Firms encouraged to apply intellectual property rights

Vietnamese companies, especially small-and medium-sized firms, must become more aware of intellectual property rights protection and apply it to their business to enhance competitiveness, experts said at a two-day seminar that ended yesterday in HCM City.

IP protection covers inventions, trademarks, industrial designs, books, films, musical works and others.

“Without IP protection, there is a strong risk that investments in research and development, product differentiation and marketing may be stolen or copied,” said Anil Sinha, counsellor of the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s SMEs Division, at the Building Competitiveness Through Trade Policy and Intellectual Property seminar.

Enterprises needed IP to protect their manufacturing secrets, he said.

“IP rights enable SMEs to have exclusivity over the exploitation of their innovative new or original products, their creative designs and their brands,” he said, adding that exclusivity “creates an appropriate incentive for investing in improving their competitiveness.”

IP is a “power tool” for economic growth that is not yet being used to optimal effect in all countries, particularly in developing countries, according to the World Intellectual Property Organisation.

Powerful corporations in Northern countries earned increasing portions of their income from investment and trade in IP rights, it said.

Sinha said as much as 75 per cent of the wealth of many corporations consists of intangible assets. Coca Cola and Microsoft brands, for instance, are valued at US$67.52 billion and $59.95 billion in 2006, respectively.

“Understanding the importance of various forms of IP systems is of crucial importance for success in the marketplace,” he said.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said that protection of IP rights enabled the country to deeply integrate into the world economy.

In recent years, Viet Nam had passed and promulgated a number of laws, ordinances, decrees and directives to establish a legal framework and measures on IP rights, he said.

“Effective IP protection would create a healthy business environment for both local and foreign enterprises in the domestic market, limiting production of fake and imitation goods as well as actions violating IP rights in the market.”

In addition, effective IP rights protection was a critical requirement for any country to develop technologically advanced industries, promote creativity and innovation, and attract more foreign investment, he said.

No major company wanted to develop manufacturing, research or development operations in a country in which IP rights could be freely pirated without legal penalties. — VNS

Tags: intellectual property rights