Which IP right should you register

A decision tree that identifies whether your subject matter falls under copyright, trademark, patent, industrial design or plant variety protection.

What are you trying to protect?

Pick the description closest to what you actually have. If you have several things to protect (say both software and a brand), run this more than once — they are different rights and are registered separately.

• A creative product — writing, photos, music, video, software, graphic design — Something you made that can be seen, heard or run
• A brand identifier — brand name, logo, slogan — What customers use to recognise your goods or services
• A technical solution — a machine, process, formula or product structure — Something that solves a technical problem in a new way
• The outward shape of a physical product — A bottle shape, device housing, packaging design or furniture form

What will you use that creative product for?

The same image can be both a work of applied art and a trademark. What you use it for decides which right actually protects you.

• The work itself is what I publish, sell or license — For example a book, a course, a track, software, a photo set
• I use it as the face of my brand on goods or services — For example a logo printed on products, packaging or signage
• I keep it internal and unpublished — data, algorithms, customer lists — The value lies in competitors not knowing

Are you already selling goods or services under this sign?

• Yes, or launching within the next few months — The longer you trade unregistered, the greater the risk someone else files first
• Not yet — still at the idea or design stage — This is in fact the best moment to file

How far does your solution advance on what already exists?

This is the hardest question and the one to research before answering. Search PATENTSCOPE or Google Patents to see whether someone has already done something similar.

• A clear advance that a person in the field would not obviously arrive at — This is the "inventive step" threshold for a patent
• New and workable, but a moderate improvement — A lower bar with a better chance of grant
• Competitors could not easily work it out, and I can keep it confidential long term — Formulas or internal production processes
• I am unsure about markets and may sell abroad — You need an international filing strategy before the priority window closes

Copyright — you already hold the right; register it for the evidence

Your work is protected automatically from creation and fixation. Registering with the Copyright Office creates no new right, but in a dispute you will not have to prove ownership — the other side must disprove it. It is the cheapest and fastest of all the IP procedures.

• Identify the correct category of work — fees range from VND 100,000 to 600,000
• Prepare the form signed or fingerprinted by the author, with two copies of the work
• If an employee or freelancer created it, complete the assignment paperwork before filing

Trademark — file as soon as you can

Vietnam applies first-to-file. You may have traded under the brand for years, but if someone else files first and obtains the registration, you can be the one forced to stop. Registering the company name with the business registry is no substitute.

• Search the IP Office database and the WIPO Global Brand Database first
• Choose Nice classes for your goods and services — this dominates the cost
• Consider filing via VNeID to have the filing and grant charges waived until 31 December 2026

Trademark — filing before launch is the optimal move

Filing now is far cheaper and safer than filing after launch. If the application is refused for conflict with an existing mark, you can still change the name before printing packaging, making signage and building recognition — instead of rebranding after the market already knows you.

• Search for availability before finalising the brand name
• Avoid names that directly describe the goods — they are usually refused for lack of distinctiveness
• Secure the domain and social accounts at the same time to avoid squatting

Both — copyright for the design, a trademark for commercial use

This is the common case for logos. Copyright registration confirms you own the artwork — useful against the designer who made it for you, or against outright copying of the image. The trademark gives exclusivity over the sign on goods and services, which is what actually stops competitors. On a tight budget, prioritise the trademark.

• First make sure your contract with the designer assigned the economic rights to you
• File the trademark for the classes you trade in now and will trade in soon
• Register copyright in the logo as a work of applied art

Patent — and disclose nothing publicly before you file

A patent gives 20 years of exclusivity from the filing date. In exchange you must disclose the solution fully enough for a skilled person to reproduce it. The biggest risk right now is destroying your own novelty: a social post, a demo, a conference paper or a public fundraising pitch can each sink the application.

• Search the prior art on PATENTSCOPE and Google Patents before investing in drafting
• Consider engaging an IP attorney — the quality of the claims determines the patent's worth
• Budget for annual maintenance fees from the start; do not let the patent lapse by oversight

Utility solution — a lower bar and a shorter term

A utility solution requires only novelty and industrial applicability, not an inventive step. It lasts 10 years instead of 20. It suits moderate technical improvements and also serves as a fallback when a patent application is refused for lack of inventive step.

• Still keep the solution confidential until filing — the novelty requirement is the same
• Prepare the description and claims just as you would for a patent
• Weigh cost and time against the trade secret route before deciding

Patent via the PCT — file the base application now, choose markets later

If target markets are still uncertain, file a base application in Vietnam to lock the priority date, then file a PCT international application within 12 months. The PCT gives you up to 30–31 months from priority to choose national phases — enough time to validate the market before spending country by country.

• File the base application with the IP Office to fix the priority date
• Diarise the 12-month PCT deadline and the 30–31 month national-phase deadline
• Budget by number of countries — national-phase costs typically dwarf the Vietnamese fees

Industrial design — protects appearance, up to 15 years

An industrial design protects outward appearance, not technical function. The term is 5 years from filing, renewable twice for 5 years each, 15 years in total. If your novelty lies in how the product works rather than how it looks, go back and take the technical-solution branch.

• Prepare photographs or drawings showing every view of the product
• File before putting the product on the market to preserve novelty
• If the shape also acts as a brand identifier, consider a 3D trademark as well

Trade secret — no registration; protection comes from your security measures

Trade secrets have no registration procedure and last indefinitely, until the information ceases to be secret. In exchange you cannot stop someone who independently develops the same thing. Protection requires that you take reasonable steps to keep it secret — with no measures in place, you will struggle to prove it was a trade secret at all.

• Sign confidentiality agreements with employees, partners and suppliers who see the information
• Restrict access on a need-to-know basis and log who accessed what
• Choose deliberately between trade secret and patent — filing a patent means public disclosure