Students visit an exhibition showcasing science and technology products during a dialogue between the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Vietnamese youth in September 2025.— VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Hiếu

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) is reviewing and updating the draft National Intellectual Property Strategy to 2030, which positions intellectual property (IP) as a key strategic asset and instrument for enhancing national competitiveness as well as socio-economic and cultural development.

The strategy aims to make IP an integral component of Việt Nam’s development strategy as well as its science, technology and innovation agenda.

Deputy Director General of the Intellectual Property Office of Việt Nam (IP Việt Nam) Lê Huy Anh said the changing landscape of global economic integration had created new demands requiring Việt Nam to adapt its IP framework.

Internationally, IP rights had increasingly become strategic tools for protecting and securing technological advantages and enhancing national competitiveness, he said. Emerging forms of IP linked to big data, artificial intelligence (AI), digital assets and new business models were presenting fresh challenges for the current IP systems.

Against this backdrop, IP protection and enforcement had become increasingly intertwined with trade, investment and global supply chains, particularly amid growing cross-border IP disputes in emerging technologies and the digital economy, he noted.

The designation of Việt Nam as a Priority Foreign Country (PFC) in the US Special 301 Report in 2026 reflected mounting international pressure on IP protection and enforcement in the new context, with potential implications for Việt Nam’s investment and business environment.

According to the deputy director general of IP Việt Nam, revising and perfecting the draft National Intellectual Property Strategy to 2030 has become an urgent priority to ensure IP becomes an important pillar of the national development strategy.

Nguyễn Hữu Cẩn, acting director of the National Intellectual Property Institute, said the draft strategy was built around five major strategic shifts – from administrative management to building an IP ecosystem; from protecting rights to developing national resources; from registration and rights establishment to commercialisation and value creation; from a single legal issue to one that encompasses economic affairs, technology, national security and competitiveness; and from passive to selective global integration aligned with strategic autonomy.

Notably, the draft formally proposes creating a specialised IP judicial mechanism, under which deliberate infringement of IP rights would be treated not only as a violation of social ethics and cultural norms but also as an infringement of property rights that could result in criminal prosecution, according to Cẩn.

The five strategic shifts will help modernise the country’s IP frameworks in line with advanced international standards while addressing emerging challenges arising from new technologies.

The strategy also seeks to improve IP protection and enforcement mechanisms in the digital environment, strengthen penalties for infringements, and explore the establishment of specialised judicial mechanisms on IP.

It also aims to improve mechanisms for valuing IP rights and build a modern technology market that allows IP assets to be more effectively utilised in fundraising, investment, equity contributions and business development.

The draft strategy focuses on fundamental breakthroughs reflecting a long-term strategic vision for IP rights in Việt Nam, which are positioned as not merely a legal or technical issue but also a key component of the national development strategy.

Policies governing copyright and related rights, industrial property and plant variety rights are considered integral parts of national and sectoral directions for socio-economic and cultural development, affirming IP as a strategic national resource and asset.

The draft strategy also proposes establishing a national online portal for monitoring and handling IP infringements in the digital environment, integrating functions for reporting, searching and processing complaints.

The portal is also planned to make greater use of technologies such as AI, big data and automated tools to detect, warn against and trace infringements across e-commerce platforms and cyberspace. — VNS