On November 23, 2020, the Intellectual Property Office of
Vietnam (IP Office) issued Notification No. 13822/TB-SHTT
tightening the requirements for signatories of all documents
submitted to the IP Office, including powers of attorney
(POAs).
In the past, the IP Office has accepted POAs (as well as other
documents) signed by any representatives internally authorized by
the IP holders. However, under the new notification, the IP Office
requires all documents to be signed by a legal representative of
the applicant or owner, such as the chairman of the board,
president, CEO, general director, etc. If the documents are signed
by other signatories, additional evidence proving that the
signatories have the capacity to represent the IP owners or
applicants is also required. If such evidence is not available then
the document must be legalized.
