Soc Trang: Training course on enforcement of industrial property rights

On May 30, 2014, the Department of Science and Technology of Soc Trang province in collaboration with the National Office of Intellectual Property (“NOIP”) held a training course on enforcement of industrial property for more than 40 enforcement officers in the province.

The lecturers from the NOIP provided the participants with the basic knowledge of intellectual property law, methodology, experience in assessing, determining the acts of IPR infringement together with the enforcement measures such as administrative measures, civil, criminal and border control.

With over 20 years experiences on behalf of the famous brands as Honda, Adidas, Bosch, Pfizer, Kotex, Shiseido, etc... in the enforcement of IP rights in Vietnam, Pham & Associates added that, in practice, the authorities often encountered difficulties in finding the IP holder or its representative to verify the suspected goods in accordance with the laws.

Currently, administrative measures are the most preferred method to prevent the IPR infringement. However, the sanctions of these measures are not strong enough deterrent. Meanwhile, civil remedies  are rare to use.