IP rights catches Government’s attention

VietNamNet Bridge - Government officials have confirmed that they are paying special attention to protecting intellectual property (IP) rights and so far have made major progress.

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan told a workshop on April 21 that the Government has been continuing with efforts to complete a legal system on IP in order to meet the World Trade Organisation’s requirements.

“The Government is also paying special attention to improving the management and execution of the IP rights through issuing the relevant legislation,” said the senior official.

Along with its own efforts, the Government has been working hard to raise the public’s awareness of their obligations to respect the law by launching a series of information campaigns due to the importance of the issue, Quan said.

Journalists and media agencies are being urged to operate at full capacity to help the Government meet this target, the deputy minister told the workshop.

The event was co-sponsored by the National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP) and the American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) to respond to the International Day of Intellectual Property on April 26. It is aimed at honouring scientists for innovations that have contributed considerably to global socio-economic development.

In Vietnam, thanks to constant efforts since 1980s, the nation has so far boasted a virtually perfect legal system on the issue with the IP Law at its core. The system has been evaluated by international experts as meeting international standards.

The NOIP reported that Vietnamese businesses are increasingly interested in having their IP rights protected as around one-third of 300,000 enterprises have registered for protection so far. However, they are also seriously concerned with the rising number of infringements.

Director of the Ben Thanh Audio-Video company Huynh Tiet, complained that illegal copies of discs and tapes have been flooding the domestic market.

The NOIP Director, Tran Viet Hung, blamed the Customs Office for the problem, explaining that over 60 percent of illegal products that broke IP rights have originated from foreign markets.

Other problems that have led to wanton IP violations such as overlapping management procedures and a lack of personnel were also discussed at the event.

VietNamNet/VNA