EuroCham proposes IP infringement prosecutions

March 20, 2023 | 19:40

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The European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) has proposed strong enforcement measures to fight against serious copyright infringement. The threat to Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) has caused significant damage to creators, as well as negatively impacted sales from legitimate consumers.

EuroCham proposes IP infringement prosecutions

“The Supreme People’s Court should issue an official guideline on criminal IPR prosecutions to provide timely guidance to all enforcement authorities,” said Gabor Fluit, chairman of EuroCham.

“The authorities should consider imposing stronger sanctions for copyright infringement and, eventually, establish specialised IPR courts in Vietnam and work with EuroCham’s Intellectual Property Rights Sector Committee members to discuss challenges and exchange experiences among different authorities," he added.

Given the disruption of supply chains caused by China’s strict COVID-19 lockdowns, there has been an increase in counterfeit goods coming from Vietnam, involving highly organised networks across several provinces.

Copyrights are registered with the Copyright Office of Vietnam, with several challenging requirements for IP owners. These include the need to include documents like the passport or national ID card of the author/creator and employment contracts which may contain personal information, trade secrets, and confidential information.

A declaration also needs to be signed by the author/creator. This can be difficult to obtain as they may have left the company’s employment or are deceased. No alternatives to copyright registrations are currently accepted to show proof of copyright ownership by IP owners.

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