[27 April 2017] – Businesses may be able to improve earnings and market values if they are able to develop and use intellectual property in efficient ways, officials said at a seminar on 24 April 2017.

According to Mai Hà, chairman of the Việt Nam Intellectual Property Association, Vietnamese businesses need to consider measures to protect, manage and implement their intellectual property rights.

He said that those actions would help companies perform at the best possible level and avoid costly conflicts and lawsuits regarding intellectual property rights.

When a business has a good policy to protect its intellectual property, it would have comparative advantages over other players in the market, he added.

In addition, the company would be able to strengthen its position in the market place, minimise the chance of competitors copying its intellectual assets and have the right to ask for compensation if competitors violate the firm’s intellectual property rights, he said.

Valuable intellectual properties would also help improve the business value for the company in the eye of investors and financial institutions, Hà said, adding that the company may increase its earnings by selling, merchandising and commercialising its intellectual assets.

The Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s general secretary Phạm Thị Thu Hằng said that society and the business community have misjudged the role of intellectual property rights in terms of economic growth.

Local companies must be aware that intellectual property is a non-physical asset, which can generate much higher value than all combined physical assets, in current socio-economic development, she said.

Especially, when Việt Nam integrates more deeply in the international community, the role of intellectual property has become more important in all business activities from production to distribution, Hằng added.

Sharing a similar view, Đinh Hữu Phí, general director of the National Office of Intellectual Property, said that intellectual rights are a tool to raise the competitiveness of local companies and the national economy as it is one of the most important internal qualities to determine sustainable economic growth.

Therefore, Vietnamese companies needs to use their intellectual rights in the most effective way to improve their value and position in the market, he said.

They should be prepared to face and resolve challenges and use solutions to maximise and protect the use of intellectual rights, Phí said, adding that they should acknowledge intelligence as a highly valuable asset for development.

The seminar was organised by the Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, drawing significant attention from the business community, associations, economists and the media. — VNS