WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION  
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE  
ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIO  IP/N/1/VNM/P/1 
12 February 2008 
 (08-0625) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English/ 
 anglais/  inglés 
 
 
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY  
LAWS AND REGULATIONS NOTIFIED UNDER  
ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT 
 
VIET NAM  
 The present document reproduces the text1 of Decree No. 104/2006/ND-CP 
of September 22, 2006, Detailing and Guiding the Implementation of a Number of Articles of the 
Intellectual Property Law Regarding Rights to Plant Varieties, notified by Viet Nam under 
Article 63.2 of the Agreement (see document IP/N/1/VNM/1). 
 
 
Conseil des aspects des droits de propriété intellectuelle qui touchent au commerce 
 
 
PRINCIPALES LOIS ET RÉGLEMENTATIONS CONSACRÉES À LA  
PROPRIÉTÉ INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIÉES AU TITRE  
DE L'ARTICLE 63:2 DE L'ACCORD 
 
VIET NAM  
 Le présent document contient le texte1 du Décret n° 104/2006/ND-CP du 22 septembre 2006 
contenant des détails et des orientations pour la mi se en œuvre de certains articles de la Loi sur la 
propriété intellectuelle concernant les droits sur les variétés végétales, notifié par le Viet Nam au titre 
de l'article 63:2 de l'Accord (voir le document IP/N/1/VNM/1). 
 
 
Consejo de los Aspectos de los Derechos de Propiedad 
Intelectual relacionados con el Comercio  
 
 
PRINCIPALES LEYES Y REGLAMENTOS DEDICADOS A LA  
PROPIEDAD INTELECTUAL NOTIFICADOS EN VIRTUD  
DEL PÁRRAFO 2 DEL ARTÍCULO 63 DEL ACUERDO 
 
VIET NAM  
 En el presente documento se reproduce el texto1 del Decreto Nº 104/2006/ND-CP, de 22 de 
septiembre de 2006, que contiene disposiciones deta lladas y directrices sobre la aplicación de varios 
artículos de la Ley de propiedad intelectual relativos a los derechos sobre las obtenciones vegetales, 
notificado por el Viet Nam en virtud de lo dispuest o en el párrafo 2 del artículo 63 del Acuerdo (véase 
el documento IP/N/1/VNM/1). 
                                                      
1 In English only./En anglais seulement./En inglés solamente. IP/N/1/VNM/P/1 
Page 2  
 
  DECREE No. 104/2006/ND-CP OF SEPT EMBER 22, 2006, DETAILING AND 
GUIDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF  A NUMBER OF ARTICLES OF THE 
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW REGARDING RIGHTS TO PLANT 
VARIETIES 
 
THE GOVERNMENT 
 
Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government; 
 
Pursuant to November 29, 2005 Law No. 50/2005/QH11 on Intellectual Property; 
 At the proposal of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, 
 
DECREES: 
 
Chapter I 
GENERAL PROVISIONS 
 
Article 1.-  Scope of regulation 
 
This Decree details and guides the implementation of  a number of articles of the Intellectual Property 
Law regarding rights to plant varieties, covering responsibilities for state management of rights to 
plant varieties; order and procedures of establishment of rights to plant varieties; rights and obligations of protection title holders  and breeders of plant varieties; assignment or transfer of rights 
to protected plant varieties.  
Article 2.-  Subjects of application 
 This Decree applies to:  
1. Vietnamese organiza tions and individuals; 
 2. Foreign organizations and individuals that ha ve permanent residence addresses or establishments 
producing or trading in plant varieties in Vietnam;  3. Organizations and individuals that are citizen s of countries which have concluded with Vietnam 
agreements on protection of rights to plant varieties. 
 4. Foreign organizations and individuals that are not citizens of countries which have concluded with 
Vietnam agreements on protection of rights to plant varieties but have permanent residence addresses or lawfully registered offices in the territory of  a country which has concluded with Vietnam an 
agreement on protection of rights to plant varieties. 
 
