The US-China trade war,
especially disputes over intellectual property (IP), once again alarmed
business executives about the importance of complying with laws and
strengthening management capacity for protecting and avoiding infringement of
IP rights of any other country, when participating in global "games".
One of the most vulnerable objects of intellectual property is computer
software. So, in Vietnam, what are the policies to overcome piracy of computer
software?
Referring to the
operation of the WTO, people often mention the activities of the Trade Council
under the General Assembly. There are three trade councils (as known as three
"pillars" of the WTO): the Council for Trade in Goods, the Council
for Trade in Services and the Council of Trade-Related Aspect of Intellectual
Property Rights. In particular, the Council on Trade-Related Aspect of Intellectual
Property Rights is responsible for activities that fall within the scope of
the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspect of
Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), as well as coordination with
other international organizations in the field of IP rights.
According to the request
of the TRIPS Agreement, each member state or WTO member must give full and
effective protection of intellectual property rights to citizens of other WTO
members in accordance with the principle of national treatment and most favored
nation. Specifically, members must have a legal system and apparatus to protect intellectual property rights (including:
copyright and related rights, patents, business secrets, trademarks, industrial
designs, integrated circuit layout design, geographical indications and unfair
anti-competitive rights) meet the TRIPS Agreement minimum standards for
content, scope, time limits and enforcement of rights.
Besides, the Berne
Convention allows authors to enjoy copyright for a lifetime and a minimum of 50
years thereafter. However, countries that comply with the convention are
allowed to extend the term of copyright. Regarding the world situation, through
free trade agreements, developed countries like the United States and Japan ...
want to work towards a stronger enforcement mechanism than the standards set
forth in the agreement when it comes to the trade of intellectual property
rights. In particular, developed countries tend to "criminalize"
intellectual property infringements by expanding the subject of criminal
enforcement measures to infringements of inventions, business secrets, trademarks,
industrial designs, integrated circuit layout design, ... not just violations
of trademarks, copyrights and related rights. Criminally infringed intellectual
property rights also tend to be expanded.
Vietnam is increasingly
integrating deeply into the economy with the region and the world through free
trade agreements with leading partners such as the United States, Japan and the
European Union. The enforcement of intellectual property rights by criminal
means is one of the important contents in the negotiation of new generation
free trade agreements and is particularly emphasized by development partners.
In recent years, the law on enforcement and protection of intellectual property
rights, including enforcement by criminal measures, has been constantly strengthened,
improved and contributed to improving the effectiveness of enforcement
activities to protect IP rights. With the efforts of the Government, the
activities of protecting copyright and related rights have made significant
progress. The State has issued many legal documents on this field, the
Vietnamese laws have been developed and completed from the practice of
management and administration for copyright, acquired international standards,
met the requirements to promote effective protection and international
integration.
Regarding the protection
of intellectual property rights, especially for computer software, Vietnam has
signed many bilateral and multilateral international treaties related to
copyright and related rights. Accordingly, Vietnam has an obligation to protect copyright and related rights under
international treaties to which Vietnam is a member. At the Resolution of the
9th Plenum of the Party Central Committee, Session XI (Resolution No. 33-NQ /
TW) on building and developing culture and people of Vietnam to meet the
requirements of sustainable development of the country, stated: “Raising
awareness of the implementation of legal provisions on copyright and related
rights in the whole society. Strengthen and enhance the operational efficiency
of copyright management agencies and agencies from central to local levels.”
Criminal Code No.
12/2017 / QH14 amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Criminal
Code No. 100/2015 / QH13, effective from January 1, 2018, demonstrating the
determination of the Vietnamese Government to strictly enforce against
copyright and related rights violations, including computer software
copyrights. Under the new provisions of the amended Criminal Code, for the
first time, commercial legal entities shall be criminally responsible for
crimes infringing copyright and related rights. Article 225 of the amended
Criminal Code has introduced sanctions to overcome violations of copyright and
related rights. Including computer software copyright.
With the new strict penalty framework that the Criminal Code 2015 will apply to
commercial entities that intentionally violate computer software copyrights in
particular and copyrights in general, the rate of software piracy Vietnam will
be able to significantly reduce, create a fair competitive business environment
for businesses, as well as promote the development of the socio-economy in the context
of Vietnam's deep and broad integration into the international economy.
If
you're looking for an affordable IP attorneys in Vietnam, check out ANTLawyers.vn. ANTLawyers.vn was
established to meet these needs by providing fast, effective and economical
solutions. Hope that clears things up a bit. Feel free to message me directly
to chat further about any other IP questions that you face.
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