NATIONAL ASSEMBLY  
--------  SOCIAL REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM  
Independence - Freedom - Happiness  
---------------  
No. 42/2019/QH14   
  
LAW  
AMENDMENTS TO SOME ARTICLES OF LAW ON INSURANCE 
BUSINESS AND LAW ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY  
 
Pursuant to Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;  
The National Assembly promulgated Law on amendments to some articles 
of Law on Insurance Business No. 24/2000 / QH10 amended to some articles in 
accordance with Law No. 61/2010 / QH12 and Law on Intellectual Property No. 
50/2005 / QH11 amended to some articles in accordance with Law No. 36/2009 
/ QH12.  
 
Article 1. Amendments to Law on Insurance Business  
1. Addition of Clauses 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26 after Clause 20 of Article 
3:  
"21. Insurance auxiliary service  is an integr al part of insurance business 
activities, implemented by insurers, insurance brokers, other organizations and 
individuals for profit purpose, including insurance consulting, insurance risk 
assessment, actuarial analysis, insurance loss assessment, insuranc e claim 
assistance.  
22. Insurance consulting is an activity that provides consulting services 
on insurance programs, insurance products, insurance risk management, 
prevention and reduction of losses.  
23. Insurance risk assessment is an activity that identi fies, classifies and 
assesses the nature and extent of risks, assesses the risk management on people 
and property and civil liability as a basis for insurance participation.  2 
 
24. Actuarial analysis  includes collection and analysis of statistical data; 
calcu lation of insurance premiums, professional reserves, capital, solvency 
margin; evaluation of business performance results and determination enterprise 
value in order to ensure financial safety of insurers.  
25. Insurance loss assessment is an activity that determines actual state, 
cause, loss level; calculates and allocates liability for compensation as a basis 
for insurance claim assistance.  
26. Insurance claim assistance is an activity that assists policyholders, the 
insured, beneficiaries or insurers in carrying out procedures on insurance claim 
assistance.  
2. Amendments to Article 11:  
Article 11. Right to participate in professional - social organizations 
on insurance business  
Insurers, insurance agents, insurance brokers, individuals and 
organizations p roviding insurance auxiliary services are able to participate in 
professional - social organizations on insurance business for the purpose of 
developing insurance market, protecting legitimate rights and interests of 
members in accordance with laws.  
3. The  title of Chapter IV is changed as follows:  
“Chapter IV  
INSURANCE AGENCIES, INSURANCE BROKERS, INSURANCE 
AUXILIARY SERVICES ” 
4. Addition of Section 3 after Section 2 of Chapter IV:  
“Section 3  
INSURANCE AUXILIARY SERVICES ” 
Article 93a. Provision of insuranc e auxiliary services  
1. Principles of providing insurance auxiliary services:  
a) Honesty, objectiveness, transparency; guarantee of legitimate rights and 
interests of related parties;  3 
 
b) Compliance with standards and technical regulations in insurance 
auxiliary services;  
c) Compliance with ethical rules, professional conduct issued by social – 
professional organizations.  
2. Individuals and organizations that meet the conditions specified in 
Article 93b of this Law shall be entitled to provide insurance auxiliary services 
in according with the following provisions:  
a) Individuals are entitled to provide insurance consulting services;  
b) Insurers, insurance brokers and other juridical persons shall be entitled 
to provide insurance auxiliary services (colle ctively referred to as “insurance 
auxiliary service providers”).  
3. Responsibilities of individuals and organizations providing insurance 
auxiliary services:  
a) Customers’ information shall be kept secret and used for right purpose, 
not be revealed to a th ird party without consent of customers, unless it is 
provided in accordance with laws;  
b) Individuals providing insurance consulting services shall purchase 
professional liability insurance that covers insurance consulting services; 
insurance auxiliary ser vice providers shall purchase professional liability 
insurance in accordance with each type of insurance auxiliary service;  
c) Insurance auxiliary service providers shall not provide insurance loss 
assessment services and insurance claim assistance for ins urance contract that 
the providers are both the insurance buyer and the insured or beneficiary;  
d) Insurance brokers shall not provide insurance loss assessment services 
for the insurance agreements they brokered.  
4. Contracts providing insurance auxiliary  services shall be made in 
writing.  
Article 93b. Conditions on providing insurance auxiliary services  
1. Every individual providing insurance consulting services shall:  
a) Be at least 18 years of age and have full legal capacity; and;  4 
 