Article 3.-  Interpretation of terms   
 In this Decree, the terms below are construed as follows:  
1. “Plant variety”  referred to in this Decree means a complete  plant variety, or a propagating material 
or harvested material of any plant variety belonging to an agricultural, forest or aquatic plant species 
or a fungus species newly selected and bred or di scovered and developed from a plant species on the 
list of protected plant varieties;  IP/N/1/VNM/P/1 
 Page 3 
 
 
   
2. “Plant variety protection title holder”  means an organization or individual granted a title of 
protection of rights to a plant variety;  3. “Propagating material”  means plant organs capable of developing into a full-grown plant, such as 
seed, spore, stem, root, seedling, grafted branch, graf ted stemma, grafted plant, hypha, tuber, fruit, 
bud, flower, tissue, cell or other organs of a plant;  4. “Harvested material”  means a full-grown plant or any plant organ obtained from the planting of a 
propagating material of a plant variety; 
 
5. “Formal examination”  means the examination of the completeness and validity of an application 
according to the provisions of Article 10 of this Decree;  6. “Substantive examination”  means the examination of the novelty, distinctness, uniformity, stability 
and denomination of a plant variety; 
 7. “Detailed description of a plant variety”  means a document expressing characteristics of a plant 
variety made under the distinctness, uniformity and stability (DUS) test guidelines and certified by the agency in charge of protection of plant varieties.  A detailed description is  considered having been 
already published when it has been made available to the public in such form as scientific report or 
news report, or an article in newspape rs, magazines or other printed matters; 
 8. “Agency in charge of protection of plant varieties”  referred to in this Decree means the Office for 
Protection of Plant Varieties at the Agri culture and Rural Development Ministry. 
 
9. “Lawful representative”  of a foreign organization or individu al registering for protection of plant 
varieties in Vietnam means an organization or in dividual, including Vietnamese citizens, foreign 
organizations or individuals havi ng a production or business establishment or a permanent residence 
address in Vietnam in accordance with  the law of Socialist Republic of Vietnam, that is authorized in 
writing by an organization or individual owning a plant variety registered for protection to register for 
protection of rights to that plant variety; 
 
10. “Plant variety breeder”  means a person who directly performs part or whole of the work of 
selecting and breeding or discovering a nd developing a new plant variety. 
 11. “Country having concluded with Vietnam an agreement on protection of rights to plant varieties”  
means any country which has concluded with Viet nam a bilateral agreement, or countries being 
members of an inter-governmental organization whic h has concluded with Vietnam an agreement on 
protection of rights to plant varieties. 
 
Article 4.-  Responsibilities of ministries and ministerial-level agencies for protection of rights to plant 
varieties 
 
1. The Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry shall perform the state management of protection 
of rights to plant varieties nationwide,  having the following responsibilities: 
 a/ To submit to competent authorities for promulgation or to promulgate according to its competence 
legal documents on protection of rights to plant va rieties and organize the implementation thereof; 
 b/ To grant, withdraw, revoke or cancel plant variety protection titles;  IP/N/1/VNM/P/1 
Page 4  
 
  c/ To promulgate a list of protected plant varieties; process and procedures of technical testing of 
plant varieties;  d/ To define the organization, functions, tasks and powers of the agency in charge of protection of 
plant varieties; 
 
e/ To organize the communication, education and di ssemination of law on protection of rights to plant 
varieties;  f/ To examine, inspect and handle administrative violations in the protection of rights to plant 
varieties; 
 g/ To promote international cooperation on protection of rights to plant varieties. 
 2. The Science and Technology Ministry, the Fisheries Ministry, the Finance Ministry and other 
ministries, ministerial-level agencies and government -attached agencies shall,  within the ambit of 
their assigned tasks and vested powers, coordinate  with the Agriculture and Rural Development 
Ministry in performing the state management of protection of rights to plant varieties. 
 
Article 5.-  Responsibilities of provincial/municipal Peopl e’s Committees for protection of rights to 
plant varieties 
 
1. To organize the implementation of the policies a nd law on protection of rights to plant varieties. 
 2. To organize the dissemination and popularization of the law on protection of rights to plant varieties. 
 
3. To examine, inspect and handle administrative vi olations to protect rights to plant varieties. 
 4. To direct People’s Committees of districts, provi ncial towns or cities in taking state management 
measures to protect rights to plant varieties in their localities. 
 
Chapter II 
ORDER AND PROCEDURES OF ESTABLISHMENT OF RIGHTS TO PLANT VARIETIES 
 
Article 6.-  Registrants of protection of rights to plant varieties 
 
1. Registrants of protection of rights to plant vari eties are defined in Clause 2, Article 164 of the 
Intellectual Property Law.  2. When a plant variety is selected and bred or discovered and developed w ith state budget capital or 
under a state-managed project, the organization or indi vidual that directly selects and breeds that plant 
variety shall carry out the registration of protection of rights to that plant variety.  
Article 7.-  Applications for registration of protection of rights to plant varieties  
 1. An application for registration of protection of ri ghts to a plant variety as defined in Article 174 of 
the Intellectual Property Law shall be made in thre e sets and submitted to the agency in charge of 
protection of plant varieties. 
 2. Apart from the documents specified in Clauses 1,  2 and 3, Article 174 of the Intellectual Property 
Law, the applications of organizations or individua ls of countries which have concluded with Vietnam 
agreements on protection of rights to plant varie ties as defined in Clause 2, Article 157 of the  IP/N/1/VNM/P/1 
 Page 5 
 
