According to Mr. Tran Le Hong, Deputy Director General of the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam under the Ministry of Science and Technology, on May 5, the Prime Minister issued Official Dispatch No. 38/CD-TTg on intensifying efforts to implement robust measures to combat, prevent, and handle intellectual property rights infringements. On May 6, the Ministry of Science and Technology issued Decision No. 2309/QD-BKHCN, accompanied by an action plan to implement the dispatch.
Following the issuance of the dispatch, coordination efforts to combat, prevent, and address intellectual property rights violations have shown significant improvement. The Ministry of Science and Technology has established a mechanism to monitor implementation and compile daily rapid reports on enforcement activities nationwide, ensuring timely information is available to support the Government’s and the Prime Minister’s direction and administration.
As of May 27, ministries, agencies, and local authorities had detected and handled 1,438 cases of intellectual property rights infringement. Of these, 1,146 cases were subject to administrative sanctions, while 28 cases resulted in criminal prosecution.
The total amount of administrative fines imposed exceeded VND12.6 billion (US$478,674), while the value of infringing goods was estimated at approximately VND35.7 billion (US$1.35 million). Functional agencies also uncovered nearly 30 serious, complex, and high-profile cases.
After three weeks of intensified enforcement, the number of cases subject to administrative sanctions was approximately three times higher than the average monthly figure recorded in 2025. Meanwhile, the number of criminal cases initiated in connection with intellectual property rights infringements accounted for about 60 percent of the total number of such cases prosecuted throughout 2025, Mr. Tran Le Hong said.
In recent months, many localities have established inter-agency task forces and strengthened coordination among the police, market surveillance authorities, customs agencies, and other relevant bodies to inspect, detect, and handle violations. The Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam has also stepped up support for enforcement agencies by providing expert opinions to assist in the handling of intellectual property and industrial property rights infringement cases.
Mr. Tran Le Hong also noted that the Ministry of Science and Technology is working with relevant ministries and agencies to develop a national database on intellectual property rights enforcement in 2026. Through the compilation of daily reports, the ministry has already established an initial data repository on the detection and handling of intellectual property rights infringements nationwide.
The database will gradually integrate information on administrative and criminal enforcement actions, as well as notable, serious, and complex cases. It will also include data on intellectual property rights objects, assessment and examination results, and infringement-handling outcomes.
Once developed and put into operation, the database system will enable enforcement agencies to access, share, and cross-check information more efficiently. It will also support statistical analysis and forecasting of infringement trends, providing a foundation for formulating and implementing intellectual property rights enforcement policies and activities nationwide.
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