Refining intellectual property regulations to keep pace with AI, digital assets, and blockchain.
Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung has called for legal adjustments to keep pace with emerging issues arising from modern technological trends—including artificial intelligence (AI)—specifically by examining and addressing the protection of new, non-traditional intellectual property assets such as big data, digital assets, blockchain, biotechnology, and semiconductor technology.
Illustration photo: Istock.
Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung signed Decision No. 1624/QD-TTg dated August 21, 2026 amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decision No. 1068/QD-TTg dated August 22, 2019 of the Prime Minister approving the Intellectual Property Strategy until 2030.
Decision No. 1624/QD-TTg amends the Intellectual Property Strategy to 2030 by emphasizing the viewpoint: Respecting and protecting intellectual property rights is the responsibility of agencies, organizations, individuals and the entire society.
The Decision also adds that the Strategy's goal is to promote intellectual property rights transactions in the market, with the pilot supporting the determination of the value of at least 100 intellectual property rights of research institutes, higher education institutions, and creative startups.
The strategy is supplemented with many tasks to improve policies and laws on intellectual property. The focus is on reviewing the legal system to create a favorable environment for creativity, protection, exploitation and protection of intellectual property rights, while balancing interests between subjects and limiting rights abuse.
Laws will also be updated to keep up with new issues from modern technology trends, including artificial intelligence (AI). Researched issues include the protection of new objects such as big data, digital assets, blockchain, biotechnology and semiconductor technology, as well as intellectual property rights infringement in cyberspace and digital platforms.
The decision also directs to strengthen the handling of intellectual property rights infringement by civil measures, consistent with the civil nature of this right, while improving the quality of administrative handling. Sanctions for infringement will also be strengthened, especially for counterfeit intellectual property goods.
Besides, it also facilitates import and export, attracts investment and technology transfer, while strictly protecting business secrets, strategic data, source technology, core technology and inventions that belong to State secrets. A mechanism for detecting and early warning of cross-border intellectual property rights infringement will also be developed, associated with the requirements of ensuring national defense, security and sovereignty.
Regulations related to intellectual property transactions will also be completed, including capital contributions, security transactions, valuation, accounting and auditing. The State will research financial, credit and incentive mechanisms to promote the exploitation of intellectual property rights formed from scientific research and technological development activities using the state budget.
Regarding state management, the new decision adds the task of researching financial mechanisms and specific human resource policies to develop a team of highly qualified civil servants, public employees and intellectual property experts.
At the same time, online public services in the field of intellectual property will be comprehensively deployed and data will be digitized. New infrastructure and technology will also be invested to serve the establishment, exploitation and protection of intellectual property rights, helping people and businesses easily access, look up, analyze and use information.
The new strategy also emphasizes streamlining the focal points for handling intellectual property rights infringement by administrative measures, while simplifying procedures, increasing transparency, reducing costs and shortening the time to resolve disputes and handle violations.
State management agencies and intellectual property protection agencies, especially judicial agencies, will have enhanced coordination. Among them, there is research to enhance the role of courts in resolving intellectual property cases, including cases with cross-border elements.
Inspection, control and handling of violations will be promoted, especially in the digital environment. Enterprises providing intermediary services and digital platform owners are required to enhance their legal responsibilities in preventing, eliminating and not abetting acts of intellectual property rights infringement online.
Control of import and export goods related to intellectual property, especially in e-commerce, will also be strengthened.
Notably, authorities will research and apply technology capable of monitoring, automatically detecting and early warning of intellectual property rights infringement in the digital environment. A specialized intellectual property database will also be built, connected and shared between agencies to serve unified monitoring, warning and handling of violations nationwide.
Ha Chi
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