We believe that the information in this booklet will be helpful during a company’s review of Vietnam as a site for a factory, to provide a service, or otherwise as an investment venue. We have emphasized material that would normally be on a site selection team’s check list. While the information is only a summary, we believe that this summary provides a significant amount of information on which a company can rely to understand Vietnam’s legal context. We hope that the material is useful. We would be happy to respond to specific questions, and to bring the information contained in | With respect to the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement, it envisages a one-year transition period for developed countries to bring their legislation and practices into conformity. Developing countries and countries in the process of transformation from a centrally-planned into a market economy would have a five-year transition period, and least-developed countries would have 11 years. Developing countries which do not at present provide product patent protection in an area of technology would have up to 10 years to introduce such protection. However, in the case of pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical products, they must accept the filing of patent applications from the beginning of the transitional period. Though the patent need not be granted until the end of this period, the novelty of the invention is preserved as of the date of filing the application. If authorization for the marketing of the relevant pharmaceutical or agricultural chemical is obtained during the transitional period, the developing country concerned must offer an exclusive marketing right for the product for five years, or until a product patent is granted, whichever is shorter.
