Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat stated that the amendment and supplementation of this Law on Intellectual Property is an urgent requirement for Vietnam's socio-economic development. Photo: New Hanoi newspaper

Recently, the people are very interested in the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Intellectual Property Law. According to Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat, the amendment and supplementation of this Law on Intellectual Property is an urgent requirement for Vietnam's socio-economic development. This has been reflected in the guidelines and lines of the Party and the State on perfecting a socialist-oriented market economy, industrialization and modernization to actively participate in the Fourth industrial Revolution, fast and sustainable development based mainly on science and technology, innovation and digital transformation.

In addition, the current process of extensive economic integration with Vietnam's participation in many international commitments aimed at significantly improving the level of protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights, typically the Agreement on intellectual property rights. Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the European Union (EVFTA). These international commitments require internalization (transforming provisions in international treaties into legal regulations that are binding on organizations and individuals in a country) through amendments, supplementing the Law on Intellectual Property.

The objective of developing a project on the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Intellectual Property Law is to ensure the harmony of interests between the subjects including creators, users, beneficiaries; ensuring the basic rights and obligations of citizens in creating literature, art, science and technology, accessing cultural, artistic and scientific values, and benefiting from such activities; encourage organizations and individuals to create and invest in research, development, transfer and effective application of achievements in various fields; protect intellectual property rights in accordance with the Constitution and legal documents.

Draft Law amending and supplementing 93 articles (of which 12 articles are added, 81 articles are amended) and 1 article is annulled, bringing the total number of articles of the Law on Intellectual Property after amendment to 233 articles, belonging to 7 groups policy. With the addition of many contents, the large number of references makes it inconvenient for the dissemination, propagation and application of the law in practice. On that basis, the Government reported to the National Assembly on renaming the project "Law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Intellectual Property Law" to "Law on Intellectual Property (amended).

Proposal to change patent registration rights

One of the new features of the Law project is to propose that research-led organizations have the right to register inventions, industrial designs and layout designs (as a result of scientific and technological tasks using state budget) and have ownership rights when granted protection titles, except for organizations in the field of defense and security which are still registered by state agencies.

According to Minister Huynh Thanh Dat, this plan was developed to institutionalize Resolution No. 20 dated November 1, 2012 of the 6th Central Conference of the XI session on science and technology development for the cause of industrialization, modernization in the context of a socialist-oriented market economy and international integration. The resolution has the policy: "Allow ownership of scientific research and technological development results with the use of the state budget to the agency in charge of science and technology tasks."

The National Assembly Chairperson noted to consider and supplement digital transformation contents that need to be specified in the Law, including a number of online registration procedures for establishment of industrial property rights, online protection search, search the fastest updated online database of trademarks and industrial designs.

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