Intellectual property protection to enhance the competitiveness of businesses

As joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), intellectual property (IP) is an important issue and is essential to attract foreign investors to Vietnam. Therefore, the fight against IP infringements to protect enterprises and to increase provincial GDP growth rate requires a lot efforts from state agencies, businesses and consumers.

Many experts said that Vietnam would face difficulties in attracting foreign investors as joining the TPP, if IP infringements are not handled severely. Photo: Provincial Market Management Agency had a meeting with Council handling IP-infringing goods.

There are still many violations

"To attract customers, maintain good relations between the company and our partners, thereby achieving the desired growth, the fight against counterfeiting and IP violations is very important." Mr. Le Hong Phoa, Director of Binh Duong Garment Company, said about IP violations, which are happening more and more, affecting many businesses and the domestic economy.

Mr. Phoa said, not long ago, the company had an order from Rock Revival Company (a US premium jeans brand). One concern of this company was relocating their factory from China to Vietnam, because Chinese enterprises had copied and counterfeited their designs too much. After Rock Revial ​​introduced a new design, immediately the Chinese market was flooded with products imitating Rock Revival style. As a result, the US manufacturers ruled Chinese market out of the game. But after a short time of working in Vietnam, the client discovered designs copying Binh Duong Garment Company’s products in Center Square Saigon (Ho Chi Minh). Binh Duong Garment Company committed to no similar circumstances would happen again; and updated information about the counterfeit product, sought supports from the market management agency. As a result, the copy of their product was handled. Thus the company has received many large orders from Rock Revival, more and more fashion designers have also come to do business with the company.

Mr. Vo Hoang Dai Duong representing SOPET Gas One Company (Dong Nai) said, cylinders were properties of the company, but appropriated cylinders happen more and more. This has significantly damaged to the company, because 50% investment are not rolled over to the company. Returned cylinders are always spoiled ones, thus the company has to maintain cylinders, increasing the cost.

To drastically handle violations

One important content of the TPP and other free trade agreements is eliminate tariffs on imported goods. Consumers will benefit from cheaper goods (for not paying import duties). However, this would have an impact to the fight against IP violations. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Danh, Vice-Director of provincial Market Management, said IP infringements were currently handled by administrative measures, but when joining TPP, depending on the level of violations, there will be administrative measures, warning, fines and imprisonment to handle IP violations. Therefore, companies with IPR infringements would quickly go bankrupt.

Mr. Phoa said, in the context of international economic integration, IP would especially concern and be the crucial factor to company competitiveness and an internal strength of the economy. According to Mr. Phoa, IP infringement is a matter of concern, when the foreign investment inflow to Vietnam could inflame disputes. Therefore, localities and businesses need to better understand the problem of counterfeit goods and its tremendous impacts on businesses and economic growth on micro and macro scale. On the other hand, it will be difficult to attract foreign investors, if IP infringements are not dealt severely.

According to experts, the market control, anti-counterfeit, and IP infringement should be considered as one important factor to the competitiveness of the province. This need attention from the authorities not only enterprises. This is one of the conditions to attract investors to Binh Duong.

Reported by Truc Huynh – Translated by Ngoc Huynh