The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released its Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) annual report. Vietnam jumped among Asian country's score for IP protection. The report uses a variety of indicators to measure 53 countries. Although ranked relatively low, Vietnam jumped the most, up to 42nd position below Singapore, Philippines, and Malaysia but above Thailand and Indonesia.
A variety of improvement factors were cited: legislation that increased IP damages awards, participation in many international IP treaties (e.g. the CPTPP), stronger penalties for commercial-scale IP infringement, growing integration with international IP platforms like the E.U.-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, long-standing efforts to coordinate IP enforcement, using a comprehensive strategic approach to national IP policy, increasing IP registration volumes. Weaknesses remain in the protection of life science patents with a challenging enforcement environment, gaps in copyright protection, including for online infringements, high physical counterfeiting rates, and rampant online infringement, alongside generally poor enforcement with penalties insufficient in practice as well as administrative inaction.
Vietnam's National Assembly will ratify the Vietnam-EU free trade agreement at the next meeting, announced the Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh this week. It contains an extensive IP chapter.
There is no doubt of the political will to improve IP in Vietnam; the main challenges appear to be practical and local implementation.
