HÀ NỘI — The number of patented inventions increased sharply in 2017, according to the National Office of Intellectual Property of Việt Nam.

Đinh Hữu Phí, the office’s director, said more than 1,745 patents were granted to inventions in 2017, representing a rise of 22.6 per cent over the previous year. Notably, protection titles for industrial designs numbered 2,267, up by nearly 56 per cent.

“This is a good piece of news as enterprises, organisations and even individuals are increasingly becoming aware of the importance of intellectual property protection,” Phí said, adding even small stores registered trademark.

In total, more than 28,310 protection titles for industrial property were granted out of more than 58,870 applications in 2017, up by 9.4 per cent over 2016.

Phí said the protection of industrial property must aim to support enterprises, especially in developing brands and exploiting inventions.

The office will complete the national strategy on intellectual property and submit it to the Prime Minister for consideration in the second quarter of this year, Phí said.

In addition to this, international cooperation in protection of intellectual property will be enhanced, in which the procedures to join the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs will be completed.

Phí said the office would provide support to enterprises to transform intellectual property rights into important assets that would contribute to the development of not only enterprises but also the whole economy.

The project of developing a network of intellectual property hubs will also be sped up, Phí said. — VNS