Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) are crucial for businesses as they drive innovation resulting in the delivery of better services and products for consumers. IPRs help to protect creative ideas of startups and prevent them from unfair competition. This allows a startup to create unique products and services that have a good chance of success, thereby increasing profits.

The Green Beli project's team members

Being aware of the importance of IPRs to his business, Director of the Hai Chau District-based Green Beli Company Nguyen Minh Khoa has registered for IPRs for his app called ‘Green Beli’ which allows users to find and evaluate environmentally-friendly locations across the city after coming up with the startup idea for this app.

Mr Khoa highlighted the role of IPRs to protect his company’s new inventions and ideas and ensure that his company is the only entity that can take commercial advantage of its patentable ideas.

Mrs Trinh Thi Hong, Director of the Minh Hong Biology Company which specialises in producing cleaning fluid from biological products, said that trademark registration in Viet Nam help protect your trademark with the strongest possible legal status and keep it safe from infringement.

She said “Recently, my ideas about home appliances and personal care products were stolen by my rivals. Fortunately, I have now regained the rights over my ideas thanks to the timely assistance of the municipal Department of Science and Technology”.  

During his meeting with representatives from start-up businesses in Da Nang in late 2019, Dr Le Ngoc Lam, Deputy Head of the National Office of Intellectual Property of Viet Nam, remarked IPRs can help startups gain competitive advantage against larger rivals that have far greater resources.

He also highlighted the importance of IPRs of inventions and ideas to startup businesses in order attract more investors. This is because investors are more likely to acquire a startup whose intellectual property rights are protected.

In addition to startup businesses, many scientific researchers have paid much attention to owning IPRs in their research works.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Thi Xuan Thuy, a lecturer at the Da Nang University of Science and Technology, is a typical example.

She has a strong passion for environmental research with the aim of better serving the interests of the whole community.

Notable amongst Thuy’s scientific works are ‘The treatment of heavy metal ions-contaminated wastewater with a magnetic material covered with gamma-polyglutamic acid’, and ‘Multilayer ground water filtration equipment’. They were granted Certificates of Protection by the National Office of Intellectual Property of Viet Nam in 2018.

Deputy Director of the Da Nang Department of Science and Technology of Vu Thi Bich Hau underlined the importance of IPRs in encouraging knowledge production, promoting scientific and technological progress and innovation, and finally accelerating the national economic growth. Also, IPRs help reduce the risk of violating the legal limits of IP rights in many ways.

Mrs Hau noted, since 2014, the municipal government has granted Certificates of Industrial Property Protection to 1,341 products.  

By PHONG LAN - Translated by MAI DUNG