 
  Intellectual Property Law who have neither perm anent residence addresses nor production or business 
establishments in Vietnam shall be enclosed also  with necessary papers to constitute sufficient 
grounds for certification of the nationality of those organizations or individuals. 
 3. If an applicant is not a citizen of a country which has concluded with Vietnam an agreement on 
protection of rights to plant varieties, he/she is  required to show documents evidencing his/her 
permanent residence address or lawfully register ed office in another country which has concluded 
with Vietnam an agreement on protection of rights to plant varieties. 
 
Article 8.-  Requirements for applicants claiming priority right 
 
To enjoy priority right, an applicant whose applica tion satisfies all the conditions for claiming priority 
right specified in Clause 1, Article 167 of the Inte llectual Property Law shall carry out the following 
procedures:  
1. Registering his/her claim for priority right  in the written registration for protection under 
regulations;  2. Paying the fee for consideration of claims for priority right;  3. Within three months after the date of filing of the protection registration application, an applicant 
shall supply the following documents: 
 a/ Copies of all documents in support of the first a pplication, which are notarized or certified by the 
agency that has previously received the protection registration application;  
b/ Evidence proving that plant varieties registered in the two applications are the same, including the 
description of the plant variety, its photos, other relevant documents (if any). 
 
Article 9.-  Receipt of protection registration applications 
 1. The agency in charge of protection of plant va rieties shall receive applications by one of the 
following modes: 
 a/ Directly from applicants or their lawful representatives;  b/ By post. If an applicant files his/her application by post, the filing date is the date the application 
reaches the agency in charge of protection of plant varieties. 
 2. Upon receipt of an application, the agency in ch arge of protection of plant varieties shall stamp the 
application to certify the date of arrival, record the serial number of the application, make an entry in 
the register of received applications, and send one set of these documents to the applicant. 
 
Article 10.-  Formal examination of applications    
 1. Examination time limit:  Within fifteen days after receiving an application for registration of protection of a plant variety, the 
agency in charge of protection of plant varieti es shall complete the formal examination of that 
application.  IP/N/1/VNM/P/1 
Page 6  
 
  2. Formal examination of an application covers: 
 Inspection of the completeness of documents in s upport of the application and the validity of the 
application according to the provisions of Article 174 of the Intellectual Property Law and Articles 6 
and 7 of this Decree.  
Article 11.-  Applications invalid in terms of forma lity and handling of invalid applications 
 1. An application is invalid in terms of formality when: 
 
a/ The application lacks one of the documents speci fied in Clause 1, Article 174 of the Intellectual 
Property Law and Article 8 of this Decree (for applications claiming priority right); 
 b/ Documents included in the application are ma de improperly or information declared in the 
registration form is insufficient; 
 
c/ The application is not written in Vietnamese;  d/ Documents in the application are eras ed, modified, torn or unreadably faded; 
 e/ Copies of documents are neither notarized nor certified by competent authorities; 
 
f/ The plant variety described in the applicati on is not on the list of protected plant varieties 
promulgated at the time of protection registration;  g/ The application is filed by a person who is not en titled to file according to the provisions of 
Article 164 of the Intellectual Property Law and Article 6 of this Decree. 
 2. Handling of invalid applications  a/ The agency in charge of protection of plant vari eties shall reject protection registration applications 
falling into the cases specified at Points f and g, Clause 1 of this Article and notify in writing the 
applicants of the rejection; 
 b/ For applications falling into the cases specified at Points a, b, c, d and e, Clause 1 of this Article, 
the agency in charge of protection of plant varieti es shall notify the applicants of contents which need 
to be revised. Within thirty days after receiving su ch a notice, an applicant shall correct errors in 
his/her application at the request of the agency in charge of protection of plant varieties. Past that time 
limit, if the applicant fails to corr ect errors or the corrected contents fail to satisfy requirements, the 
agency in charge of protection of plant varieties may reject the application;  c/ The time limit of thirty days specified at Poin t b of this Clause is determined according to the 
postmark of the place where the notice is received. If the postmark fades away, that time limit is forty 
five days after the agency in charge of protection of plant varieties sends the notice. 
 
