Law on amendments to Law on technology transfer of Vietnam 2025

 

LAW

AMENDMENTS TO LAW ON TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

Pursuant to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, as amended by the Resolution No. 203/2025/QH15;

The National Assembly hereby promulgates the Law on Amendments to the Law on Technology Transfer No. 07/2017/QH14, as amended by the Law No. 16/2023/QH15 and the Law No. 93/2025/QH15.

Article 1. Amendments to Law on Technology Transfer 

1. Some clauses of Article 2 are amended as follows:

a) Clause 5a is added following clause 5 as follows:

“5a. Green technology means technology that is designed to enable the efficient use of natural resources, energy efficiency, emission reduction, is eco-friendly, and contributes to promotion of sustainable development.”;

b) Clause 7 is amended as follows:

“7. Technology transfer means a science, technology and innovation activity carried out through the transfer of the ownership of technology or the assignment of the right to use technology for the purpose of putting such technology into practical application to create new products, services, or production methods.”;

c) Clause 11 is amended as follows:

“11. Commercialization of scientific research and technological development (R&D) and innovation outcomes means activities involving the exploitation, development, improvement, application, transfer, or other related use of R&D and innovation outcomes for the purpose of generating profits.”;

d) Clause 18 is amended as follows:

“18. Technology valuation means the activity of advising on and determining the value of a technology subject to valuation at a specific place and time, for a specific purpose, conducted by a valuation enterprise or a valuation council in accordance with the Vietnam’s Valuation Standards.”.

2. Some clauses of Article 3 are amended as follows:

a) Clause 3 is amended as follows:

“3. Give priority to the transfer of high technology, strategic technology, advanced technology, new technology, clean technology, green technology, and technology serving nationally significant projects and key projects, as well as technology serving national defense and security tasks, from foreign countries into Vietnam and through domestic technology transfer; allocate adequate resources for investment in technology transfer activities in agriculture and rural areas; attach special importance to technology transfer activities performed in areas facing difficult or extremely difficult socio-economic conditions, mountainous areas and island regions.”;

b) Clause 5 is amended as follows:

“5. Step up the transfer of high technology, strategic technology, and advanced technology from foreign countries into Vietnam; encourage the transfer of technology from Vietnam to foreign countries; promote domestic technology transfer; attach special importance to the dissemination of high technology, strategic technology and advanced technology from foreign-invested enterprises to domestic enterprises; and promote innovation activities and movements of organizations and individuals.”;

c) Clause 5a is added following clause 5 as follows:

“5a. Encourage foreign organizations and individuals to transfer technology to Vietnamese organizations and individuals in order to enhance domestic capacity to absorb, master, and innovate technology; technology transfer activities in foreign investment shall be carried out on a voluntary basis as agreed upon the parties, ensuring compliance with regulations of law on intellectual property, and consistency with international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory.

Give priority to the application of incentive policies relating to investment, taxation, land, credit, and other incentive measures to foreign investment projects that involve technology transfer, human resource training, and development of research, design, manufacturing, or technology application capacity in Vietnam.”;

3. Point b clause 1 Article 4 is amended as follows:

“b) Technological plans or processes; engineering solutions, parameters, designs or diagrams; models, algorithms, formulas, software programs, information and data;”.

4. Clause 1 Article 6 is amended as follows:

“1. Transfer of documents concerning technology, quality control procedures, standards and relevant technical parameters.”.

5. Article 7 is amended as follows:

“Article 7. Rights to make technology transfer

1. Ownership of, and rights to use, technology shall be established, recognized, and protected in accordance with the law on intellectual property, the law on science, technology and innovation, the law on management and use of public property, civil code, other relevant laws, and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory.

2. A technology owner shall have the right to transfer the ownership or assign the right to use such technology.

3. An organization or individual having the right use a given technology may transfer such right to another organization or individual, subject to the technology owner’s consent given in writing or in another form as prescribed by law.

4. The scope of transfer of the right to use a technology shall be agreed upon by the parties. To be specific:

a) Exclusive or non-exclusive right to use such technology;

b) The transferee’s right to re-transfer the right to use such technology to a third party.

5. A technology transferee shall have the right to improve, develop, and exploit the transferred technology in accordance with regulations of law on intellectual property and other relevant laws.

