Giỏ hàng
Intellectual Property Law: Keeping up with the changes of the integration process

Date: 11-03-2021 by: Banca IP Law Firm

Intellectual Property Law: Keeping up with the changes of the integration process

"The existing provisions of the Law on Intellectual Property (IP) are not fully compatible with the commitments in treaties to which Vietnam is a member or regulations that have not yet appeared but must comply with international commitments ... will be reviewed to amend and supplement accordingly" - Mr. Dinh Huu Phi - Director general of the IP Office in Vietnam confirmed in a recent discussion with the press.

The IP Law is expected to be presented to the National Assembly for consideration and opinion at the October 2021 session and to be passed by the National Assembly at the May 2022 session. Can you share about the major policies amended in this IP Law?

The amendments to the IP Law will basically focus on 7 major policy groups. Firstly, it will ensure clear provisions on authors, copyright owners, performers, related rights owners in cases of transfer or transfer of rights. Secondly, regulations related to the determination of ownership rights and exploitation rights of government-funded scientific studies will also be clarified in more detail. Thirdly, facilitate the process of carrying out registration procedures and establishing rights. Regulations related to procedures, deadlines, composition of dossiers ... will continue to be completed in a concise, fast, convenient and transparent way. Fourthly, the provisions related to the protection and enforcement of IP rights will be reviewed and balanced to ensure a fair and equitable level of protection between the benefits of the right owners and the rights of usage, rights to access knowledge and technology of the society. Fifthly, regulations promoting all support activities for IP system are also reviewed for amendment and supplementation in the direction of clearly specifying responsibilities and detailing the scope of operation. Sixthly, the provisions related to IP rights enforcement will be revised to ensure a more effective, reasonable and feasible IP protection mechanism. Lastly, ensuring full and serious enforcement of international commitments in the integration process.

In the context of Vietnam's participation in the new generation of free trade agreements (EVFTA, CPTPP...) and the wave of the Industrial Revolution 4.0, what will the IP rights amendment focus on to protect the rights of Vietnamese enterprises?

The interests of Vietnamese enterprises in particular, the interests of the entire society, in general, have always been the focus in the development of the provisions in the major policies of the IP Law amended this time, from the stages of creativity, the establishment of rights, protection of rights, to the exploitation and enforcement of IP rights. For example, regulations on facilitating the process of carrying out the registration and establishing rights procedures such as regulations related to procedures, deadlines, the composition of dossiers ... will be improved in terms of compactness, convenience, transparency to help businesses to establish IP rights more quickly and easily.

Or, regulations on ensuring the thorough and deliberate implementation of international commitments in the integration process are developed with the view of implementing international commitments at the most compatible level with the socio-economic development level of the country, ensuring that businesses have enough time to approach the changes of the integration process. In addition, regulations on enhancing the efficiency of IP support activities, improving the efficiency of IP rights enforcement also help to enforce IP rights more strictly and effectively, thereby improving the business environment and improving competitiveness for businesses.

Currently, in Vietnam, the enforcement of rights has not been as expected. What are your reasons and how will this affect the implementation of Vietnam's agreements, sir?

The reason for the above situation is that the IP sector is still new, the identification of infringement upon IP rights is complicated, while the capacity of enforcement agencies is limited. In addition, there are not many IP assessment organizations to help enforcement agencies determine IP infringements. The popularity of technology is also one of the causes leading to more sophisticated, easier to carry out and more common infringements, especially IP rights infringements on the Internet environment.

If IP infringement becomes more blatant, it will suppress creativity and not attract new technology, at the same time, reflect a business environment without fair competition and will thereby limit the attraction of FDI investment. Accordingly, in order to improve this issue, it is necessary to implement the IP Strategy; to strengthen coordination among agencies through the IP rights infringement cooperation program (action program 168 phase III (2019-2023); and to amend regulations on the rights enforcement in the IP Law.

Thank you, sir!

Translated by BANCA CO., LTD. - Source here