Article 12.-  Substantive examination of applications                  
 The substantive examination of a protection registrati on application provided for in Article 178 of the 
Intellectual Property Law is carried out in the following order: 
 1. Examination of the plant variety denomina tion according to Article 13 of this Decree; 
 2. Examination of the plant variety novelty according to Article 14 of this Decree;  IP/N/1/VNM/P/1 
 Page 7 
 
 
   
3. Technical test to assess the plant variety di stinctness, uniformity and stability according to 
Articles 15 and 16 of this Decree;  4. Examination of technical test results according to Article 19 of this Decree.  
Article 13.-  Examination of denominations of plant varieties 
 1. Pursuant to Article 163 of the Intellectual Property Law, the agency in charge of protection of plant 
varieties shall examine the appropriateness of the propo sed denomination of a plant variety to that of a 
plant variety of the same species or a species close to the species of denominated plant variety which 
has been recognized by Vietnam or by any countr y which has concluded with Vietnam an agreement 
on protection of rights to plant varieties. If the plan t variety denomination registered for protection is 
improper, the agency in charge of protection of plant varieties sends a notice to the applicant, 
requesting the change of that plant variet y denomination in accordance with regulations. 
 
2. Within thirty days after receiving such a notic e of the agency in charge of protection of plant 
varieties, the applicant shall propose a new plant variety denomination in accordance with regulations. 
Past that time limit, if the applicant fails to propo se an appropriate denomination, the agency in charge 
of protection of plant varieties may reject the application.  
3. If wishing to change the plant variety denominatio n, the applicant shall, within the period from the 
filing date to the date of grant of protection title, request the change of plant variety denomination and 
concurrently propose a new denomination for the regi stered plant variety and pay a fee according to 
regulations.  
4. The agency in charge of protection of plant va rieties shall notify all information on plant variety 
denominations to competent authorities of the countries which have concluded with Vietnam 
agreements on protection of rights to plant varieties.  5. Official denominations of plant varieties are t hose recognized at the time of issuance of decisions 
on grant of protection titles for those plant varieties.  
Article 14.-  Examination of novelty 
 Pursuant to Article 159 of the Intellectual Property La w, the agency in charge of protection of plant 
varieties shall examine the novelty of a plant variety registered for protection in the following order: 
 
1. Examining information in the written declaration for protection registration;  2. Considering and responding to feedback and co mplaints (if any) about the novelty of the plant 
variety registered for protection after the application is published. 
 
Article 15.-  Technical test   
 A technical test specified in Clause 2, Article 178 of the Intellectual Property Law is conducted 
specifically as follows:  
1. The agency in charge of protection of plant va rieties shall base itself on the practical conditions to 
select one of the following forms of technical test:  a/ Technical test conducted by a qualified testing agency defined in Article 16 of this Decree; 
 IP/N/1/VNM/P/1 
Page 8  
 
  b/ Technical test conducted by an organization or individual fully capable of conducting testing 
experiments;  c/ Using available test results supplied by the breeder or from other sources.  
2. Testing experiments must be conducted accordi ng to procedures for testing the distinctness, 
uniformity and stability, for the case specifie d at Point b, Clause 1 of this Article. 
 3. Technical test results must be finalized accord ing to a form set by the agency in charge of 
protection of plant varieties. Orga nizations or individuals  supplying technical test results defined at 
Point c, Clause 1 of this Article sha ll take responsibility for those results. 
 4. If the test results are unsatisfactory, the appli cant is entitled to request the agency in charge of 
protection of plant varieties to conduct a second test and shall pay a fee as required, for the cases specified at Points a and b, Clause 1 of this Ar ticle. A request for a second test must be made in 
writing, clearly indicating the proper reason( s) for and evidence supporting that request; 
 5. If the results from a second test show that the re ason(s) and evidence furnished by the applicant are 
right, the fee mentioned in Clause 4 of this Article shall be refunded to the applicant. 
 
Article 16.- Agencies conducting technical test         
 
An agency conducting technical tests defined at Point a, Clause 1, Article 15 of this Decree shall fully 
satisfy the following conditions:  1. Having a location large enough for the testing pr ocess and the required growth and development of 
each plant variety; 
 2. Having specialized equipment and facilities satisfying the requirem ents of testing of each plant 
variety according to regulations of competent state agencies;  3. Having technical staff professionally qualified for the test or having conditions for employing such 
a staff. 
 