6. Where more than one organization or individual owns or has the right to use a technology, the transfer of ownership of, or right to use, such technology shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of this Law, the civil code and other relevant laws.

7. Where a technology is integrated into a product, machinery, equipment, or system, the ownership of, or the right to use, the technology shall not automatically arise from or be conferred together with the ownership of such product, machinery, equipment, or system, unless otherwise prescribed by law or otherwise agreed by the parties in compliance with regulations of law. The ownership of, or the right to use, the technology shall be determined independently and separately from the ownership of the product, machinery, equipment, or system in which such technology is integrated.”.

6. Article 8 is amended as follows:

“Article 8. Capital contribution in form of technology

1. Organizations and individuals that are lawful owners of technologies may contribute such technologies as capital to investment projects or enterprises, and may commercialize such technologies in accordance with the law on science, technology and innovation, the law on intellectual property, the law on management and use of public property, civil code, other relevant laws.

2. Before a technology is contributed as capital to a state-funded investment project, the technology valuation shall be carried out in accordance with the law on pricing, and the lawful ownership of, or lawful right to use, such technology must be verified and confirmed.

3. The State encourages capital contributions in the form of technologies generated from science, technology and innovation activities of Vietnamese organizations, individuals and enterprises through measures to support the technology valuation and the establishment of lawful ownership or lawful rights to use such technologies.”.

7. Some clauses of Article 9 are amended as follows:

a) Clause 1 is amended as follows:

“1. High technologies prioritized for investment and development, and strategic technologies as prescribed by the law on high technology.”;

b) The first paragraph of clause 2 is amended as follows:

“2. Advanced technologies, new technologies, clean technologies and green technologies that are suitable for socio-economic conditions of Vietnam shall be encouraged for transfer from foreign countries into Vietnam or for domestic transfer, if one of the following requirements is satisfied:”;

c) Point b clause 2 is amended as follows:

“b) Create new products and/or services;”.

8. Heading of Chapter II is amended as follows:

“Chapter II

TECHNOLOGY APPRAISAL”.

9. Article 13 is amended as follows:

“Article 13. Appraisal of, or provision of opinions on, technologies of investment projects

1. During the consideration and decision on investment policies, the appraisal of technological contents of investment projects using public investment capital shall be carried out in accordance with the law on public investment, while the appraisal of technological contents of public-private partnership projects shall be carried out in accordance with the law on investment in the form of public-private partnership.

2. During the consideration for grant of approval for investment policies or issuance of investment registration certificates (for projects that are not subject to investment policy approval as prescribed by the Law on Investment), except for investment projects, as prescribed by the Law on Investment, falling under the cases specified at points a and b clause 3 of this Article, the appraisal of, or provision of opinions on, technologies of the following investment projects must be carried out in accordance with provisions of this Law:

a) Investment projects employing technologies subject to restricted transfer;

b) Investment projects that pose a risk of adverse environmental impacts as prescribed by the Law on Environmental Protection, and that involve the use of technology.

3. During the consideration and decision on investment policies or grant of project approval, the appraisal of or provision of opinions on technologies shall be carried out as follows:

a) Appraisal of, or provision of opinions on, technologies used in investment projects that employ technologies subject to restricted transfer, or investment projects that pose a risk of adverse environmental impacts as prescribed by the Law on Environmental Protection, and that involve the use of technology, must be carried out in accordance with regulations of this Law;

b) Technological contents of the investment projects employing technologies other than those specified in point a of this clause shall be appraised in accordance with regulations of the Law on Construction;

c) Technological contents of investment projects using public investment capital without construction components, and public-private partnership projects, whether or not they include construction components, shall be appraised in accordance with regulations of the Law on Public Investment and the Law on Investment in the form of Public-Private Partnership.

4. During the implementation of an approved investment project, if any modification to the approved investment policies, the issued investment registration certificate, the investment decision, or the investment project approval results in changes in the technological contents of the project which have previously been appraised or commented by a competent authority, the appraisal of or provision of opinions on technological contents of the project must be also carried out as prescribed in clause 2, points a and b clause 3 of this Article.

5. The Government shall provide detailed regulations on explanations of the use of technology in investment project dossiers; authority, documentation requirements, procedures, subject contents and funding for appraisal of or provision of opinions on the technologies of the investment projects specified in clause 2, point a, clause 3, and clause 4 of this Article.”.

