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Son Cao Pham

Associate

Biography

Son Cao Pham is an associate with the Tilleke & Gibbins patent team in Hanoi, with notable IP expertise in the areas of mechanical engineering, electronics, electrical engineering, and energy. Son is a licensed IP agent as well as a licensed lawyer. He has assisted many international companies and firms to establish and protect their IP rights in Vietnam by providing advice from the pre-filing stage to the annuity monitoring stage. Son has prosecuted more than 700 patent and design cases at Tilleke & Gibbins, and has handled over 1,000 patent and design cases in his career.

Son also holds a Certificate of Drafting Patent Specifications from WIPO and the NOIP, a Certificate of Representative of Protection of Plant Varieties from the Vietnamese new plant variety protection office, a Certificate of the Advanced International Certificate Course of IP Panorama Multimedia Contents from KIPO, WIPO, KAIST and KIPA, and a Certificate of APAA Patent Surgery Course. Son is a member of the Hanoi Bar Association, the Asian Patent Attorneys Association (APAA), the ASEAN Intellectual Property Association (ASEAN IPA), and the Vietnam Intellectual Property Association (VIPA).

Experience

  • Translated many patent specifications from English into Vietnamese in the mechanical engineering, electronics, electrical engineering, and energy fields.
  • Filed and successfully registered patent applications with the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam for well-known multinational clients in the mechanical engineering, electronics, electrical engineering, and energy fields.
  • Monitored numerous patent annuity cases during their effective period for leading international firms.
  • Filed and registered industrial design applications with the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam.
  • Advised and supported foreign clients to establish and protect their IP rights in Vietnam.
  • Drafted a patent specification for Vietnamese inventors related to a pro bono project to accurately capture novelty and industrial applicability while ensuring the broadest possible protection.
ABOUT Son Cao

Practices

Intellectual Property

Location

Languages

    Vietnamese

    English

Education

    LLB, Hanoi Law University

    BEng, Hanoi University of Science and Technology

Insights

August 21, 2025
Tilleke & Gibbins is pleased to announce that the firm has adopted Harvey, a leading enterprise-grade AI platform for the global legal industry. The firm is proceeding with a rollout of Harvey’s legal AI solutions, which are supported by robust security and confidentiality protections, across the firm’s full-service regional practice in Southeast Asia. This initiative builds on the firm’s recent deployment of Microsoft Copilot and represents another advancement in Tilleke & Gibbins’ commitment to leveraging technology for enhanced legal service delivery. Under the program, legal professionals across the firm’s offices in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam will have access to the full Harvey platform, equipping them to deliver practical, impactful, and results-driven legal services for clients throughout the region. The firm will also develop bespoke agentic workflows within Harvey tailored to the firm’s core practices and the unique requirements of Southeast Asian legal markets. Commenting on the initiative, Managing Partner Tiziana Sucharitkul stated, “At Tilleke & Gibbins, we have consistently invested in developing and adopting technology to improve the speed, precision, and overall excellence of our legal services. The firm’s decision to invest in Harvey exemplifies our commitment to innovation, further differentiating Tilleke & Gibbins within Southeast Asia’s legal landscape.” Managing Partner Darani Vachanavuttivong remarked, “By combining the deep regional expertise of our lawyers with Harvey’s market-leading domain-specific AI, we are empowering our regional team to streamline drafting, research, and review processes for complex legal matters, all while maintaining the high standards of quality and security our clients expect from us.” Harvey’s Chief Business Officer John Haddock added, “It’s clear Tilleke & Gibbins is investing heavily in innovation, and it’s clear their global clients will benefit significantly from their focus and investment. The Harvey team is thrilled to support the firm’s journey with our platform.”
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May 6, 2022
To view this article in Vietnamese, please click here. In accordance with Article 59.2 of the Law on Intellectual Property issued in 2005, as amended and supplemented in 2009 and 2019 (“IP Law”), Vietnamese law currently does not recognize the protection of computer programs as inventions. However, in practice, if the subject-matter of an invention related to a computer program has technical characteristics and the program, when running on a computer, creates a further technical effect going beyond the usual physical interactions between a program and a computer, this subject-matter is likely to be protected as an invention. This condition is not codified, but is reflected in Article 5.8.2.5 of the patent examination guidelines issued in 2010, as amended and supplemented in 2020 – a reference document showing the guidance issued by the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (“IP Office”). Currently, at the formality examination stage, these “technical” conditions for inventions related to computer programs are quite easy to meet as it is only necessary to show that the subject-matter is a “Method performed by a computer for a purpose …”, “Processing apparatus…”, or “Computer-readable storage medium storing a program to perform the method…”. In the substantive examination stage, however, the “technical” condition is further scrutinized through the assessment of technical features stated in the subject-matter to determine whether the interaction between the program and the computer creates a further technical effect. The IP Office often issues office actions on substantive examination results because the computer-related patent application does not solve any technical problem and does not produce a further technical effect going beyond the normal interactions between the program and the computer. On December 31, 2021, the IP Office added to the patent examination guidelines mentioned above by issuing an annex with specific guidelines for examining patent applications
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January 13, 2022
Intellectual property experts from Tilleke & Gibbins were engaged by ARISE+ IPR, a regional support program funded by the European Union and implemented by the European Intellectual Property Office, to craft a series of IP enforcement guides for Southeast Asian countries, aimed at raising local awareness of the importance of IP protection. The five-year, EUR 5.5 million ARISE+ IPR program supports regional integration through IP cooperation and aims to upgrade national IP systems for creation, protection, utilization, administration, and enforcement to be in line with international best practices and standards and the strategic objectives of the ASEAN Intellectual Property Rights Action Plan 2016-2025. The guides were developed by Tilleke & Gibbins’ lawyers in cooperation with the IP offices of each participating country, and cover issues related to trademarks, industrial designs, and geographical indications. Each guide was produced in a compact leaflet form in English as well as the local language, and is considered an official publication of the respective national IP office. The guides can be accessed from the ARISE+ IPR site (under “Leaflets, brochures and booklets”), or by clicking on the links below: Cambodia: English | Khmer Indonesia: English | Bahasa Indonesia Thailand: English | Thai Vietnam: English | Vietnamese
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January 4, 2022
The era of Industry 4.0 has led to a dramatic increase in corresponding computer program invention patent filings in Vietnam. However, the current patent examination guidelines for inventions related to computer programs are quite brief and vague, which inevitably causes difficulties for patent examination. Therefore, in 2021, the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (IP Office) considered the necessity of amending the patent examination guidelines for inventions related to computer programs. Currently, a computer program is excluded from patentability under Article 59.2 of the Law on Intellectual Property (IP Law). However, according to Article 5.8.2.5 of the patent examination guidelines issued on March 31, 2010, as amended on December 31, 2020 (hereinafter referred to as the 2010 Guidelines), an invention related to a computer program is eligible to mature into a granted patent if the claimed subject matter has technical features and/or produces a further technical effect going beyond the normal interactions between the software and the hardware. From June 24 to December 31, 2021, the IP Office established a working group including members from the patent examination center, the legal and policy department, and experts from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to detail the provisions under Article 5.8.2.5 in order to tackle the problem of “In what circumstances are applications related to computer programs patentable?” In December 2021, the preliminary guidelines for this problem were drafted in the form of an annex to the 2010 Guidelines. The group also consulted many local IP agents, state agencies, organizations, and individuals to improve the draft. On December 18, 2021, the IP Office organized an online meeting with IP agents and organizations to discuss the draft. Basically, the draft does not make any significant changes in comparison with Article 5.8.2.5 of the 2010 Guidelines, but it adds more details. The draft
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Awards & Rankings

