Vietnam has officially ended a 17-year state monopoly in intellectual property assessments by licensing its second independent industrial property examination organization. This pivotal move is expected to share the immense workload of IP dispute resolutions and significantly bolster the country’s enforcement framework.
HANOI, June 21 – Vietnamese authorities have officially licensed a second independent industrial property examination organization, breaking a nearly two-decade long monopoly and marking a significant milestone in the Southeast Asian nation’s intellectual property (IP) enforcement landscape.
The Hanoi Department of Science and Technology on Friday issued an operating license to Quang Minh Intellectual Property Expertise Co., Ltd., according to Decision No. 1082/QD-SKHCN. The decision allows the private entity to issue industrial property examination certificates.
The move has drawn intense interest from Vietnam’s business and legal communities, who are navigating an increasingly complex environment regarding IP infringement as the economy modernizes.
Accreditation for specialized IP examination is notoriously difficult in Vietnam due to the extreme stringency required for expertise and the substantial legal liability attached to every conclusion. Quang Minh’s entry ends an era where a single state-run entity shouldered the entire burden of specialized IP assessments for the country.
Since 2007, when the National Institute of Intellectual Property Sciences (VIPRI) was established, only one unit has performed this crucial function. VIPRI became fully operational in 2009, making the wait for a second accredited body span 17 years. The licensing of a private firm is expected to share the immense workload and expedite the resolution of pending IP disputes.
In Vietnamese legal battles over IP, an examination conclusion is often decisive. While formally advisory, it serves as the pivotal source of evidence used by enforcement agencies, including the Market Management, Customs, and the Courts, to determine administrative penalties or issue final rulings.
Because these conclusions effectively “fingerprint” infringements, they can determine the viability of a product or brand in the market. Consequently, examination bodies must strictly adhere to core principles of independence, objectivity, and specialization.
To maintain the high legal weight necessary for judicial settings, all examination bodies must follow standardized procedures mandated under Decree No. 65/2023/ND-CP.
This four-step pathway begins with dossier preparation, requiring detailed dossiers including proof of protection and suspected infringing samples. Second is formal submission to an accredited body. Third, the organization conducts reception and specialized legal-technical analysis, typically completed within 20 working days for standard requests. Finally, a formal Examination Conclusion is issued, signed by responsible examiners, stamped by the organization, and detailing the sharp legal and technical rationale for the finding.
The emergence of Quang Minh as Vietnam’s second independent examination body signals a maturation of the nation’s regulatory infrastructure, aiming to provide a more agile and professional support system for intellectual property protection.
Nguồn: Vietnam IP