10. Some clauses of Article 20 are amended as follows:

a) Point a clause 1 is amended as follows:

“a) Establishing a Council for evaluation, appraisal, and assessment of technology;”

b) Clause 3 is amended as follows:

“3. Members of the consulting board, independent consulting organizations, and independent consultants shall assume legal responsibility for their opinions and shall maintain the confidentiality of information concerning the investment project.”;

c) Point a clause 4 is amended as follows:

“a) During the consideration and decision on investment policies or issuance of investment registration certificates, the collection of opinions on technology shall be funded by the state budget;”.

11. Some clauses of Article 21 are amended as follows:

a) Clause 1 is amended as follows:

“1. The application of technology in an investment project as prescribed in Article 13 of this Law must be properly inspected and supervised throughout the project implementation.”;

b) Clause 2 is amended as follows:

“2. Inspection and supervision of technologies applied to investment projects as prescribed in clause 1 of this Article shall be carried out in accordance with regulations of this Law, the law on investment, and other relevant laws.”;

c) Point c is added following point b clause 3 as follows:

“c) Carry out inspection of organizations, enterprises and individuals benefiting from incentives and support related to technology transfer activities.”;

d) Clause 4 is added following clause 3 as follows:

“4. The Government shall elaborate this Article.”.

12. Some clauses of Article 29 are amended as follows:

a) Clause 2 is amended as follows:

“2. The organization or individual that wishes to make transfer of technology subject to restricted transfer shall send an application for approval for technology transfer to the People’s Committee of the province where the technology is received.”;

b) Clause 3 is amended as follows:

“3. Within 03 working days from its receipt of the application, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall consider the received application; if an application is invalid, it shall request the applicant in writing to complete its submitted application as prescribed.”;

c) Clause 4 is amended as follows:

“4. Within 30 days from its receipt of a valid application, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall grant give a written approval for technology transfer. If an application is refused, a written response indicating reasons for refusal shall be given to the applicant.”.

13. Some clauses of Article 30 are amended as follows:

a) Clause 2 is amended as follows:

“2. Upon the receipt of the written approval from the provincial-level People’s Committee, the parties engaging in the technology transfer shall enter into a technology transfer agreement.”;

b) Clause 3 is amended as follows:

“3. Within 60 days from the date on which the technology transfer agreement is signed, the party obliged to apply for a technology transfer permit shall send an application for technology transfer permit to the provincial-level People’s Committee.”;

c) Clause 4 is amended as follows:

“4. Within 05 working days from its receipt of the application, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall consider the received application; if an application is invalid, it shall request the applicant in writing to complete its submitted application as prescribed.

Within 60 days from their receipt of the written request for application modification, the applicant must submit additional documents as requested or submit an application form for extension of the time limit for application modification. The extension period shall not exceed 60 days. Upon the end of this period, if the applicant fails to submit additional documents as requested, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall give a written notification of refusal to issue the technology transfer permit, and return the application as requested by the applicant.”;

d) Clause 5 is amended as follows:

“5. Within 15 working days from its receipt of a valid application, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall appraise the received application and issue a technology transfer permit. If an application is refused, a written response indicating reasons for such refusal shall be given to the applicant.”.

14. Heading and some clauses of Article 31 are amended as follows:

a) Heading of Article 31 is amended as follows:

“Article 31. Registration of technology transfer and provision of information on technology transfer”;

b) Clause 1a is added before clause 1 as follows:

“1a. Organizations and individuals carrying out technology transfer activities are encouraged to provide complete, accurate, and timely information relating to their technology transfer activities on the National digital platform for management of science, technology, and innovation.”;

c) Point c clause 1 is amended as follows:

“c) Domestic technology transfer using the state funds or the state budget-derived funds.”;

d) Clause 2 is amended as follows:

“2. The Government encourages organizations and individuals to carry out procedures for registration of technology transfer agreements in cases other than those prescribed in clause 1 of this Article.

Certificate of registration of technology transfer shall serve as a basis for consideration of priority in the selection and direct assignment of science, technology, and innovation tasks, and for the application of incentive policies.”.

15. Article 35 is amended as follows:

“Article 35. Support for and encouragement of technology application and innovation by organizations and individuals

1. The State shall provide support to enterprises implementing projects in geographical areas or sectors eligible for investment incentives to carry out technology transfer activities with science and technology organizations.

