Valuation of intellectual property remains a grey area in Vietnam and can be improved only with support from authorities, experts have told a recent workshop held in Ho Chi Minh City.

Speaking at the workshop on "Valuation of intellectual property from outcome of scientific research" held by the National Office of Intellectual Property and the city's Department of Science and Technology, they said intellectual property is the key to innovation and development.

But assessing of the value of technological intellectual property is quite difficult, they said.

For researchers, completing the legal procedures is a difficult task, and official agencies should support them in this task, they said.

A lot of research is done, but researchers and scientists do not focus on registering intellectual property rights for protection, and this needs to change, they said.

According to experts, the valuation of intellectual property is based on three methods, market based (by reference to comparable market transactions), cost based (the cost to create or the cost to replace a given asset) and income based (based on estimates of past and future economic benefits).

Nguyen Huu Can, deputy director of the Vietnam Intellectual Property Research Institute, said intellectual property value is a decisive factor for consumers in choosing products and services with "special features".

The usage value of intellectual property assets is only known when they are commercialised, he said.

The workshop provided a good platform for State management agencies to discuss and evaluate results, limitations and challenges to the valuation of intellectual property and at the same time find ways for valuation, he said.

Vo Hung Son, head of the intellectual property management department at the city's Department of Science and Technology, said to determine the profits generated from the use of scientific and technological research outcomes, the valuation should be made when transferring the right to use the outcomes.