Article 17.-  Submission of example varieties  
 1. The agency in charge of protection of plant variet ies shall request applicants that are subject to the 
test in the case specified at Point a, Clause 1, Article 15 of this Decree to submit example varieties at 
least twenty days before a crop season to  agencies conducting technical tests. 
 2. Applicants specified at Points b and c, Clause 1,  Article 15 of this Decree are not required to submit 
example varieties to the agencies conducting technical test but are required to submit them to the example variety-keeping agency for preservation acco rding to the provisions of Clause 3 of this 
Article. The deadline for submission of example varie ties is set by the agency in charge of protection 
of plant varieties.  3. The keeping of example varieties of registered varieties mentioned in Clause 2 of this Article is 
conducted as follows: 
 
a/ An example variety in seeds is kept at the example variety-keeping agency designated by a 
competent state agency;   IP/N/1/VNM/P/1 
 Page 9 
 
 
  b/ An example variety of an asexual plant species is kept by the applicant who shall indicate the 
keeping place in the protecti on registration application. 
 4. When necessary and upon the request of the agency  conducting technical tests, the agency in 
charge of protection of plant varieties may request  an applicant to supply example varieties of a 
variety similar to the variety registered for pr otection, if the applicant is able to do so. 
 5. Upon receipt of an example variety, the agen cy conducting technical tests or the variety-keeping 
agency shall check the quality of that example variety and issue a written certification if it satisfies the set requirements. If the example variety fails to satisfy the set requirements, the agency conducting 
technical tests or the variety-keep ing agency may request the appli cant to supply the example variety 
again.  6. Within twenty days after receiving an example variety, the example variety-receiving agency shall 
test the quality thereof and notify the test results to the applicant. If the example variety is not up to 
standards set for the testing process, the example variety-receiving agency requests the applicant to 
supply the example variety again. Within thirty days after receiving the request, the applicant shall supply an example variety up to standards.  7. The example variety-keeping ag ency shall ensure the safety of kept example varieties. When 
properly requested by applicants, the example variety-keeping agency  shall keep secret information 
on kept example varieties. 
 
Article 18.-  Reports on technical test results 
 Within thirty days after the completion of a techni cal test, the agency conducting the technical test 
defined at Points a and b, Clause 1, Article 15 of this Decree shall send a report on the technical test 
results to the agency in charge of protection of plant varieties. 
 
Article 19.-  Assessment of technical test results 
 1. Within ninety days after receiving technical test results, the agency in charge of protection of plant 
varieties shall complete the assessment of those results. 
 2. If facing professional difficulties, the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry shall set up a specialized council to assess technical test results . The time limit for assessment does not exceed sixty 
days after such a specialized council is set up.  
Article 20.-  Grant of plant variety protection certificates                    
 1. If examination results affirm that a plant variet y registered for protection satisfies the conditions 
specified in Articles 159, 160, 161, 162 and 163 of the Intellectual Property Law, the agency in charge of protection of plant varieties shall propose the Agriculture and Rural Development Minister to sign 
a decision on grant of a plant variety protection certificate and publish it in the Agriculture and Rural 
Development Ministry’s specialized magazine on plant varieties.  2. Past the time limit of thirty days after a decision on grant of a plant variety protection certificate is published in the specialized magazine on plant vari eties, if receiving no written objection or complaint 
about the grant of protection certificate, the agency in charge of protection of plant varieties shall 
grant a plant variety protection certificate to the a pplicant and record it in the national register of 
protected plant varieties.  IP/N/1/VNM/P/1 
Page 10  
 
  3. Within thirty days after a decision on grant of a plant variety protection certificate is published in 
the specialized magazine, if the agency in charge  of protection of plant varieties receives written 
objections or complaints about the grant of the plan t variety protection certificate, it shall handle them 
according to the provisions of Article 184 of the Intellectual Property Law and Article 24 of this 
Decree. 
 
4. For a plant variety protection certificate, only one ( 01) original is granted. If wishing to have more 
than one copy of that protection certificate, the appl icant shall make a prior registration therefor with 
the agency in charge of protection of plant vari eties. The forms of protection certificates and the 
national register of protected plant varieties are specified in Article 168 of the Intellectual Property 
Law. 
 5. Applicants shall pay fees and charges for the gr ant of plant variety protection certificates according 
to regulations. The holder of a protection certificate which is torn, damaged or lost or changes hand 
may apply for re-grant or renewal thereof and shall pay a fee according to regulations. 
 
