– Decree No. 01/PM on Patent, Petty Patent and Industrial Designs of January 17, 2002.
– Regulation No. 322/STEA-PMO of February 18, 2003 on the implementation of Decree on Patent, Petty Patent and Industrial Designs.
– Law on Intellectual Property No. 38/NA of November 15, 2017, published on May 25, 2018, in force since June 9, 2018.

– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), since June 17, 1995.
– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act, since October 8, 1998.
– Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), since June 14, 2006.
– WTO’s TRIPS Agreement, since February 2, 2013.

Applicant(s): the inventor(s) or his successor in title.

Protection for foreigners: they enjoy the same rights as nationals on the basis of reciprocity and in accordance with international treaties. They must appoint a resident agent.

Naming of the inventor(s): compulsory.

Patentability: any technical solution which is new, involves an inventive step and is industrially applicable. Patents can be granted for any invention considered as involving an inventive step if, having regard to the prior art relevant to the application claiming the invention, it would not have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art. Any invention shall be considered industrially applicable if it can be used in any kind of industry, handicraft, agriculture, fishery and service.

Exceptions to protection: discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods, schemes, rules or methods for doing business, performing purely mental acts or playing games, methods for treatment of the human and animal body, inventions which are contrary to the public order or the national cultural morality.

Novelty: worldwide novelty is required.

Priority: according to the Paris Convention.

Classification: as per the International Patent Classification, Strasbourg 1971, as last revised.

Territory covered: Lao PDR.

Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to resident agent):
1. Application form;
2. Power of attorney, legalized;
3. Deed of Assignment, legalized;
4. Description;
5. Specification and abstract;
6. Formal drawings (if any);
7. Assignment of priority right, if any, legalized;
8. Certified priority document with translation;
9. Certificate of international depositary authority.

Minimum requirement to obtain a filing date: (1) application; (2) description and claims; (3) payment receipt of prescribed fees.

Terms for filing missing documents: original documents to be submitted within sixty days of filing date. Application and all supporting documents including priority documents shall be translated into Lao and submitted within ninety days after the date of application and ninety days for any information requested. Note: from June 2023 notarization of the PoA, Deed of Assignment, Declaration of Change and other required documents is no longer required, legalization will suffice.

Electronic filing: not available.

For a change of name or address:
1. Declaration of Change of Name/Address, legalized;
2. Power of attorney, legalized;
3. Copy of original registration certificate.

PCT applications: time limit for entering national phase under both Chapter I and Chapter II: 30 months.

Validation of Chinese patents: as of April 29, 2019 it is possible to validate a Chinese patent in Laos. The application for validation can be filed at any time during the validity of the Chinese patent and must conform with the patent regulations set out by both countries and shall share the same earliest priority date or filing date. The patent application (including a PCT patent application that entered the national phase) must be one of the following: (1) the Chinese patent is a priority claimed for the Lao patent application and vice-versa, the Lao patent application is a priority claimed for the Chinese patent; (2) the Chinese patent and the Lao patent application claim a same priority; (3) the Chinese patent and the Lao patent application are different national phases of a same PCT application.  Required documents: (1) a request form for validation of patent application; (2) a copy of patent document and certificate of patent register issued by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA); (3) patent documents in Laotian.

Accelerated patent decisions: recently, Laos and Japan entered into an agreement on the "Cooperation for facilitating Patent Grant" (CPG). Under this agreement, applicants who own patents granted by the Japan Patent Office (JPO) can request accelerated decisions on patents in Laos. The patent application filed in Laos in which the CPG is requested shall share the same earliest priority date or filing date with the original application filed with the JPO. The patent application (including a PCT patent application that entered the national phase) must be one of the following: (1) a patent application claiming priority under the Paris Convention based on the original application filed with the JPO; (2) a patent application that serves as the basis for validly claiming priority under the Paris Convention of the corresponding JPO patent application (including a PCT patent application that entered the national phase); (3) a PCT national phase application where both the corresponding JPO patent application and the Lao patent application are derived from a common PCT international application having no priority claim.  Required documents: (1) a request form for validation of patent application; (2) a copy of patent document and certificate of patent register issued by the JPO; (3) patent documents in Laotian.

Examination: as to the formal and substantive requirements and patentability; formal examination starts after the filing date is accorded; substantive examination begins within thirty-two months of filing date or priority date upon request. The Registry may request certified copies of the search or examination results carried out for the same invention in other countries, copies of such granted patents, or copies of the decisions refusing applications for the same invention in other countries.

Accelerated examination: not available.

Divisions: possible during the examination period. 

Publication: as of June 9, 2018, once the formal examination is successful, the patent application is published for opposition purposes. 

Opposition: possible for third parties, as of June 9, 2018, before the Department of Intellectual Property up to ninety days following publication of the application.

Publication: nineteen months from the filing date or priority date after the formal examination and acceptance.

Beginning of protection: from the filing date.

Extent of protection: the scope of legal protection is determined by the claims.

Delivery of document: the patent certificate is issued in paper format.

Duration: twenty years following the official filing date.

Annuities: the accumulated annuities are payable at the date of grant; subsequent annuities are due yearly prior to the anniversary of the filing date. 

Assignment and license agreements: have to be registered.

Working: compulsory with a grace period of four years as of the filing date, or three years from the date of the grant of the patent.

Right of the owner: the owner of a patent is entitled to utilize exclusively the invention (manufacturing, utilizing, importing, advertising and putting into circulation).

Opposition: possible.

Cancellation: any interested party (natural person or legal entity) may oppose or cancel a granted patent within three months from publication. Thereafter, the Director General shall make a decision on cancellation within three months and notifies both parties of his decision. Both parties then have a further three months to respond to his decision. If, within those three months there is no response from either parties, the patent will be cancelled based on the Director General’s decision.

Compulsory license: possible if particularly important inventions are not utilized or do not meet the requirements of the national economy.

Infringement and penalties: first occurrence, warning and education; civil damages and penalties, and three months to two years of imprisonment under criminal offenses of IP Law.

Enforcement: administrative and judiciary measures, and international settlement.