b) Have a bachelor’s degree or higher majoring in insurance. In case of no 
bachelor’s degree or higher majoring in insurance, there must be a bachelor’s 
degree or higher in another major and a certificate of training in insurance 
consulting granted by a training institution le gally operating in Vietnam or 
overseas.  
2. Every organization providing insurance auxiliary services shall:  
a) Be a juridical person, legally established and operated;  
b) Ensure that individuals directly performing insurance auxiliary 
activities in the org anization meet the conditions specified in point a, clause 1 of 
this Article; have qualifications that are appropriate for the insurance auxiliary 
services they provide and granted by a training institution legally operating in 
Vietnam or overseas.  
Individ uals directly performing insurance loss assessment shall also meet 
the criteria applied to assessors in accordance with commercial law.  
The actuaries shall also meet the criteria on law compliance, morality , 
qualification and experience in actuarial analys is, and are members of 
International Actuarial Association.  
Government shall provide detailed guidance on this point.  
3. The Minister of Finance shall provide guidance on the content of 
training program, examination and certificate granting on insurance au xiliary 
services of domestic training institutions and the recognition of certificates of 
insurance auxiliary services granted by overseas training institutions.  
5. The title of Chapter VI is changed as follows:  
“Chapter VI  
INSURERS AND FOREIGN -INVESTED INSURANCE BROKERS 
CROSS -BORDER SERVICE PROVISION ” 
6. Amendments to Clause 2 of Article 105:  
“2. Insurers, foreign insurance brokers providing insurance services across 
the border, foreign organizations providing insurance auxiliary services across 
the bord er, foreign individuals providing insurance consulting services in 
accordance with regulations of Government.”  5 
 
7. Amendments to Article 120:  
 Amendments to Clause 1:  
"1. Promulgate and provide guidance on implementation of legislative 
documents on insuranc e business and insurance auxiliary services; build 
strategies, plans and policies on development of Vietnamese insurance market;"  
b) Amendments to Clause 4:  
"4. Supervise insurance business activities through professional 
operations, financial standing, enterprise administration, risk management and 
law compliance of insurance enterprises and insurance brokers; take necessary 
measures to make sure insurance enterprises to fulfill financial requirements and 
fulfill commitments to insurance buyers.  
Supervis e insurance auxiliary service activities through compliance with 
regulations on standards and technical regulations relevant to insurance auxiliary 
services, liabilities of individuals and organizations providing insurance 
auxiliary services, conditions fo r providing insurance auxiliary services and 
provision of insurance auxiliary services across the border;"  
8. Addition of Clause 9a after Clause 9 of Article 124:  
“9a. Violations of technical regulations relevant to insurance auxiliary 
services; liabilitie s of individuals and organizations providing insurance 
auxiliary services; conditions for providing insurance auxiliary services; 
providing types of insurance auxiliary services and provision of insurance 
auxiliary services across the border;”  
Article 2. A mendments to Law on Intellectual Property  
1. Amendments to Point a, Clause 3 of Article 6:  
a) Industrial property rights to inventions, industrial designs, layout 
designs and trademarks shall be established  on the basis of decisions of the 
competent state agency on the grant of a protection title according to the 
registration procedures stipulated in this Law or the recognition of international 
registration under treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a 
contracting party . 6 
 
For a well -known ma rk, industrial property rights shall be established on 
the basis of use process, not subject to any registration procedures . 
Industrial property rights to geographical indications shall be established   
on the basis of decisions of the competent state agenc y on the grant of a 
protection title according to the registration procedures stipulated in this Law or 
the recognition of international registration under treaties to which the Socialist 
Republic of Vietnam is a contracting party . 
2. Amendments to Clause 3 and addition of Clause 4 after Clause 3 of 
Article 60:  
"3. An invention shall not be considered having lost  its novelty if it is 
published  by the person having the right  to regist er specified in Article 86 of this 
Law or the person who obtained information about the invention directly or 
indirectly from that person under the condition that the patent application is 
submitted in Vietnam within 12 months from the date of disclosure.  
4. The provisions of Clause 3 of this Article shall also be applie d to any 
invention published  in an  industrial property appli cation or industrial property 
certificat e published by state management authority on industrial property rights  
in case the publication  is inconsistent with laws and regulations  or the 
application  is submitted by a person not having the right to register . 
3. Amendments to Article 61:  
"Article 61. Inventive step of the invention  
1. An invention shall be considered involving an inventive step if, based 
on technical solutions already publicly disclose d through use or by means of a 
written description or any other form, inside or outside the country, prior to the 
filing date or the priority date, as applicable, of the invention registration 
application, it constitutes an inventive progress and cannot be  easily created by a 
person with average knowledge in the art . 
2. A technical solution which is an invention disclosed in accordance with 
Clause 3 and 4, Article 60 of this Law which must not be used as a basis for 
evaluation of the inventive step of the  said invention."  
4. Amendments to Article 80:  7 
 
