IPR protection in Industry 4.0: A survival tool

With a view to raising public awareness of the importance of protecting intellectual property (IP), the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam and the Japan Patent Office (JPO) co-organized a seminar on IPRs protection and enforcement in Industry 4.0 on October 8 in Hanoi.

Dinh Huu Phi, director-general of the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam, spoke to participants about the need to enforce IP laws and regulations efficiently, create innovations and enhance the value of IP, especially in light of the rapid pace of Industry 4.0 that is changing entire systems of production and management worldwide.

Specifically, he added, Vietnam and other countries must complete and renovate protection mechanisms targeting new areas emerging from the revolution, such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing and nanotechnology, among others. The enforcement capacity of IPRs in cyberspace is also important, Phi said.

IP agencies should apply new technologies, particularly blockchain, big data, and AI, in their operations and push for regional and global patent cooperation.

Do Thien Hoang, deputy director of the Intellectual Property Training and Consultation Center under the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam, said more than 5,000 patent applications for inventions relating to autonomous objects were filed at the European Patent Office (EPO) in 2016. During the 2014-2016 period, the growth rate for Industry 4.0 patent applications was 54 percent, outpacing the overall growth of patent applications in the reviewed period.

However, this rapid increase poses significant challenges in IP protection, such as protection of industrial designs for 3D printing products. In addition, the enforcement of IPRs in the digital environment is more complicated.

Professor Mitsuyoshi Hiratsuka from the Tokyo University of Science said that in the era of Industry 4.0, IP is a tool for gaining competitive advantage in the market, therefore safeguarding IP is critical for every business and cannot be overlooked.