HCM CITY — Businesses have been urged to develop their own intellectual property protection system to improve their competitiveness amid the increasing global integration.
Since Viet Nam joined the World Trade Organisation in 2006, the issue of intellectual property protection had come to centre stage and was much discussed since it played a key factor in businesses' success, vice chairman of the HCM City Union of Business Associations Pham Ngoc Hung told a meeting held in HCM City yesterday to discuss ways to strengthen the role of businesses, business groups, and consumers in protecting intellectual property.
Though intellectual property is an important competitive tool, many Vietnamese businesses remain unaware of its significance.
A failure to attach importance to protecting intellectual property rights had caused many companies to lose trademarks, and thus their competitiveness, Hung said.
In the last few years, many famous Vietnamese trademarks have been usurped by foreign companies, preventing the original products from entering many foreign markets.
The latest instance was that of coffee brand Buon Ma Thuot which was found registered by a Chinese company last September.
Viet Nam had the 2005 Law on Intellectual Property and many legal documents to guide and protect local companies in terms of IP rights, Nguyen Thanh Binh, head of the National Office of Intellectual Property of Viet Nam (NOIP) ‘s office in HCM City, said.
Viet Nam is a member of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), which validates internationally registered Vietnamese trademarks in all WIPO member countries under the Madrid Protocol.
While at least 524,000 companies had been registered, less than 130,000 trademarks were protected, and this included cases where some companies had registered more than 100 trademarks, he said.
"This means businesses … have not got to know that IP rights protect them from fakes, help secure a market share, and make their name more popular among consumers."
The NOIP had been organising dozens of seminars around the country to raise awareness among enterprises and guide them in IP registration and protection, he said.
Government's Programme 68 helped companies become aware of intellectual property and develop them, but since many were still struggling with their business activities, IP protection was not yet a priority, he explained.
The NOIP has launched a digital library on its website (www.noip.gov.vn) which has around 70 per cent of all the information enterprises need to check if they meet all the requirements for IP protection.
It plans to simplify administrative procedures to make it easier for businesses to apply for protection.
There have been complaints about the tardy process for registering and applying for extension of IP protection.
Nguyen Huu Danh, head of HCM City-based kitchen tools maker Hoan Cau, said he sent an application for a 10-year extension of IP more than six months ago, but the NOIP had yet to complete the task though it was required to do so within three months.
Binh admitted the NOIP was sometimes overloaded and thus slow, but promised continued improvement in its capabilities to meet the increasing demand.
The meeting also discussed measures to improve the role of business groups – there are around 200 of them in Viet Nam – in supporting the member companies protect their intellectual property.
Hung underlined the role of consumers in IP protection, and called for closer co-operation between business, consumers, and official agencies in implementing IP protection policies. — VNS
(Source: Viet Nam News)