2. The State encourages various forms of cooperation between enterprises and authorities, organizations, and individuals to implement investment projects in technological innovation, innovative start-ups, and the development of infrastructure facilities serving the development of science, technology, and innovation activities.

3. Socio-political organizations, social organizations, and socio-professional organizations shall, within the ambit of their assigned functions and duties, facilitate technology transfer activities carried out by organizations, enterprises, and individuals.

4. The State shall provide support to organizations and enterprises in carrying out technology transfer activities through the National Technology Innovation Fund, science, technology, and innovation development funds of ministries, ministerial agencies, Governmental agencies, other central government-level agencies, and provincial-level People’s Committees, and other forms of support in accordance with regulations of law.

5. The State shall allocate state budget-derived funding for the development of a network of science and technology organizations with functions of application, transfer, and innovation of technology, and innovation, innovation centers, centers for supporting innovative start-ups, and science and technology market intermediaries to carry out activities supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, cooperatives, household businesses, and individual businesses in applying advanced processes and techniques, existing technologies, and management methods proven to be effective, with a view to improving productivity, the quality of products and services, and the competitiveness of enterprises.

6. The Government shall elaborate this Article.”.

16. Article 35a is added following Article 35 as follows:

“Article 35a. State purchase and dissemination of technologies

1. The State shall purchase ownership of, or rights to use, technology for dissemination for the following purposes:

a) Serving national defense and security tasks;

b) Serving education, healthcare, environmental protection, and the prevention and control of natural disasters and epidemics.

2. The purchase of technology shall ensure the satisfaction of the following requirements: the purchased technology has practical utility, is compatible with application capacity, has clearly defined intellectual property rights, and is funded by the state budget in a transparent and efficient manner.

3. The State shall disseminate technology through one or more of the following forms: free-of-charge dissemination, provision of technology with preferential treatment, or conditional grant of rights to use technology; promote cooperation in the development of technology in order to enhance the capacity of Vietnamese organizations and enterprises.

4. The Government shall elaborate this Article.”.

17. Some clauses of Article 42 are amended as follows:

a) Clause 1 is amended as follows:

“1. Importation, reverse-engineering, and mastery of high technology, strategic technology, advanced technology, clean technology, and green technology to serve the achievement of objectives of national, sectoral, regional and local socio-economic development strategies, plannings and plans;”;

b) Clause 3 is amended as follows:

“3. Improving the exploitation and use of R&D, and innovation outcomes, technological ideas, to serve enterprises, individuals, groups of individuals engaged in innovative start-ups, innovation support organizations, start-up support organizations, technology incubators, science and technology enterprise incubators, and high-technology enterprise incubators;”;

c) Clause 4 is amended as follows:

“4. Evaluation and appraisal of new technologies and new products created in Vietnam from R&D, and innovation outcomes, in order to encourage their use in investment projects funded by the state budget and eligible for incentives in accordance with the law on bidding;”;

d) Clause 5 is amended as follows:

“5. Provision of training programs to enhance enterprises’ ability to absorb and master technologies; commercialization of R&D, and innovation outcomes; establishing linkages, cooperation, and exchange of science and technology human resources between research institutions and training institutions, and production and business establishments;”.

18. Some points of clause 2 Article 43 are amended as follows:

a) Point a is amended as follows:

“a) Development of technical infrastructure and support for the operation of science and technology exchanges, innovation centers, innovative start-up support centers, and science and technology market intermediaries;”;

b) Point d is added following Point c as follows:

“d) Establishing public-private collaboration, and mobilizing social resources for investment in and operation of science and technology market intermediaries.”.

19. Some points and clauses of Article 44 are amended as follows:

a) Clause 4 is added following Clause 3 as follows:

“4. The State encourages organizations and individuals to transfer technology to foreign countries by providing support for market promotion costs.”;

b) Clause 5 is added following clause 4 as follows:

“5. The Government shall elaborate this Article.”.

20. Clause 5 Article 52 is amended as follows:

“5. The Minister of Agriculture and Environment of Vietnam shall promulgate the List of technological advances in varieties, products, production processes, technical solutions, and management solutions encouraged for transfer in the field of agriculture; criteria, formalities and procedures for certification of technological advances.”.

