Piloting Decentralization of IP Management to Provincial-level Local Authorities

On June 12, 2025, the Government issued Decree No. 133/2025/ND-CP (“Decree 133”) on decentralization and delegation of authority in the field of state management of the Ministry of Science and Technology (“MoST”). Decree 133 takes effect from July 1st, 2025 to March 1st, 2027 and may be extended (if this pilot phase proves to be effective) or replaced by new regulations.

In the field of intellectual property (“IP”), Decree 133 transfers a number of state management tasks which, until present, were performed exclusively by of the National Office of Intellectual Property (“VNIPO”) under the MoST to the Provincial People’s Committees. Specifically, from July 1st, 2025, the Provincial People’s Committees will be the competent authority for state management of the practice of patent and trademark attorneys’ profession, issuance of decisions on compulsory transfer of patent rights and handling of applications for registration of license agreements.

To implement Decree 133, the VNIPO has notified that it will stop accepting applications for all administrative procedures related to the above issues from July 1st, 2025 and recommends that organizations and individuals who need to carry out such procedures submit their applications to the Provincial People’s Committees as prescribed. Pending applications that have been submitted to the VNIPO before July 1, 2025 will continue to be processed by the Office.

Accordingly, from July 1, 2025, IP owners wishing to register their license agreements or obtain duplicates or re-issuance of protection certificates in Vietnam will have to submit applications to the Provincial People’s Committees instead of the VNIPO as before.

Decree 133 is one of 28 decrees on decentralization, delegation, and division of administrative management authority between the government and local authorities issued simultaneously in June this year to implement a program of reform of the national administrative system aiming at promoting decentralization, improving the provincial authorities’ capacity, and reducing the work overload at the central level.