Belonging to the series of activities in the Action Month to commemorate the World Intellectual Property Day, the meeting discussed hot issues that have attracted much attention of the business community regarding software copyrights, especially after the revised Penal Code was effective as of January 2018.
The workshop aimed at providing businesses and managers with more detailed information on new regulations in the Vietnamese law related to the observation of intellectual property rights (IPR). It also shows how businesses can ensure their data security, intellectual property rights, while avoiding the risk of illegal activities so that they can develop healthily.
Mr. Tran Van Minh, deputy chief inspector of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism reported the task of implementing IPR in the field of computer software when the revised Penal Code was effective.
“Article No. 225 of the revised Penal Code shows the determination of the Vietnamese government in fighting against copyright piracy, including computer software copyright. Now that the severe punishments are inflicted, it is high time business leaders checked the software installation of all computers they use and adopted timely solutions in order to avoid grave damage on their finance as well as prestige or interruptions of operation once illegal activities have been discovered”, said Mr. Minh.
In this workshop, Mr. Gary Gan, Director of the Compliance Programs of APAC under BSA, presented effective solutions for businesses. He suggested that companies should make use of software asset management models to ensure employees only install and use legal software with valid licenses bought by their organization.
Computer software copyright violation is one of the most infamous IPR breaches in Vietnam. In 2017, while inspecting 2,472 computers of 63 businesses, related authorities discovered that 54 companies copied software programs without permission, with VND1.65 billion (about $72,463) in administrative fines collected.
In the beginning of 2018, relevant authorities also inspected the observation of IPR regarding computer software in 26 businesses, and collected VND750 million ($32,940) administrative fines.
The workshop was held by Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam (NOIP), Vietnam Intellectual Property Association (VIPA), and BSA| the Software Alliance.