21. Some clauses of Article 54 are amended as follows:

a) Clause 1a is added following Clause 1 as follows:

“1a. Formulate and submit to the Government for promulgation a Decree on organization and operation of the National Technology Innovation Fund.”

b) Clause 9a is added following clause 9 as follows:

“9a.  Carry out evaluation of the effectiveness of technology transfer activities funded by the state budget. Such evaluation results shall serve as a basis for policy formulation, risk control, allocation of resources for giving incentives and support, and enhancement of the effectiveness of state management of technology transfer activities.”

c) Clause 10 is amended as follows:

“10. Examine and resolve complaints, denunciations and violations against regulations of the law on technology transfer.”.

22. Some clauses of Article 56 are amended as follows:

a) Clause 3a is added following Clause 3 as follows:

“3a. Issue and revoke technology transfer permits with respect to technologies included in the List of technologies subject to restricted transfer;”;

b) Clause 5 is amended as follows:

“5. Organize the examination and evaluation of the effectiveness of technology transfer for local state budget-funded programs, projects and tasks; establish, manage, and update databases, information systems, and statistical systems on technology transfer, application and innovation activities; submit annual reports on examination and evaluation of effectiveness of and statistical data on technology transfer to the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam;”.

23. Clause 2 Article 57 is amended as follows:

“2. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall cooperate with the Ministry of Finance in developing a system of statistical indicators and organizing the collection of statistical information about enterprises’ technology transfer, application and innovation; making connection and sharing of statistical data on technology transfer, application and innovation;”.

24. Clause 2 and clause 6 Article 2; Articles 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 36, 37 and 40; clause 4 Article 54 are abrogated.

Article 2. Effect

1. This Law comes into force from April 01, 2026, except the cases prescribed in clause 2 of this Article.

2. Clauses 2, 3 and 4 Article 29, clauses 2, 3, 4 and 5 Article 30 of the Law on Technology Transfer No. 07/2017/QH14, as amended by the Law No. 16/2023/QH15 and the Law No. 93/2025/QH15, and further amended by clause 12 and clause 13 Article 1, point a clause 21 Article 1 of this Law shall come into force from the date on which this Law is adopted.

Article 3. Transition

1. Technology transfer agreements concluded before the effective date of this Law shall still remain valid; any modification, amendment or extension of such agreements made after the effective date of this Law shall be subject to provisions of this Law.

2. Applications for registration or extension of technology transfer agreements which have been received before the effective date of this Law but have not yet been processed as of the effective date of this Law shall be processed in accordance with regulations of the Law on Technology Transfer No. 07/2017/QH14, as amended by the Law No. 16/2023/QH15 and the Law No. 93/2025/QH15.

3. Applications for approval or grant of permits for technology transfer which have been received before July 01, 2025 but have not yet been processed as of the effective date of this Law shall be processed in accordance with regulations of the Law on Technology Transfer No. 07/2017/QH14, as amended by the Law No. 16/2023/QH15 and the Law No. 93/2025/QH15.

4. Where decisions on investment policies, approval for investment policies, investment registration certificates, investment decisions or project approval for investment projects employing technologies included in the List of technologies subject to restricted transfer, or projects that pose a risk of adverse environmental impacts and involve the use of technology, have been issued or granted before the effective date of this Law but appraisal of, or opinions on, technological contents of such projects have not yet been conducted or given by competent authorities, the appraisal of, or opinions on, technological contents of such projects must be conducted or given in accordance with provisions of this Law, if any modifications to such approved investment policies, investment registration certificates, investment decisions or project approval made after the effective date of this Law result in changes in technological contents of such projects.

5. Where applications for appraisal of, or provision of opinions on, technologies during the consideration and grant of approval for investment policies or issuance of investment decisions have been received before the effective date of this Law but have not yet been processed as of the effective date of this Law, the appraisal of, or provision of opinions on, technologies which serves as the basis for consideration and grant of approval for investment policies or issuance of investment decisions shall be carried out in accordance with regulations of the Law on Technology Transfer No. 07/2017/QH14, as amended by the Law No. 16/2023/QH15 and the Law No. 93/2025/QH15, the Law on Construction No. 50/2014/QH13, as amended by the Law No. 03/2016/QH14, and the Law No. 62/2020/QH14.

This Law is ratified by the 15^th National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam during its 10^th Session held on December 10, 2025.