Intellectual property enforcement boosts confidence for businesses and investors

For many years, Vietnam has strived to pursue policies for the full and effective protection of intellectual property rights of organizations and individuals, on the basis of ensuring a harmony between the interests of rights holders and public interests, thereby creating an environment that encourages innovation, meets international integration requirements, and contributes to promoting economic, cultural, and social development.

This is demonstrated by Vietnam's commitment to high-level protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in many international treaties, and its continuous update of advanced regional and world standards in line with Vietnam's socio-economic conditions.

Parallel with that, over the past years, the work of combating, preventing, and handling acts of intellectual property infringement has seen many positive changes. Relevant agencies have deployed synchronous and effective solutions, detecting and handling many infringement cases, contributing to limiting acts of intellectual property infringement.

Conclusion No. 51 of the Political Bureau on stepping up intellectual property work to serve socio-economic development in the new situation clearly stated the need for a unified awareness of the strategic role of intellectual property, deeply grasping the viewpoint that intellectual property rights are an important national resource.

At the same time, creating, exploiting, and protecting intellectual property rights is to improve competitiveness, create momentum for sustainable growth, and protect the development future of the country, shifting strongly from an administrative management mindset on intellectual property to creating an intellectual property ecosystem.

The content of intellectual property has become an important component in national development strategies; science, technology, and innovation development strategies; strategic industry development strategies; and high-quality human resource development strategies.

Vietnam is set to build a culture of respect for creativity and intellectual property rights protection across society; resolutely criticizing and strictly handling acts of intellectual property infringement, such as using pirated software, copying and plagiarism in academia, and violations of copyrights, patents, and industrial designs.

Conclusion No.51 also emphasized fine-tuning a modern, synchronous intellectual property institutional framework that adapts effectively to the digital economy; urgently reviewing, amending, and supplementing the legal system on intellectual property toward compliance with advanced international standards, meeting the development requirements of new economic models, and effectively handling newly arising issues from artificial intelligence, big data, digital assets, biotechnology, semiconductors, digital platforms, and cyberspace.

The country will improve and raise the efficiency of the mechanism to protect intellectual property rights in the digital environment, especially in the context of the strong development of artificial intelligence with potential risks that are difficult to control; strengthen sanctions against violations; and study the formation of a specialized adjudication mechanism for intellectual property.

At the recent 68th annual meeting of the WIPO General Assembly, the Minister of Science and Technology stressed that Vietnam aims for a socio-economic development model based on science, technology, and innovation, in which intellectual property is an especially important pillar. At the same time, Vietnam is determined to build a transparent, effective intellectual property system, ensuring the legitimate rights and interests of all subjects.

Affirming Vietnam's responsibility toward the international intellectual property system, the Minister of Science and Technology committed that Vietnam fully implements its international obligations on intellectual property under multilateral and bilateral international treaties, and wishes to continue cooperating with WIPO and other countries to jointly develop and build a modern, balanced, and effective global intellectual property system, contributing to promoting global innovation.

To create a transparent investment environment and put the Prime Minister's directives in Official Dispatch No.38 into practice urgently, decisively, and without delay, the Minister of Science and Technology issued the Ministry's Action Plan to carry out the Official Dispatch.

The Ministry of Science and Technology also coordinated with ministries and sectors to clearly identify specific activities that need to be deployed immediately to promote the enforcement of intellectual property rights in the coming time.

This includes fine-tuning institutions and laws on intellectual property rights enforcement; taking specific actions in reality to strictly handle infringements, especially those related to counterfeit trademark goods, infringements of copyrights and related rights, and violations on e-commerce platforms, social networks, and cross-border websites.

The plan aims to enhance inter-agency coordination among enforcement agencies and with state management agencies on intellectual property; strengthen international cooperation activities in handling intellectual property infringements, especially between customs authorities; improve the capacity and professional skills of enforcement officials; and promote propaganda to raise awareness for people and businesses on intellectual property in order to build a culture of respect for intellectual property rights.

In addition, the Ministry of Science and Technology is cooperating with relevant ministries and sectors to build a database on intellectual property rights enforcement to collect, standardize, manage, and exploit information for monitoring, supporting, and coordinating the protection of intellectual property rights, contributing to improving the efficiency of state management and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of rights holders.

Regarding criminal handling, competent organs initiated criminal proceedings in 85 cases related to acts of intellectual property infringement; 11 cases were docketed by the courts, among the criminal cases, there were 74 cases of infringement of rights to trademarks and geographical indications under Article and 7 cases were tried with 8 defendants. Notably, 226 of the Penal Code, and 11 cases of infringement of copyrights and related rights under Article 225 of the Penal Code.

According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, the results of combating, preventing, and handling acts of intellectual property infringement achieved substantive results, creating a clear change. Ministries, sectors, and localities all exceeded the requirement of a minimum 20% increase in the number of handled cases compared to the same period in 2025.

Tran Le Hong, Deputy Director General of the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam, emphasized that this coordinated, drastic implementation will significantly improve IP enforcement, boosting confidence among businesses and investors while shaping a transparent, safe, and healthy business environment.

Demonstrating these efforts, reports from ministries, sectors, and localities reveal that between May 7 and June 24, 2026, enforcement forces nationwide detected 3,312 cases showing signs of IP infringement.

Out of these, law enforcement handled 2,756 administrative cases involving 2,764 organizations and individuals, issuing fines exceeding VND31.4 billion against violating goods valued at nearly VND120 billion.

According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, the crackdown and handling of intellectual property infringements achieved substantive results, creating a distinct turnaround. Ministries, sectors, and localities all exceeded the requirement of a minimum 20% increase in handled cases compared to the same period in 2025.

Nationwide, the number of administrative cases settled during this timeframe reached 3.1 times the monthly average of 2025. In June 2026, many localities recorded outstanding results, including Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Ninh Binh, and Hung Yen, showing sharp local enforcement in market control, and the fight against counterfeits and intellectual property-infringing goods.

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