a) Amendments to Clause 1:  
"1. Names and indications that have become generic  name of goods 
according to the perception of relevant consumers in Vietnam;"  
b) Amendments to Clause 3:  
"3. Geographical indications  identical with or similar to a protected mark  
or to a mark that is the subject of an application with earlier filing date or 
priority date , where the use of such geographical indications is likely to cause a 
confusion as to the origin of products  ;" 
5. Ad dition of Clause 3 after Clause 2 of Article 89:  
"3. Applications for registration of  industrial property rights shall be filed 
in paper form to the state management authority on industrial property rights or  
electronic  form  under the online filing system ." 
6. Amendments to Section 4 of Chapter VIII:  
“Section 4  
INTERNATIONAL APPLICATIONS, INTERNATIONAL PROPOSALS 
AND PROCESSING OF INTERNATIONAL APPLICATIONS, 
INTERNATIONAL PROPOSALS"  
7. Addition of Article 120a after Article 120 in Section 4 of Chapter VIII:  
“Article 120a. International proposals and processing of international 
proposals on geographical indications  
1. Proposals for recognition and protection of geographical indications in 
accordance with international agreement to which the Socialist Republic  of 
Vietnam is negotiating, are referred to as  international proposals.  
2. The publication  of international proposals and handling of third -party 
opinions, assessment of protection  conditions of geographical indications which 
are the subject matters of  international proposals shall be conducted in 
compliance with the relevant  provisions specified in this Law for geographical 
indications in geographical indication applications filed to the state management 
authority on industrial property rights .” 
8. Amendm ents to Clause 2 of Article 136:  8 
 
"2. Owners of marks are obliged to use such marks continuously .  
Trademark use  by a licensee  under a trade mark license agreement  is also 
considered an act of using the trademark  by the trademark holder .  
Where a mark has not been used for 5 consecutive years or more, the 
ownership right to such mark shall be invalidated according to the provisions of 
Article 95 of this Law ." 
9. Amendments to Article 148:  
"Article 148. Validity of contracts for transfer of industrial proper ty 
rights  
1. For the industrial property rights established on the basis of registration 
according to the provisions of Point a, Clause 3, Article 6 of this Law, an 
industrial property right assignment contract shall be valid upon its registration 
with th e state management agency in charge of industrial property rights . 
2. For the industrial property rights established on the basis of registration 
according to the provisions of Point a, Clause 3, Article 6 of this Law, an 
industrial property object license  contract shall be valid as agre ed upon by the 
involved parties .  
3. Industrial property rights  license  agreements specified in Clause 2 of 
this A rticle, except for trademark license  agreeme nts, shall be registered with a  
state management authority on indu strial property rights in order to be legally 
effective to  third parties.  
4. Validity of an industrial property object license contract shall be 
terminated ex -officio upon the termination of licensor’s industrial property 
rights .” 
10. Addition of Clauses 4 and 5 after Clause 3 of Article 198: 
"4. The defendant , including organization or individual,  in a lawsuit over 
the infringement of intellectual property rights who is concluded by the court not 
to infringe a right by the Court is entitled to request the Court to order the 
plaintiff to award payment of reasonable costs of hiring attorneys  or other 
expenses as provided for under related law. 9 
 