Article 21.-  Termination of validity of plant variety protection certificates                    
 1. If a plant variety protection certificate has it s validity terminated under Point a, Clause 1, 
Article 170 of the Intellectual Property Law, the agency  in charge of protection of plant varieties shall 
effect the termination as follows: 
 
a/ Within thirty days after receiving any third part y’s written request for termination of the validity of 
a plant variety protection certificate, the agency in  charge of protection of plant varieties shall 
complete the verification of information supplied in  that written request and notify the holder of the 
plant variety protection certificate of the verification results. A request for termination of the validity 
of a plant variety protection certificate must be made in writing and supported by evidence proving 
that the protected plant variety fails to satisfy the uniformity and stability requirements by time of 
grant of the protection certificate, and the charge for the second test must be paid (when a second test 
is necessary). If the results of the second test conducte d at the request of the holder of a plant variety 
protection certificate show that the reasons for the request for termination of the validity of that 
protection certificate are right, the charge for th e second test shall be refunded to the requester. 
 
b/ Past the time limit of thirty days after receivi ng a notice of the agency in charge of protection of 
plant varieties on the feedback, if the holder of a plant variety protection certificate fails to file a written objection, the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry shall issue a decision on termination of the validity of that protection certificat e. The time of validity termination is the date on 
which the decision on termination of validity of  the protection certificate is published in the 
specialized magazine on plant varieties.  c/ When the plant variety protection certificate holder files a written objection, the agency in charge of 
protection of plant varieties shall request him/he r to carry out procedures for conducting a second test 
as specified in Clause 4, Article 15 of this Decree . If the results of the second test conducted by an 
agency defined at Point a, Clause 1, Article 15 of this Decree show that the plant variety in question 
fails to satisfy the uniformity or stability requiremen t by the time of grant of the protection certificate, 
the agency in charge of protection of plant vari eties shall carry out procedures for termination as 
specified at Point b of this Clause.  
2. If facing difficulties in making a decision on termination of the validity of a protection certificate, 
the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry  shall set up a specialized council to provide 
consultations on matters re lated to the termination of the validity of the protection certificate. 
  IP/N/1/VNM/P/1 
 Page 11 
 
 
  Article 22.-  Restoration of validity of plant variety protection certificates  
 1. Basing itself on the results of a second test, th e Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry shall 
decide to restore or not to restore the validity of  a plant variety protection certificate, for the case 
specified at Point a, Clause 1, Article 170 of the Intellectual Property Law. 
 
2. Basing itself on the results of the remedy of th e reasons for validity termination as specified in 
Clause 5, Article 170 of the Intellectual Propert y Law, the Agriculture and Rural Development 
Ministry shall decide to restore or not to restore the validity of a plant variety protection certificate, 
for those plant varieties with their protection certific ates’ validity terminated under Points b, c and d, 
Clause 1, Article 170 of the Intellectual Property Law. 
 
Article 23.-  Invalidation of plant variety protection certificates 
 1. When there exist sufficient grounds to determine that a plant variety falls into one of the cases 
specified in Clause 1, Article 171 of the Intell ectual Property Law, the Agriculture and Rural 
Development Ministry shall decide to invalidate the protection certificate for that plant variety. 
 2. When an organization or individual files a requ est for the invalidation of a plant variety protection 
certificate, the Agriculture and Rural Development Mi nistry shall, after considering the request and 
arguments of involved parties, decide to invalidate or not to invalidate that protection certificate and 
notify its decision to the applicant. 
 
Article 24.- Grounds for complaining about the grant of protection certificates 
 When complaining about the grant or non-grant of a plant variety protection certificate, an 
organization or individual shall base itself/hims elf/herself on one of the following grounds: 
 1. A registrant for protection of rights to a plant variety holds that the refusal to grant a protection 
certificate insufficient lacks legal grounds;  2. A plan variety protection certificate is granted to a person who does not have the right to receive 
such a certificate, except when that right is assigned to a right holder; 
 3. A protected plant variety is neither new nor distinct from others;  4. A protected plant variety is neither uniform nor stable; 
 
5. A plant variety denomination is inappropriate. 
 
Article 25.-  National registration 
 The agency in charge of protection of plant varie ties shall compile and keep the national register of 
protected plant varieties. All information on plan t variety protection certificates and changes within 
the valid term of plant variety protection certificates are recorded in the national register of protected plant varieties. 
 IP/N/1/VNM/P/1 
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  Chapter III 
RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF PROTECTION CERTIFICATE HOLDERS AND BREEDERS 
OF PLANT VARIETIES 
 
Article 26.-  Rights of plant variety protection certificate holders 
 
1. The rights of plant variety protection certificate holders provided for in Article 186 of the Intellectual Property Law apply to harvested materi als obtained from the use of propagating materials 
of protected plant varieties without permission of protection certificate holders. If a protection certificate holder has reasonable conditions to exer cise his/her rights to propagating materials of a 
plant variety, a user is not required to ask for perm ission of that protection certificate holder for use of 
harvested materials of the same plant variety.  2. The rights of plant variety protection certificate holders provided for in Clause 1 of this Article apply to plant varieties specified in Ar ticle 187 of the Intellectual Property Law. 
 
Article 27.-  Claims for provisional protection rights                
 Owners of plant varieties are entitled to provisional protection rights for a term defined in Clause 1, 
Article 189 of the Intellectual Property Law. Wh en a person uses a plant variety for commercial 
purposes in the term of provisional protection rights, the owner of that plant variety shall carry out 
procedures specified in Clauses 2 and 3, Article 189 of the Intellectual Property Law. To enjoy 
provisional rights to a plant variety, the protection certificate holder may, as from the time of being granted the protection certificate, claim those prov isional rights and shall carry out the following 
procedures:  
1. Reaching an agreement on compensation level with the party that has exploited the plant variety for 
commercial purposes.  2. When no agreement is reached, the protection certificate holder may file a petition to a competent agency defined in Article 200 of the Intellectual Pr operty Law to request the settlement. A petition to 
claim provisional protection rights must be made in writing and supported by evidence proving that 
he/she has all conditions to enjoy the provisional protection rights. 
 
Article 28.- Limitations on rights to plant varieties   
 According to the provisions of Article 190 of the Intellectual Property Law on limitations on rights of 
plant variety protection certificate holders, the following acts are not regarded as infringement of 
rights to a protected plant variety:  1. Using that plant variety for personal and non-commercial purposes; 
 2. Using that plant variety for scientific research purpose; 
 
3. Conducting activities for the purpose of selecting a nd breeding other plant varieties, except for the 
cases specified in Article 187, and taking acts related to plant varieties specified in Article 186 of the 
Intellectual Property Law and Article 26 of this Decree.  
4. Using by individual production households the products harvested from that protected plant variety 
for propagation and planting by themselves fo r subsequent crops on their land areas. 
  IP/N/1/VNM/P/1 
 Page 13 
 
 
  Article 29.-  Obligations of plant variety protection certificate holders 
 According to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 191 of the Intellectual Property Law, a protection 
certificate holder has the following obligations:  
1. To pay a remuneration to a plant variety breeder by one of the following modes: 
 a/ Under an agreement between them;  b/ If no agreement is reached, the remuneration payable to the breeder is equal to 30% of the collected 
copyright royalty. 
 c/ For a plant variety selected and bred or disc overed and developed with the state budget funds, the 
protection certificate holder shall pay a remuneration to the breeder according to an internal regulation. If such an internal regulation cont ains no provision on payment of remuneration, the 
protection certificate holder shall pay an amount equal to 30% of the collected royalty to the breeder. 
 2. To pay the fee for maintenance of the validity of the plant variety protection certificate to the 
agency in charge of protection of plant varieties wi thin three months after the grant of the protection 
certificate, for the first valid year, or within the first month of the subsequent valid years. 
 
3. To preserve the protected plant variety, suppl y information, documents and propagating materials 
of the protected plant variety at the request of the ag ency in charge of protection of plant varieties; to 
maintain the stability of the protected plant variet y according to its characteristics described at the 
time of grant of the plant variety protection certificate. 
 
Article 30.-  Obligations of plant variety breeders 
 According to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 191 of the Intellectual Property Law and for the valid 
term of a plant variety protection certificate, a breeder is obliged under an agreement with the 
protection certificate holder to maintain the protect ed plant variety according to its characteristics 
described at the time of grant of the protection certificate. 
 
Chapter IV 
ASSIGNMENT OR TRANSFER OF RIGHTS TO PROTECTED PLANT VARIETIES 
 
Article 31.-  Procedures of registration of contracts for assignment of rights to protected plant varieties 
 
1. After finalizing a contract for assignment of ri ghts to a plant variety in  accordance with law, the 
assignee shall register the assignment contract with  the agency in charge of protection of plant 
varieties and pay a fee according to regulations.  2. The agency in charge of protection of plant va rieties shall receive the written registration of the 
assignment contract and carry out the procedures for notifying the assignee of the certification of 
rights of the plant variety protection certificate holder. 
 
Article 32.-  Transfer or assignment of rights to state-owned protected plant varieties 
 
1. The assignment of rights to a state-owned protect ed plant variety must be conducted in accordance 
with the law on management of state assets.  2. The management and use of proceeds from contracts for transfer or assignment of rights to protected plant varieties shall comply with  the provisions of the Government’s Decree IP/N/1/VNM/P/1 
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  No. 43/2006/ND-CP of April 25, 2006, providing fo r the right to autonomy and accountability for the 
task performance, organizational apparatus, pa yroll and finance of public non-business units. 
 
Article 33.-  Cases of compulsory licensing of protected plan t varieties to satisfy urgent social needs 
 
The compulsory licensing of protected plant varieties is provided for at Point a, Clause 1, Article 195 
of the Intellectual Property Law.  Urgent social needs which must be satisfied mean the needs for overcoming such emergency 
circumstances as natural disasters, epidemics, wars and widespread environmental pollution. 
 
Article 34.-  Bases for determination of compensation levels for compulsory licensing of protected 
plant variety  The compensation level for a compulsory licensing shall be determined on the following grounds: 
 
1. The agreement between th e licensor and the licensee; 
 2. Where no agreement is reached, the compensation level shall be calculated on the following bases: 
 a/ The value of the latest contract for licensing of the same variety to another subject according to the 
licensing duration and the quantity of the compulsorily licensed variety; 
 b/ The profit generated by the plant variety protection certificate holder from the exploitation of copyright to that plant variety, corresponding to th e quantity of the licensed variety and the licensing 
duration. 
 
3. The agencies competent to deci de on licensing as defined in Article 35 of this Decree shall assume 
the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with  concerned ministries and branches in, examining 
specific compensation plans for the cases sp ecified in Clause 2 of this Article. 
 
Article 35.-  Competence to decide on compulsory licensing of protected plant varieties 
 
1. The Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry  shall issue decisions on compulsory licensing of 
protected varieties of agricultural and forest plant species.  2. The Fisheries Ministry shall issue decisions on compulsory licensing of protected varieties of 
aquatic plant species. 
 3. The Health Ministry shall issue decisions on co mpulsory licensing of protected varieties of plant 
species used for medicinal purpose.  4. The agencies specified in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article shall designate units responsible for 
carrying out the procedures relevant to the compulsory licensing of protected plant varieties. 
 
Article 36.-  Procedures for compulsory licensing of protected plant varieties under decisions 
 1. Agencies defined in Clauses 1, 2 and 3, Article  35 of this Decree shall publicly announce demands 
for plant varieties, denominations of plant varieti es, use purposes and quantity of varieties needed for 
use, scope and duration of satis faction of licensing purposes. 
  IP/N/1/VNM/P/1 
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  2. Organizations and individuals that wish to be licensed plant varieties shall file their dossiers of 
registration for licensing of plant varieties to competent state agencies defined in Article 35 of this Decree.  A dossier for licensing of a plant variety comprises: 
 
a/ An application for licensing, stating the scope and duration of compulsory licensing;  b/ Certificate of registration of a business line of producing or trading in plant varieties;  
c/ Documents evidencing the licensee’s financia l capability to pay compensation to the licensor 
according to regulations.  3. Responsibilities of competent state agencies for co mpulsory licensing of protected plant varieties: 
 
a/ To receive dossiers defined in Article 2 of this Article; 
 b/ To organize the examination of valid dossiers w ithin fifteen days after receiving those dossiers, and 
propose competent authorities to i ssue compulsory licensing decisions if licensing applicants have 
enough conditions;  
c/ To notify applicants of the refu sal to issue decisions and reasons therefor if the applicants do not 
have enough conditions;  d/ To notify their decisions to compul sory licensors and licensees for execution. 
 
Chapter V 
IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS 
 
Article 37.-  Transition provisions  
 1. Applications for plant variety protection registrati on filed with the agency in charge of protection of 
plant varieties before the effective date of this Decree shall be processed according to the provisions 
of relevant legal documents on pr otection of plant varieties effective at the time of filing. 
 2. Applications for plant variety protection registrati on filed as from the effective date of this Decree 
shall comply with the provisions of this Decree.  
Article 38.- Effect 
 This Decree takes effect 15 days after its publication in “CONG BAO” and supersedes the Government’s Decree No. 13/2001/ND-CP of April 20, 2001, on protection of plant varieties. 
 
Article 39.-  Implementation provisions 
 1. The Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry  shall guide the implementation of this Decree. 
 2. The Finance Ministry shall assume the prime res ponsibility for, and coordinate with the Agriculture 
and Rural Development Ministry in, guiding the collection, management and use of fees and charges 
for protection of rights to plant varieties.  IP/N/1/VNM/P/1 
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  3. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies and government-attached agencies, and presidents of 
provincial/municipal People’s Committ ees shall implement this Decree. 
 On behalf of the Government Prime Minister 
NGUYEN TAN DUNG 
 
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