Efforts must be made to increase the awareness and effectiveness of intellectual property protection among government agencies, businesses and the public. Photo: Hoang Vinh.

Increasing awareness and effectiveness of intellectual property protection

Within the framework of the Australian Program to support Vietnam's economic reform, on the morning of March 24, the Central Institute for Economic Management - CIEM (Ministry of Planning and Investment) held a seminar to announce the improvement report on the economy to effectively protect intellectual property in the context of Vietnam's international economic integration and digital transformation.

Over the years, economic models based on cheap labor and natural resources have gradually lost their competitive edge. The danger of the middle-income trap and an aging population has posed many challenges for Vietnam and requires accelerating the search for a new growth model for the economy. An important orientation is promoting innovation, increasing the application of science and technology to create a new driving force for economic growth and increase labor productivity. This orientation requires efforts to increase the awareness and effectiveness of intellectual property protection among government agencies, businesses and the public.

Speaking at the Conference, Dr. Tran Hong Minh, Director of CIEM, said that the interaction between international economic integration and the completion of the policy and legal framework on intellectual property is important, consistent with the economic development perspective of the State on expanding and diversifying import and export markets, effectively implementing trade agreements. The amendment and supplementation of the law on intellectual property is not only meaningful to international integration but also to the country's digital transformation.

"The policy of opening up and international economic integration in recent decades has significantly influenced the process of perfecting the legal framework for intellectual property protection in Vietnam. Highlights such as the Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the United States signed in 2000 or becoming a member of the World Trade Organization in 2007 both recognize Vietnam's important commitments to perfecting the legal framework on protectionism of Intellectual Property.

“Recently, important free trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) have important contents on intellectual property protection," said Dr. Tran Hong Minh.

Four recommendations

The actual implementation of the Intellectual Property Law partly shows the inadequate attention of enterprises, universities and research institutes in this field. Regarding the handling of disputes arising from intellectual property rights, many cases have been sanctioned, focusing mainly on imitation goods, counterfeit goods on trademarks or industrial design violations. However, the amount of administrative fines is relatively low and not really enough to deter those who violate intellectual property law.

A requirement for amendments and supplements to the Law on Intellectual Property is to help access and grasp the integration trends taking place in the world; including the trend of cooperation in the digital economy.

Although just formed in 2020, cooperation agreements on the digital economy have received a lot of attention. Although Vietnam has not yet joined agreements on cooperation in the digital economy, Vietnam also needs to think about amending the Intellectual Property Law in the direction of anticipating this international cooperation trend to proactively make the necessary preparations.

At the same time, Vietnam needs to pay attention to protecting the balance of interests between intellectual property rights holders and social interests, creating a healthy competitive environment in line with the realities of a developing economy.

Faced with the above situation, the report has made four groups of policy recommendations for amending and supplementing the Law on Intellectual Property.

Firstly, the approach to amending and supplementing the Law on Intellectual Property should aim to internalize earlier and higher than international commitments to create motivation for businesses and adapt to the environment.

Second, it is necessary to improve the capacity and awareness of intellectual property protection for enterprises, organizations and individuals (especially overseas).

Third, it is necessary to apply the online dispute resolution mechanism in the civil handling of disputes related to intellectual property rights to reduce costs for businesses and individuals.

Fourth, it is necessary to accelerate the reform of administrative procedures in intellectual property management. Consideration should be given to the possibility of consolidating several intellectual property authorities, sharing data among them.