Draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Intellectual Property Maximizing the potential and intelligence of Vietnam

Many countries consider intellectual property as a strategic tool for international competition in technology and global enterprises are accelerating patent registration as a "soft" weapon to control the market. In that trend, the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Intellectual Property is expected to create a driving force to maximize the potential and intelligence of Vietnam.

Promote and facilitate commercial exploitation of intellectual property rights

The Law on Intellectual Property was first promulgated in 2005 and amended and supplemented in 2009, 2019 and 2022. Basically, current legal regulations on intellectual property have created a relatively complete legal corridor for the protection of intellectual property rights.

However, the Law on Intellectual Property still has some shortcomings such as: there are no specific regulations on measures to promote and facilitate the commercial exploitation of intellectual property rights while the capacity to commercially exploit intellectual property rights of Vietnamese organizations and individuals is still limited; regulations on licensing are not clear; pricing still faces many difficulties, so it has not promoted the market for intellectual property rights.

Illustration photo. Source: internet

Regulations on intellectual property licensing procedures are still complicated, take a long time to implement, and do not meet the requirements for simplification and reduction of time for administrative procedures on intellectual property; regulations on confidential inventions do not have a clear approval process, causing congestion in international registration.

Regulations on rights protection are not strong enough, lack deterrence, resources to support enforcement, especially appraisal work, are limited (industrial property appraisal is slow and lacks transparency); human resources in intellectual property protection agencies lack technical expertise; there is a lack of mechanisms to actively support businesses in implementing measures to protect intellectual property rights.

Regulations on control of monopoly abuse and anti-monopoly in intellectual property are not clear enough, while monopoly rights in intellectual property are widely granted, easily leading to abuse of intellectual property rights.

In addition, the scope of industrial property protection is still narrow, failing to address issues arising from new trends in technology development, innovation and digital transformation (for example, issues related to artificial intelligence - AI, digital assets, user interface design, etc.).

Vietnam aims for “double-digit” GDP growth in the 2026-2030 period, aiming for upper-middle-income status by 2030 and high-income status by 2045. Along with that is the goal of becoming a digital nation by 2030, with the strong development of digital government, digital economy and digital society, and at the same time forming Vietnamese digital technology enterprises with the ability to compete globally.

To contribute to realizing those goals, the draft Law amending and supplementing the Law on Intellectual Property has focused on 5 groups of policy contents, including: supporting the creation and commercial exploitation of intellectual property rights to promote innovation; simplifying administrative procedures, facilitating the registration and establishment of intellectual property rights; Improve the effectiveness of intellectual property protection activities; ensure full implementation of Vietnam's international commitments on intellectual property protection in the integration process; update new issues in intellectual property protection in the world in accordance with Vietnam's policies and socio-economic development level.

Regarding the policy of simplifying administrative procedures and facilitating the registration and establishment of intellectual property rights, the draft Law proposes to amend and perfect regulations on procedures for controlling the security of inventions and confidential inventions before registering abroad.

Review new policies to provide for adequate and feasible transition

The report on the review of the draft Law by the Committee on Law and Justice agreed on the necessity and purpose of developing a Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Intellectual Property and stated that the content of the draft Law is consistent with the Party's policies and guidelines; ensures constitutionality, basically ensures the unity of the legal system, and compatibility with relevant international treaties to which Vietnam is a member.

The Committee on Law and Justice recommends that the drafting agency continue to research, review and perfect the provisions of the draft Law related to artificial intelligence to meet the requirements of development, protection of rights and legitimate interests of intellectual property rights holders; meet the requirements of innovation in legislative thinking, strengthening decentralization, delegation of power and digital transformation in state management of intellectual property.

Regarding other articles and clauses of the amended and supplemented Law on Intellectual Property, the Committee on Law and Justice recommends that the drafting agency: revise the provisions on representative authorization in procedures related to industrial property rights in Article 107 to be consistent with the provisions of the Civil Code; review the conditions for granting intellectual property appraiser cards in Article 201 to be consistent with the technical expertise of intellectual property appraisal activities; revise the provisions in Clause 4, Article 219a because the regulation of the budget use mechanism for specific intellectual property activities is under the authority of the Government according to the provisions of the State Budget Law.

The Committee on Law and Justice also proposed that the drafting agency review regulations related to intellectual property in a number of draft laws such as The Investment Law (amended), the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Technology Transfer, the High Technology Law (amended), the Law on Digital Transformation... were submitted to the National Assembly for approval at the 10th Session to ensure consistency and uniformity of the legal system; review new policies of the draft Law to stipulate transitional content to ensure completeness and feasibility.

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/du-thao-luat-sua-doi-bo-sung-mot-so-dieu-cua-luat-so-huu-tri-tue-phat-huy-toi-da-tiem-nang-tri-tue-viet-nam-10393003.html