Need cooperation from many sides in prevention of counterfeit goods

Currently, with many different tricks and methods, the production and trading of products that violate commercial laws cause difficulties for authorities. Preventing and combating counterfeit goods and intellectual property rights (IPR) infringement is a long-term task that requires the joint efforts of ministries, branches, localities, businesses and people.

More sophisticated tricks

Currently, consumers and businesses often encounter counterfeit products with famous names and brands in many forms on the market.  The selling price of fake, poor quality, and intellectual property-infringing products is quite cheap, touching the right chord of a segment of consumers. This is a favorable factor for counterfeit, poor quality, and intellectual property-infringing goods to exist for many years.

Talking about the above situation, a sale agent of a Redbull energy drink in Phu Hoa ward, Thu Dau Mot city, said that Redbull energy drink has been present on the Vietnamese market for the past 30 years and is favored by consumers. However, in the current market, the situation of intellectual property rights infringement of these products is happening quite a lot. Violators put on the market energy drink products with new designs and packaging, constantly changing, most of which have similar identifying features to the real products, such as Red Blue, Red Gold, Red Goats... easily deceiving consumers, especially in remote and isolated areas.

Market Management Team No. 5 under Provincial Market Management Department count and make a record of a business storing a large quantity of smuggled electrical and electronic goods at a warehouse in Song Than Industrial Park, An Binh Ward, Di An City. 

Not only drinks, fake cigarettes are also sold on the market today. According to the Provincial Market Management Department, the public sale of smuggled cigarettes in the province has decreased significantly. However, there are still people dividing the quantity of goods and hiding them with domestically produced cigarettes, selling them secretly at grocery stores and coffee shops. In addition, another worrying reality is that fake cigarettes of famous brands such as 555, Craven A... are still being counterfeited and consumed in Vietnam, seriously affecting the business situation of domestic tobacco businesses, consumer health and causing tax losses.

Need coordination and cooperation of all parties

According to Mr. Tran Van Tuan, Deputy Director of the Provincial Market Management Department, currently, violations of counterfeit goods, poor quality goods and infringement of intellectual property rights tend to increase, causing frustration, negatively impacting people's lives, directly affecting the production and business activities of enterprises and the investment environment. Some persons openly sell, advertise, and promote counterfeit goods infringing on intellectual property rights, especially fashion items, cosmetics, supplement foods... on websites and social networks. For this form of fraud, it is very difficult for authorities to detect the business location or warehouse of these suspects to handle, because violations related to intellectual property are inherently complex, and violations in the e-commerce environment are increasingly sophisticated.

Authorities inspect and seize lubricants showing signs of counterfeiting the Motul brand at a business establishment in Lai Uyen town, Bau Bang district.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Toan, Director of the Provincial Department of Industry and Trade, Head of the Provincial Steering Committee 389, said that one of the current difficulties for the authorities is that some products show signs of counterfeiting famous brands, are openly sold on the market, along with many imported goods that infringe upon the intellectual property rights of famous brands but do not have a trademark owner in Vietnam or the trademark owner does not actively cooperate, making inspection and handling very difficult. In recent times, the provincial Market Management Department has actively disseminated policies and laws on trade and e-commerce among business organizations and individuals. In addition, the provincial Market Management Department regularly signs commitments with production and business establishments to "not produce, transport, store, or trade counterfeit goods, goods of unknown origin, or goods that infringe upon intellectual property rights;" and at the same time organizes seminars, propaganda, and training on distinguishing genuine and counterfeit goods to improve the capacity of law enforcement in the field of intellectual property for officers working in Market Management...

Market management officers check details to distinguish real and fake cigarettes sold on the market.

Mr. Phan Minh Nhut, Chairman of the Association for Anti-Counterfeiting and Protection of Intellectual Property Rights of Foreign-Invested Enterprises in Vietnam, emphasized that preventing and combating counterfeit goods and infringement of intellectual property rights is a long-term and difficult task, thus the market management force cannot separately handle it, but needs the joint efforts of ministries, branches, localities, enterprises and people. 

Reported by Thanh Hong - Translated by Ngoc Huynh