Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia and the easternmost country on Indochinese Peninsula. Vietnam shares its land borders with China to the north, and Laos and Cambodia to the west. It shares its maritime borders with Thailand through the Gulf of Thailand, and the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia through the South China Sea. Its capital city is Hanoi, while its most populous city and commercial hub is Ho Chi Minh City (former name of Saigon).
With an estimated 98.1 million inhabitants as of 2021, it is the 15th most populous country in the world, with GDP per capita at 3.743 USD (estimated in 2021).
Vietnam is a contracting party of Paris Convention, Patent Cooperation Treaty, Madrid Protocol, Hague Agreement, Berne Convention, Madrid Agreement (Marks), and several other International Treaties in the field of Intellectual Property Rights.
Prior to becoming a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2007, Vietnam issued a series of new laws and regulations to strengthen the protection and enforcement of IP rights (IPR) to meet the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement). Generally, Vietnam’s IP legislation is now comprehensive, covering all aspects of protection of IP in accordance with international standards. However, the enforcement mechanisms still need to be strengthened, fines must increase to truly become an effective deterrent, and awareness of counterfeits among Vietnamese consumer’s needs to be raised.
According to Law on Intellectual Property in Vietnam, there are three types of IP included: copyright, industrial property rights (patent, utility solution, industrial design and trademark) and plant variety.
Law No. 07/2022/QH15 of June 16, 2022, on Intellectual Property
Entry into force: January 1, 2023
Adopted: June 16, 2022
Law No. 50/2005/QH11 of November 29, 2005, on Intellectual Property
Entry into force: July 1, 2006
Adopted: November 29, 2005
Law No. 36/2009/QH12 of June 19, 2009, Amending and Supplementing of certain Articles of the Law on Intellectual Property
Entry into force: January 1, 2010
Adopted: June 19, 2009
Law No. 42/2019/QH14 of June 14, 2019, Amending the Law on Insurance Business and the Law on Intellectual Property
Entry into force: November 1, 2019
Adopted: June 14, 2019
Decree No. 22/2018/ND-CP of February 23, 2013, on Guidelines for Certain Number of Articles of the Intellectual Property Law and Law on Amendments to the Intellectual Property Law 2009 in Terms of Copyright and Related Rights
Decree No. 103/2006/ND-CP of September 22, 2006, providing guidelines for the Implementation of certain Articles of the Law on Intellectual Property regarding Industrial Property
Decree No. 122/2010/ND-CP of December 31, 2010, Amending and Supplementing a number of Articles of the Government’s Decree No. 103/ 2006/ND-CP of September 22, 2006, providing guidelines for the Implementation of certain Articles of the Law on Intellectual Property regarding Industrial Property
Decree No. 105/2006/ND-CP of September 22, 2006, providing guidelines for the Implementation of certain Articles of the Law on Intellectual Property on Protection of Intellectual Property Rights and on State Management of Intellectual Property
Entry into force: October 21, 2006
Issued: September 22, 2006
Decree No. 119/2010/ND-CP of December 30, 2010, Amending and Supplementing a number of Articles of the Government’s Decree No. 105/2006/ND-CP of September 22, 2006, providing guidelines for the Implementation of certain Articles of the Law on Intellectual Property on Protection of Intellectual Property Rights and on State Management of Intellectual Property
Decree No. 88/2010/ND-CP of August 16, 2010, Detailing and Guiding a Number of Articles of the Law on Intellectual Property and the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Intellectual Property Regarding Rights to Plant Varieties
Decree No. 99/2013/ND-CP of August 29, 2013, on Sanctioning of Administrative Violations in Industrial Property
Decree No. 31/2016/ND-CP of May 6, 2016, on Sanctioning of Administrative Violations against regulations on Plant varieties, Plant protection and Quanratine
Decree No. 131/2013/ND-CP of October 16, 2013, on Sanctioning Administrative Violations of Copyright and Related Rights
Decree No. 28/2017/ND-CP of March 20, 2017, on Amendments to the Government’s Decree No. 131/2013/ND-CP of October 16, 2013, on Penalties for Administrative Violations against Copyrights and Related Rights and the Government’s Decree No. 158/2013/ND-CP of November 12, 2013, on Penalties for Administrative Violations against Regulations on Culture, Sports, Tourism, and Advertising
Decree No. 21/2015/ND-CP of February 14, 2015, providing Regulations on Royalties and Rewards for Cinematographic, Art, Theatrical Works and Other Forms of Art Performance
Circular No. 01/2007/TT-BKHCN of the Ministry of Science and Technology, establishing regulations to implement Decree 103/2006/ND-CP that provides guidelines for implementing certain articles of the Intellectual Property Law concerning industrial property. The Circular came into effect as of 9 May 2007, and amended and supplemented four times in 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2016.
Circular No. 13/2015/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance, enacted in January 2015, defining inspection, supervision, temporary suspension of customs procedures for exported and imported goods that are subjects of intellectual property rights; control of counterfeit goods and goods infringing intellectual property rights.