Duong & Tran Intellectual Property

News & Updates

IP law developments across Southeast Asia

Vietnam

Draft Resolution of the Council of Judges of the Supreme People’s Court Guiding the Resolution of Disputes and Lawsuits over Intellectual Property Rights

Introduction The Council of Judges of the Supreme People’s Court is developing, and seeking comments on, a Draft Resolution guiding the application of a number of legal provisions in the resolution of disputes and lawsuits over intellectual property (“IP”) rights (Draft No. 2, dated 16/9/2026, hereinafter the “Draft Resolution”). The Draft Resolution covers all fields of IP disputes within the jurisdiction of the People’s Courts, from copyright, related rights and industrial property rights to rights in plant varieties, while clarifying many practical legal issues that remain open in adjudication. Below is a summary of the notable contents of the Draft Resolution.

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Vietnam

2026 Draft Amended Criminal Code: Enhancing the Deterrent Effect on Intellectual Property Crimes

The draft amended Criminal Code of 2026, published on 22/09/2026 (the “Draft”), amends regulations on both intellectual property (“IP”) crimes by expressly providing for acts on a commercial scale, increasing penalties and increasing the monetary thresholds that determine criminal offenses (at the lightest penalty bracket), in line with socio-economic development, specifically as follows:

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Vietnam

The First Three Precedents in the Field of Intellectual Property Adopted by the Council of Judges of the Supreme People’s Court

On 24 September 2026, the Council of Judges of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) adopted three precedents in the field of intellectual property (IP) following a voting session on the draft precedents on the same day. This is the first time the SPC has approved precedents in the IP field. Although Vietnam is not a common law country, under the regulations, once precedents have been selected and published by the SPC, they are to be studied and applied in adjudication 30 days from the date of publication. In adjudicating, Judges and People’s Assessors must study and apply precedents, ensuring that cases with similar legal circumstances are resolved consistently. Where a case has similar legal circumstances but the Court does not apply a precedent, it must clearly state the reasons in the Court’s judgment or decision. Accordingly, the approval of the first three IP precedents is significant and enhances consistency in the adjudication of IP cases in court, in the context of an increasing number of IP cases.

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Vietnam

Decision No. 2558/QD-BVHTTDL Emphasizes the Lead Role of the Department of Cultural Industries and Copyright in Handling Infringement of Copyright and Related Rights

On 30 September 2026, the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism issued Decision No. 2558/QD-BVHTTDL (“Decision 2558”) defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Department of Cultural Industries and Copyright (the “Department”). Decision 2558 takes effect from its date of signing and replaces Decision No. 693/QD-BVHTTDL dated 18 March 2025 on the same subject. The most notable issue is that Decision 2558 emphasizes the lead role of the Department of Cultural Industries and Copyright (formerly the Copyright Office) in handling infringment of copyright and related rights.

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Vietnam

Notice No. 4863/TB-SHTT of Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam to Clarify the Transition Provisions of the Law Amending Intellectual Property Law in 2025

On 5 October 2026, Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (IPVN) issued Notice No. 4863/TB-SHTT (Notice 4863) to clarify the transition provisions of the Law amending Intellectual Property Law in 2025 (2025 amended IP Law) and Circular 10/2026/TT-BKHCN (Circular 10), wherein the unclear issue regarding the term “at the time of filing” has been clarified as “international filing date” for PCT applications. Accordingly, the new shortened 36-month deadline for requesting substantive examination (counted from the earliest priority date (if there is priority claimed) or from the filing date (if there is no priority claimed)) will be applied for PCT applications having an international filing date from 1 April 2026.

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Vietnam

Vietnam: Add a New Ground for Invalidation of Patent

A new ground for invalidation of patent relating to inventors has been added to the 2025 Vietnam’s Law Amending the Intellectual Property Law (the “Amending IP Law”) which came into effect from 1 April 2026. Particularly, a patent can be invalidated if the inventor(s) do/does not meet the requirements set forth in Article 122(1) of the IP Law. Article 122(1) of the IP Law specifies that an inventor of an invention is the natural person who directly created the invention; where two or more persons have jointly and directly created the invention, they are co-inventors. Accordingly, in case the inventor(s) is/are not natural person(s), a patent can be invalidated. This added ground aims to provide legal basis for invalidation of patent in case the invention is created by artificial intelligence (AI). Below is a summary of grounds and competent authorities who handle invalidation of patent under the current IP Law and other laws.

