, while another or
other co-owners continue to own such layout designs.
Article 25.-
The obligation to pay remuneration to layout design
authors
1. If authors of layout designs are not their
owners, the owners are obliged to pay remuneration to the authors of layout
designs for the creation thereof according to the agreement between them, or
under the provisions in Clause 2 of this Article, if they do not otherwise
agree.
2. If there exists no other agreement between
layout design authors and owners, the remuneration levels and payment time
limits shall have to comply with the following provisions:
a/ The minimum remuneration level for layout
design authors shall be equal to 5% of yields earned in each year of using the
layout designs or 15% of the total proceeds received by their owners for each
time of transfer of the right to use layout designs;
b/ The payment of remuneration to layout design
authors must be made within 60 days as from the last day of the 12th month of
each using year or within 30 days counting from the date the owners receive the
payment for the transfer of the right to use layout designs.
Article 26.-
Rights of layout design authors
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a/ To have their full names in the authors’
capacity inscribed in protection titles, the National Register as well as in
documents publicizing layout designs;
b/ To receive remuneration from owners according
to the provisions of Article 25 of this Decree;
c/ To request the handling of, or initiate
lawsuits against, the infringement of their above-said rights.
2. The layout design authors’ right to receive
remuneration provided for at Point b, Clause 1 of this Article may be
transferred to other persons, including in the form of bequeathal according to
the provisions of law.
Chapter IV
PROTECTION OF INDUSTRIAL
PROPERTY RIGHTS OVER LAYOUT DESIGNS
Article 27.- Acts of infringing upon the owner’s rights
1. Within the time limit for layout design
protection, all acts of using layout designs prescribed in Article 22 of this
Decree without permission of owners and not falling under the cases prescribed
in Article 28 of this Decree shall be regarded as acts of infringing upon the
owner’s industrial property rights over layout designs.
2. The use of layout designs without paying
compensations according to the provisions in Article 8 and not falling under
the cases prescribed in Article 28 of this Decree shall be regarded as acts of
infringing upon the owner’s temporary right.
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The use of layout designs in the following cases
shall not be regarded as acts of infringing upon the owner’s rights:
1. Using protected layout designs for
non-commercial purposes, such as personal use, assessment, analysis, research
or teaching;
2. Distributing or importing copies of protected
layout designs, semi-conductor integrated circuits manufactured after the
protected layout designs or goods containing semi-conductor integrated circuits
manufactured after the protected layout designs without knowing or having no
ground to know that the layout designs are currently protected;
3. Distributing or importing copies of protected
layout designs, semi-conductor integrated circuits manufactured after the
protected layout designs or goods containing semi-conductor integrated circuits
manufactured after the protected layout designs, which have already been
received or ordered without knowing or having no ground to know that such
layout designs are currently protected, provided that the distributing or
importing acts are performed after such layout design protection is known and
the users pay to the owners an amount equal to that payable for the transfer of
the right to use such layout designs.
4. Distributing or importing copies of protected
layout designs, semi-conductor integrated circuits manufactured after the
protected layout designs or goods containing semi-conductor integrated circuits
manufactured after the protected layout designs, which have been marketed, even
overseas, by the owners, use right transferees or lawful users according to the
provisions in Clause 3 of this Article;
5. Using layout designs of the original nature,
which are created on the basis of analyzing or evaluating protected layout
designs according to the provisions in Clause 1 of this Article, or layout
designs independently created by other persons but identical to the protected
layout designs.
Article 29.-
Acts of infringing upon rights of layout design authors
The owners’ failure to perform the obligation to
pay remuneration to layout design authors according to the provisions in
Article 25 of this Decree and failure to secure rights of layout design authors
according to the provisions at Point a, Clause 1, Article 26 of this Decree
shall be regarded as the infringement upon the rights of layout design authors.
Article 30.-
Security for the enforcement of the rights of layout
design owners and authors
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Depending on the nature, seriousness and
consequences of acts of infringing upon industrial property rights over layout designs
of owners and rights of layout design authors, organizations and individuals
that commit acts of violation shall be administratively handled or examined for
penal liability. If damage is caused, they shall have to pay compensations
therefor according to the provisions of law.
2. Layout design owners and authors may request
competent State agencies to compel persons committing acts of violation in the
cases prescribed in Articles 27 and 29 of this Decree to stop their acts of
violation and pay compensations for damage.
3. The handling of acts of infringing upon
industrial property rights over layout designs of owners and rights of layout
design authors shall be effected according to the current law provisions on
order and procedures for handling acts of infringing upon rights over other
industrial property objects.
Chapter V
STATE MANAGEMENT OVER
PROTECTION OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OVER LAYOUT DESIGNS
Article 31.-
Contents of State management, responsibility of State
agencies competent to manage and protect the national interests and social
interests
Activities of protecting industrial property
rights related to layout designs fall under the scope of State management over
industrial property.
The provisions on contents of State management
over industrial property activities, responsibilities of the State agencies
competent to manage industrial property, protect national interests and social
interests in the Government’s Decree No. 63/CP of October 24, 1996 specifying
the industrial property, which was amended and supplemented under the
Government’s Decree No. 06/2001/ND-CP of February 1, 2001, shall also apply to
activities of protecting industrial property rights over layout designs.
Article 32.-
Responsibilities of the concerned ministries
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2. The Finance Ministry shall assume the prime
responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Science and Technology in
prescribing the regime of collection, remittance, management and use of assorted
charges and fees for the procedures related to the protection of industrial
property rights over layout designs.
3. The Ministry of Industry shall coordinate
with the Ministry of Science and Technology in prescribing and organizing the
technical expertise in service of the procedures for canceling protection
titles and the procedures for securing the enforcement of industrial property
rights over layout designs.
Chapter VI
IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS
Article 33.-
Transitional clause
1. For layout designs already exploited for
commercial purposes anywhere in the world at any time in the period of between
18 months and two years before the effective date of this Decree, the statute
of limitations for exercising the right to file applications for protection thereof
shall be 6 months as from the effective date of this Decree.
2. Provisions on the owners’ right to prevent
the use of layout designs in Clause 2, Article 22 of this Decree shall not
apply to semi-conductor integrated circuits already available before the
effective date of this Decree.
3. Provisions on the owners’ temporary rights in
Article 8 of this Decree shall not apply to acts of using layout designs
performed before the effective date of this Decree.
Article 34.-
Effect and implementation responsibilities
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2. The ministers, the heads of the
ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the
Government, the presidents of the People’s Committees of the provinces and
centrally-run cities and the director of the National Office of Industrial
Property shall have to implement this Decree.
ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT
PRIME MINISTER
Phan Van Khai