Deputy Prime Minister Hồ Quốc Dũng chairs a meeting with officials on intellectual property rights in Hà Nội on Tuesday. — VNA/VNS Photo Lâm Khánh

HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Hồ Quốc Dũng has stressed the need to address intellectual property (IP) violations and build a culture of respect for IP rights as he chaired a meeting with officials on Tuesday. 

An intensive campaign against IP violations has been rolled out from May 7 to 30, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology, with approximately 2,036 cases detected. 

With improved inter-agency coordination, an increasing number of IP infringements have been addressed. Many serious violations were handled through both administrative and criminal proceedings in accordance with the law.

Enforcement in the digital environment was strengthened, producing an initial deterrent effect and raising awareness of IP compliance.

Central and local authorities exceeded the target of increasing the number of IP-related cases handled by at least 20 per cent compared to May 2025. Nationwide, administrative cases involving IP violations were 3.93 times higher than the monthly average recorded in the previous year.

More than 98 per cent of administratively handled cases involved trademark infringement, most of them related to well-known foreign brands. Authorities also dealt with numerous copyright and related rights violations, including 27 administrative cases and seven criminal cases. A total of 44 criminal cases involving IP infringements were prosecuted.

At the meeting, officials recommended maintaining strong enforcement momentum and extending intensive inspection campaigns to ensure long-term deterrence. They also called for amendments to the Penal Code and Law on Customs to impose tougher sanctions, particularly for goods in transit and violations committed online.

In addition, they proposed stronger application of artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor online violations, a shared national IP database and standardisation of procedures for collecting electronic evidence.

Delegates also proposed stricter elimination of pirated software, greater international cooperation, the development of case law and stronger public awareness campaigns to improve legal compliance among citizens and businesses.

Several localities recorded notable enforcement results compared with the same period in 2025, including Hà Nội with 340 cases and HCM City with 234 cases, accounting for roughly 35.6 per cent of all handled cases nationwide.

The deputy PM noted that although Official Dispatch 38/CĐ-TTg on IP rights protection had only been implemented recently, strong political resolve, urgent direction from authorities and coordinated efforts had produced encouraging results.

To comprehensively tackle IP infringement, he called on ministries, agencies and localities to improve enforcement capacity and effectiveness, strengthen inspection and supervision, and strictly handle violations.

A concrete target was set for 2026, requiring that the handling of IP violations must increase by at least 20 per cent compared to 2025.

To achieve this, Dũng tasked officials with reviewing legal documents related to IP enforcement, including the Law on Intellectual Property, Law on Handling Administrative Violations, Law on Customs and relevant regulations to strengthen the legal framework.

He also requested that legal documents with implementation bottlenecks be promptly revised and completed by the third quarter of 2026. — VNS