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Vietnam

The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents Takes Effect in Vietnam from 11 September 2026

The Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (the “Apostille Convention” or the “Convention”) has taken effect in Vietnam from 11 September 2026. Accordingly, from 11 September 2026, the abolition of the legalisation requirement for foreign public documents has taken effect with respect to the Contracting States of the Apostille Convention that have not objected to Vietnam’s accession to the Convention. As of the present time, three Contracting States — the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Austria and the Czech Republic — have objected to Vietnam’s accession to the Convention, and public documents exchanged between Vietnam and these countries must therefore still go through the consular legalisation procedure.

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Vietnam

The Intellectual Property Strategy to 2030 Amended and Supplemented under Decision No. 1624/QD-TTg

On 21 August 2026, the Government issued Decision No. 1624/QD-TTg ("Decision 1624") amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decision No. 1068/QD-TTg dated 22 August 2019 approving the Intellectual Property ("IP") Strategy to 2030 ("IP Strategy 2030"). Decision 1624 takes effect from its date of signing. This Decision comprehensively adjusts and updates the objectives, targets, tasks and solutions of the IP Strategy 2030 to align with current practical requirements.

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Vietnam

Changes to Intellectual Property Customs Recordal under the Revised Customs Law

The Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Customs Law No. 11/2026/QH16, promulgated on 23 August 2026 and taking effect from 1 March 2027 (“Law No. 11”), introduces a number of important changes to the inspection, supervision and suspension of customs procedures applicable to imported and exported goods, and in particular to goods in transit, in connection with intellectual property (“IP”) rights. These changes represent a significant step forward for Vietnam, bringing its regulations closer to international practice. Some of the notable changes are as follows:

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Vietnam

Reduction and Simplification of Administrative Procedures and Business Conditions in the Field of Intellectual Property under Resolution No. 66.18/2026/NQ-CP

On 18 May 2026, the Government issued Resolution No. 66.18/2026/NQ-CP, effective from 1 July 2026 until the end of 28 February 2027, on the delegation of jurisdiction, reduction and simplification of administrative procedures and business conditions (Resolution 66.18). This Resolution is intended to implement the State’s policy on reducing and simplifying administrative procedures and business conditions in order to create more favorable conditions for the people and other subjects engaged in business and administrative activities in Vietnam. Following the issuance of this Resolution, specialized laws, including the Law on Intellectual Property (IP Law), and their guiding documents will also need to be amended accordingly to implement the contents of the Resolution.

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Vietnam

Notice and Stay-Down Policy Introduced into E-Commerce Law and its Guiding Regulations

The Law on E-Commerce, promulgated on 10 December 2025 and effective from 1 July 2026, and Decree No. 248/2026/ND-CP dated 30 June 2026 detailing a number of articles of the Law on E-Commerce, effective from 1 July 2026 (Decree 248), for the first time codify the “stay-down” principle in respect of violations in commercial transactions in the digital environment. Previously, the responsibility of intermediary service providers was regulated on a reactive basis, meaning that the obligation to remove infringing content only arose once notice of the infringement had been given (notice and take-down). The Law on E-Commerce and Decree 248 have introduced the responsibility of e-commerce platform operators on a proactive basis, specifically the responsibility to prevent the recurrence of infringements (notice and stay-down). In practice, repeat infringement occurs very commonly and at a high frequency in e-commerce activities. Immediately after infringing content is removed or access to it is blocked, infringers can easily re-upload the same infringing subject matter to the same e-commerce platform under a different account. As a result, rights holders have had to repeat the process of notice and take-down multiple times for the same infringing subject matter.

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Vietnam

Decision No. 1782/QD-BCT on the Action Plan to Improve the Effectiveness of Administrative Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights of the Ministry of Industry and Trade for the 2026–2027 Period

On 17 July 2026, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) issued Decision No. 1782/QD-BCT on the action plan to improve the effectiveness of administrative enforcement of intellectual property (IP) rights by MOIT for the 2026–2027 period (Decision 1782). MOIT is the line ministry of the Market Surveillance Authority (MS), which is one of the authorities responsible for handling administrative violations of IP rights. Accordingly, Decision 1782 will directly affect the handling of administrative IP violations by MS and a number of other cooperating authorities, such as the Copyright Office and the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (IPVN), in the coming period.

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