Strengthening state management of industrial property

(Baonghean) -Currently, infringement of industrial property rights (IP) in Vietnam in general and in Nghe An in particular is widespread. Counterfeit goods, counterfeit goods, illegally copied goods, smuggled goods... are being sold openly everywhere. Commonly, infringement of industrial designs, infringed goods are modern medicine, cosmetics, electronics, motorbikes, clothing, food, etc., causing significant harm to legitimate production and business establishments, seriously affecting the rights of consumers.

Destroying counterfeit and poor quality goods at the Market Management Center. Photo: TH

Common Violations

A survey of the market in Vinh City shows that the busy clothing streets on Dang Thai Than, Nguyen Van Cu, and Le Hong Phong streets sell products from famous brands such as D&G, Levis, and Armani. However, when talking about the origin of these items, the shop owners honestly answered that most of their goods are from China. Some cosmetic businesses in Vinh Market and Phan Dinh Phung Street have a wide variety of goods, from high-end to low-end, but most of the products do not have Vietnamese labels.

On the sidewalks of the streets: Tran Phu (next to Ho Chi Minh Square), Le Hong Phong (near the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development), Quang Trung (in front of the Petroleum apartment building)... there are many individuals selling clothes and shoes without labels, or counterfeiting famous brands such as Adidas, Nike, Puma... at cheap prices to attract consumers.

In some districts such as Nam Dan, Que Phong, Tuong Duong, Anh Son, Tan Ky..., many products are sold that infringe on the trademark rights of Sunsilk, Dove, Closeup... and many other products. And recently, Dong Bac Bus Transport Company has also been a victim of unfair competition from other bus owners when the commercial color of these buses is exactly the same as theirs, causing confusion for many passengers.

Infringed products are often in difficult-to-manage areas such as food, household goods, electronics, construction materials, modern medicine, functional foods, etc. with the main violations being trademarks, industrial designs, and unfair competition.

In the province, there are currently 6 forces implementing IP rights: People's Committees at all levels, Department of Science and Technology Inspectorate, Provincial Police, Market Management Department, Customs, and Court. However, based on the annual reports of the inspection forces, it shows that in the past 5 years (2008-2013), there have not been many violations related to IP rights discovered and handled; some responsible forces have not really taken part in this issue. Only a few cases related to intellectual property infringement were discovered and handled, such as: infringement of the collective trademark of Ngoi Cua, infringement of intellectual property rights of Ke cho bao Dinh Nhan, infringement of the Cavinton pharmaceutical trademark, infringement of the Husqvarna chainsaw trademark... Market management forces have the upper hand in the fight against intellectual property infringement: in 2010, they discovered and handled more than 900 million VND worth of goods, in 2011 it was 800 million VND, in 2013 it was more than 1.1 billion VND.

The types of goods that infringe upon intellectual property rights in Nghe An province are quite diverse, but the most common are infringements of trademarks and industrial designs. More seriously, in addition to establishments that commit unintentional infringements, there are also many intentional infringements with the purpose of prioritizing profits, regardless of the rights of legitimate rights holders and the health of consumers. These infringements are mostly detected and handled by the rights holders or legal representatives who request handling, and few authorities proactively detect them.

Strengthen management

To thoroughly prevent acts of infringement of intellectual property rights, consumers play a leading role because consumers are the users and the destination of counterfeit goods. Research on the psychology and tastes of consumers in Nghe An shows that most consumers have simple shopping habits, do not need invoices, and do not learn much about the items they need to buy or have bought (such as origin, quality, brand, etc.). They rarely check or authenticate information on the product; the choice of goods is mainly based on feelings, habits and tastes of the crowd. What consumers care about most is the price issue. Meanwhile, the price of counterfeit goods is 1/3 - 1/10 cheaper than the value of genuine products. Consumers' knowledge in Nghe An related to counterfeit goods, counterfeit goods, goods infringing intellectual property rights, intellectual property management agencies, consumer rights, etc. is still very limited. Awareness and actions to combat counterfeit and poor quality goods violations are still weak. Through a survey of businesses and consumers about the concept of industrial property rights, 538/605 people (88.9%) have never heard of this concept, the rest have knowledge about this issue mainly through the mass media.

According to the survey, the majority of people, even business owners, are not aware of the infringement of intellectual property rights, which leads to confusion about the concepts. Salespeople only need to know how to sell as many products as possible, and the cheaper the more customers they attract. Consumers are satisfied when they buy cheap and pleasing products.

The People's Committee of Nghe An province has paid attention to and directed the protection of intellectual property rights. In the decisions promulgating regulations on state management of intellectual property rights in the province, the function of state management of intellectual property rights in the province has been clearly defined under the Department of Science and Technology. In performing the assigned functions and tasks, the Department of Science and Technology has advised and guided enterprises to strengthen the establishment of intellectual property rights, register for protection at the Department of Intellectual Property... Strengthening the effectiveness of state management of intellectual property rights is the solution to promote the establishment of intellectual property rights and fight against infringements in the province.

For business establishments, it is necessary to strengthen the propaganda and dissemination of IP rights to businesses, thereby changing their awareness of the role of IP rights in business management activities.

For consumers, it is necessary to propagate so that people are properly aware of the problem of using infringed goods as well as the damage to themselves, their families and the economy. In order to say no to fake goods and counterfeit goods. Instruct people on how to identify genuine goods, fake goods, and goods that infringe intellectual property rights. Have a positive attitude in detecting fake goods, counterfeit goods, and goods that infringe intellectual property rights.

For the enforcement force, it is necessary to improve capacity and material resources in the fight against infringement of intellectual property rights. There needs to be coordination between forces to promptly detect and thoroughly handle infringements. The Department of Science and Technology needs to advise the Provincial People's Committee to deploy scientific and technological topics and programs related to intellectual property and industrial property and promote communication on this issue.

Manh Ha - Hai Yen