Ineffective IPR protection a thorny issue in Vietnam

Both local and foreign enterprises are struggling to protect their trademarks and branches in Vietnam, while the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam (NOIP) admitted it faced limitations in handling intellectual property right (IPR) infringement cases.

According to Viva Life, the sole authorised distributor of Korea-based Hankook Anderson, some products distributed in Vietnam were counterfeited which irked by Korean agencies. Viva Life and Hankook Anderson handed written requirements to Vietnamese agencies to take aim at these products in Vietnam, but agencies struggled to act effectively and the counterfeiter has faced no punishment.

Other distributors also agreed that IPR protection in Vietnam was hard and making lawsuits after discovering counterfeits or infringements was difficult.

Nguyen Tran Trong Nghia, vice general director of Ben Thanh Tourism - a famous tour firm in Vietnam, said “Vietnam has no effective solutions to fight against counterfeits and infringing goods.”

“We have suffered damages because other companies use our trademark and tour design without permission,” he said.

Vietnam lacked  IPR legal regulations with teeth to deter fraudsters, said Nghia.

According to some experts, enterprises should protect their IPR themselves instead of looking to authorities in Vietnam.

Augustine Ha Ton Vinh, president of Stellar Management Corporation and Dean of Executive Education & Training-Vietnam at California Miramar University, said enterprises in Vietnam could not depend on the government to protect IPRs.

Nguyen Thanh Binh, head of NOIP’s Ho Chi Minh City office, admitted that the administrative machinery of IPR Implementation System in Vietnam was not effective because various agencies overlapped and cases slipped through the cracks.

According to Eurocham’s White Book 2013, IPR is one of three main reoccurring themes besides pricing and the role of state sector.

At present, the protection and enforcement of IPR falls well short of what is necessary to attract more value-added high-tech manufacturing to Vietnam, said the White Book.

“Investors are unlikely to bring their technology to Vietnam unless there is real protection of intellectual property rights. Unfortunately, whilst there are laws on the statute books, in practice real protection for IPR remains very limited,” according to Eurocham’s White Book 2013.