Surge in processing industrial property registration

According to the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam under the Ministry of Science and Technology, in the first half of 2019, industrial property registration applications increased by 15 percent compared to a year ago. In particular, applications for patents, industrial designs and trademarks increased by 22.7 percent, 23.5 percent and 27.5 percent, respectively.

The rapid increase in applications to register intellectual property rights reflects the increasing awareness of scientists and businesses of the need to protect their ideas and inventions in the context of the fourth industrial revolution.

However, the increasing number of applications is also posing a challenge for the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam due to the limited capacity of assessment and facilities. While the processing of industrial property registration applications increased by almost 67 percent in the first half of this year, the office is only dealing with the backlog from previous years. Applications submitted in 2018 and 2019 are still having to wait.

At a conference to review the performance in the first half of 2019 and assign tasks in the six remaining months, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Pham Cong Tac said that the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam has made great efforts to speed up industrial property registration applications and promote international cooperation and integration.

Pham Cong Tac also said that Vietnam’s participation in free trade agreements such as the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) generates more work in terms of intellectual property protection. He proposed that the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam promotes the modernization of information technology infrastructure and improves the quality and progress of handling registration applications and complaints.

Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam Director General Dinh Huu Phi said that in the remaining months of 2019, the office would continue to promote the processing of industrial property registration applications, with priority given to patents and trademarks. It will also provide consultancy and strengthen support activities; implement the project on building a network of intellectual property and technology transfer centers; participate in negotiations on intellectual property contents in free trade agreements; and complete procedures for joining the Hague Agreement on international registration of industrial designs.