Which procedure to use, and what it costs

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A comparison of the four registration procedures by cost, time and what you actually get — plus two fee reliefs running to the end of 2026.

The four most common registration procedures, side by side.

Comparison

Copyright registration is the fastest and cheapest (VND 100,000–600,000, no substantive examination) but registers a right you already hold. Trademarks take roughly 18 months to two years in practice and start around VND 1.1 million in official fees, lasting 10 years with unlimited renewals. Patents take several years, start around VND 2 million, and run 20 years with annual maintenance fees. Industrial designs take roughly a year to eighteen months, start around VND 1.5 million, and cap at 15 years.

Those are base rates before relief. Use the cost estimator for your own case — the number of Nice classes, independent claims or design variants changes the total substantially.

Two fee reliefs currently in force

A 50% reduction in industrial property fees under Circular 64/2025/TT-BTC, from 1 July 2025 through 31 December 2026. Rates are expected to revert to Circular 263/2016/TT-BTC from 1 January 2027 unless extended.

A full waiver of the filing charge and the grant charge when using the VNeID app, from 1 April to 31 December 2026.

If you are weighing when to file a trademark, patent or design, these are concrete reasons to file within 2026. Note that both apply to industrial property fees, not to copyright registration fees under Circular 211/2016/TT-BTC.

A sensible order

For a new business: trademark first — it is what you do not have without registering, and what you are most likely to lose to someone else under first-to-file. Then assignment contracts with your creators — the cheapest step of all, a single clause, but without it everything downstream is shaky. Then a patent if you have a technical solution, filed before any public disclosure. Then copyright registration last, since the right already exists and registration is purely evidentiary.

When to engage an IP attorney

Not required for Vietnamese applicants — but mandatory for foreign applicants without residence in Vietnam.

Worth it for: patent applications (claim quality determines the patent's value), trademark applications where a search revealed conflict risk, and international filings via PCT, Madrid or Hague.

You can reasonably self-file: copyright registration for your own work, or a simple single-class trademark where a search found no conflict.

The costliest mistake at this stage

Registering the wrong right. People register copyright in a logo and assume the brand is safe — until a competitor registers a similar mark and they are the ones who must stop. If in doubt, run the advisor tool before filing anything.

Cited documents

Sources