5. In case an organization or individual abuses the procedures for 
enforcement o f intellect ual property right  that causes damage to another 
organization or individual, the organization and individual suffering from 
damage is entitled to reque st the Court to force the abusing party  to compensate 
for the  damages  caused by the abuse , including reasonable costs of hiring 
attorneys . Acts of abusing intellectual property right enforcement  procedures 
include acts of intentionally exceeding the scope or objective of th eses 
procedure s.” 
11. Amendments to Clause 1 of Article 205:  
"1. Where  the plaintiff can prove that an act of infringing upon intellectual 
property rights has caused material damage to him/her, he/she shall have the 
right to request the court to decide on the compensation level on one of the 
following bases : 
a) Total material damage calculated in an amount of money plus profit 
gained by the defendant as a result of an act of infringing upon intellectual 
property rights where the reduced profit amount of the plaintiff has not yet been 
calculated into such total material  damage ; 
b) The price of the licensing of an intellectual property object with the 
presumption that the defendant has been licensed by the plaintiff to use that 
object under a license contract within a scope corresponding to the committed 
infringing act ; 
c) Material damages  valued  by other legitimate measures  submitted  by the 
intellectual property right holder . 
d) Where it is impossible to determine the level of compensation for 
material damage on the bases specified at  Points a, b and c of this Clause, such 
compensation level shall be set by the court, depending on the damage extent , 
but shall not exceed VND  500 million.”  
12. Amendments to Clause 1 of Article 218:  
"1. When persons requesting the suspension of customs procedures have 
fulfilled their oblig ations specified in Article 217 of this Law, customs offices 
shall issue decisions on suspension . 10 
 
 The customs authority shall inform  the intellectual property rights holder 
with the name and address of shipper; exporter, consignee or importer; 
description  of goods; quantity of goods; the country of origin of goods ( if 
known ), within 30 days of the issuance of decision to take  administrative 
measures to  handle counterfeit trademark goods  and pirated  copyright goods in 
accordance with Clause 4, Article 216 o f this Law.”  
Article 3. Effect  
1. This Law take s effect from November 1, 2019, except for the case 
specified in Clause 4 of this Article.  
2. Addition of section 32a after section 32, Appendix 4, List of Sectors 
and Trades Subject to Conditional Business Investment of the Law on 
Investment No. 67/2014 / QH13, which was amended in accordance with Law 
No. 90/2015 / QH13, Law No. 03/2016 / QH14, Law No. 04/2017 / QH14 and 
Law No. 28/2018 / QH14 as follows:  
“32a. Insurance auxiliary services include insurance consulting, insurance 
risk assessment, actuarial analysis, insurance loss assessment and insurance 
claim assistance.  
3. Insurance auxiliary services arising from insurance business activities 
shall be regulated by the Government and approved by the Standin g Committee 
of the National Assembly before issuance.  
4. Provisions  on intellectual property rights in this Law take effect from 
January 14, 2019, applying to the following s: 
a) Applications for industrial property rights submitted from January 14, 
2019;  
b) Requests for invalida tion of patent , utility solution, geographical 
indication registration certificates granted  on the basis of applications for 
industrial property rights submitted from January 14, 2019;  
c) Requests for termination  of trademark  registr ation certificates 
submitted from January 14, 2019;  11 
 
d) Lawsuits over infringement of intellectual property rights accepted by 
competent authorities from January 14, 2019; other requests relevant to 
intellectual property protection carried out from January 14, 2019.  
Article 4. Transitional provisions  
1. Within 01 year from the effective date of this Law, individuals and 
organizations that have been providing insurance auxiliary services before the 
effective date of this Law shall meet conditions on providing  insurance auxiliary 
services according to regulations of this Law. Otherwise, they shall not continue 
to provide insurance auxiliary services until the conditions are fully met.  
2. Patents and geographical indications applications submitted before 
Januar y 14, 2019 continue  to be processed  in accordance with Law on 
Intellectual Property No. 50/2005/QH11, amended and supplemented by Law 
No. 36/2009/ QH12.  
3. Trademark license  agreements signed between the parties but not  yet 
being  registered with state management authority on industrial property rights  
before January 14, 2019 are only valid for third party from January 14, 2019.  
4. Unsolved lawsuits over infringement of intellectual property rights 
accepted by competent authorities before January 14, 201 9 continue to be settled 
in accordance with Law on Inte llectual Property No. 50/2005/QH11, amended 
and supplemented by Law No. 36/2009/QH12.  
This Law was passed by the 14th National Assembly of the Sociali st Republic of 
Vietnam at 7th session on June 14, 2 019. 
  
  CHAIRMAN OF NATIONAL 
ASSEMBLY  
 
 
 
 
Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan