Certificate of Patent

The owner of the 'Invention' that means the technical solution to create new product or manufacturing process of production to resolve a specific problem and that owner intends to get the full protection over such Invention within Lao PDR

1. a Lao citizen or resident in the Lao PDR, or a legal entity or organization established under the laws of the Lao PDR
2. an individual that is a national or a resident of any country which is a member of the Paris Convention or other international agreement relating to the protection of industrial property and of which the Lao PDR is also a member
3. an individual, legal entity or organization with a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in the territory of any member of the Paris Convention or of any other international agreement that relates to the protection of industrial property and of which the Lao PDR is also a member. - An invention eligible for a patent shall meet the following requirements:
4. shall be new meaning that such an invention has not been existed, not been disclosed to the public by journal or by actual use or in any other means in the Lao PDR or any place in the world prior to the date of filing the application for registration or prior to application for priority date for such patent
5. shall involve increased inventive steps compared to the previous invention
6. shall be industrially applicable in industry, handicraft, agriculture, fishery, trade, services, etc. (article 13 of IP Law)

• Law on Intellectual Property (2017) 38/NA · 15.11.2017

Means of presentation

At the Authority Offices

Address of authority

Intellectual Property Department, Ministry of Science and Technology

Processing time

960 1. The Department will conduct a formality examination of each application to ensure that the application is complete and that fees have been paid. 2. After the formality examination, the Department will (i) publish the application in the official industrial property gazette in the 19th month after the submission date of the application; and (ii) conduct a substantive examination to determine whether it meets the requirements for patentability as described in laws within the framework of 32 months; provided, however, that if the application has previously been subject to a search or examination by another authority, the applicant may submit a copy of the report of such office and request that it be accepted by the Department in lieu of conducting a search in Lao PDR.

Has an expiry date

YES

Validity

240 months

Renewal process

In order to maintain the term of protection, the patent owner shall pay annual fees in advance.

- Any individual, legal entity or organization residing in a foreign country wishing to apply for industrial property registration shall have a business premise or an authorized representative in the Lao PDR. (article 27 of IP Law) - An industrial property application and any accompanying material may be filed in either the Lao language or in the English language. Provided however, that for any application or document filed or submitted in English, the applicant must, within ninety days of such filing, supply a translation into the Lao language. Such translation must be certified to be a correct translation. (article 37 of IP Law) - An invention eligible for a patent shall meet the following requirements: 1. shall be new meaning that such invention has not been existed, not been disclosed to the public by journal or by actual use or in any other means in the Lao PDR or any place in the world prior to the date of filing the application for registration or prior to application for priority date for such patent; 2. shall involve increased inventive steps compared to the previous invention; 3. shall be industrially applicable in industry, handicraft, agriculture, fishery, trade, services, etc. (article 13 of IP Law)