May 14, 2026
Asian Legal Business (ALB) has published the ALB Asia IP Rankings 2026, the latest edition of its annual guide recognizing leading intellectual property firms across the region. Continuing the approach introduced last year, the rankings present a unified table in each jurisdiction, combining patent and trademark/copyright work to provide a more holistic view of the IP market. Tilleke & Gibbins has retained strong rankings in all three jurisdictions covered by the survey: Thailand: Tier 1 Vietnam: Tier 1 Indonesia: Tier 2 The rankings are based on work conducted between February 2025 and February 2026, covering both ongoing and completed contentious and noncontentious matters. ALB’s research draws on firm submissions, client feedback, editorial resources, and market input to identify the region’s leading IP practices. Tilleke & Gibbins’ IP team has maintained a strong track record across all ranked jurisdictions since the inception of the ALB IP Rankings in 2018. To view the full rankings, please see the May 2026 issue of ALB.
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May 11, 2026
Tilleke & Gibbins has been recognized in five practice areas at the Asia Business Law Journal (ABLJ) Vietnam Law Firm Awards 2026, reflecting the firm’s continued strength across a range of legal disciplines in Vietnam. The firm received honors in the following categories: Artificial Intelligence Data Compliance and Cyber Security IP Litigation Labor & Employment Technology, Media & Telecommunications The ABLJ Vietnam Law Firm Awards highlight leading law firms across key practice areas, with multiple firms typically recognized in each category. The 2026 edition marks the fourth year of the awards program. These recognitions underscore the work of Tilleke & Gibbins’ Vietnam-based teams, particularly in technology-driven and regulatory-focused areas of practice. For more details and the full list of winners, please visit the ABLJ website.
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April 3, 2026
Tilleke & Gibbins is pleased to announce that the firm has been shortlisted in two categories at the Financial Times (FT) Innovative Lawyers APAC 2026 awards: Innovative Lawyers in Cyber and Data Privacy – “Digital Identity & Cryptocurrency Compliance” Innovative Practitioner – Athistha (Nop) Chitranukroh The FT Innovative Lawyers APAC Awards recognize law firms and practitioners who are driving innovation in legal services and delivering innovative client solutions across the Asia-Pacific region. This recognition marks our third acknowledgment in the Innovative Lawyers category and, notably, our first-ever nomination in the Innovative Practitioner category at the FT Innovative Lawyers APAC awards. It reflects our team’s continued ability to support clients on groundbreaking, forward-looking projects across the region. The awards ceremony will take place on May 14, 2026, in Hong Kong. To learn more about the FT Innovative Lawyers APAC 2026 awards and to view the full list of shortlisted organizations, please visit the FT website.
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