Laos: Accelerating patent application prosecution

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Laos: Accelerating patent application prosecution

While an amended version of the Lao Law on Intellectual Property took effect in June 2018, patent applicants can still be frustrated by the lengthy application pendency in the Lao Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) of the Ministry of Science and Technology. There are, however, several ways to accelerate Lao patent prosecution.

Laos participates in the ASEAN Patent Examination Cooperation (ASPEC) which allows applicants for patent protection in other ASEAN patent offices to save cost and time when seeking Lao patent protection. There are nine participating ASEAN IP offices (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) and ASPEC enables Lao DIP to utilise the search and examination results from any of these IP offices as a reference in the Lao patent prosecution when that IP office has found at least one claim novel and inventive. In this manner, the applicant benefits from expedited prosecution from the time of filing the ASPEC request until grant.

In order to qualify for ASPEC, a patent application filed at the Lao DIP must be a corresponding patent application to one that is filed and examined in another ASEAN patent office. Patent applications are corresponding applications if they are linked by a Paris Convention priority claim (from one to the other or from both to another patent application) or are both national phase entry applications from the same Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application.

In 2016, a second means of accelerating Lao patent prosecution was launched with the Japan Patent Office (JPO). A framework was established by agreement between the Lao Ministry of Science and Technology and the JPO. Under the agreement, when patent applications have been examined and granted at the JPO, patent rights may also be granted to corresponding applications which have been filed in Laos without conducting substantial examinations. Therefore, applicants of Lao patent applications who own patents granted by the JPO can request accelerated decisions on eligibility for grant of the Lao patent applications with the DIP at any time after grant of the Japanese patent.

The requirements are that the designated patent application filed with the DIP must share the same earliest priority date and, like ASPEC, be linked by Paris Convention or PCT priority. In addition, since the designated patent application filed with the DIP requesting validation in Laos must already be a valid patent in Japan, the Lao pending claims must be the same as the claims granted by the JPO.

Providing a further means for accelerating patent grant in Laos, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) earlier this year also announced that, under a memorandum of understanding signed in 2018 to further the IP cooperation between China and Laos under the Belt and Road Initiative and China-ASEAN IP cooperation, patent applicants who own valid Chinese patents may also request accelerated eligibility for grant decisions on Lao patent applications.

Thus, Lao patent prosecution can be accelerated in several ways to reduce filing to grant pendency in Laos using Japanese or Chinese patents or ASEAN patent applications.

collopy-dan.jpg

Daniel Collopy


more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

The insensitive reaction to a UK politician crying on TV proves we have a long way to go before we can say we are tackling workplace wellbeing
Adrian Percer says he was impressed by the firm’s work on billion-dollar cases as well as its culture
In our latest interview with women IP leaders, Catherine Bonner at Murgitroyd discusses technology, training, and teaching
Developments included an update in the VAR dispute between Ballinno and UEFA, the latest CMS updates, and a swathe of market moves
The LMG Life Sciences Americas Awards is thrilled to present the 2025 shortlist
A new order has brought the total security awarded to a Canadian tech company to $45 million, the highest-ever by an Indian court in an IP case
Andrew Blattman reflects on how IP practices have changed and shares his hopes for increased AI use and better performance on the stock market
The firm said major IP developments included advising on a ‘landmark’ deal involving green hydrogen production, as well as two major acquisitions
The appointments follow other recent moves in the European market as firms look to bolster their UPC offerings
Deborah Kirk discusses why IP and technology have become central pillars in transactions and explains why clients need practically minded lawyers
Gift this article