Australia Helping to Strengthen Intellectual Property in Vietnam

Senator Kim Carr, the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research says an agreement signed today between the intellectual property (IP) offices of Australia and Vietnam has the capacity to assist Australian exporters.

The agreement was signed at an international meeting of senior trade mark officials from around the world being held in Sydney over the next two days.

“Vietnam is an important country for Australian exporters given its growing significance as an export market. This agreement has the potential to improve the IP system in Vietnam, giving Australian businesses a better chance of enforcing their valuable IP rights,” Senator Carr said.

The agreement between IP Australia and the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam outlines the commitments of the two countries to build an ongoing cooperative relationship that contributes to the needs and priorities of each organisation over the next three years.

The main elements of the action plan are:

• Public education and awareness – training on strategy development and implementation of activities;
• IP resource development – examiner training and provision of information on administration; and
• Plant breeders rights (PBR) – assisting the development of Vietnam’s PBR system.

The document was signed by the Directors General of IP Australia (Mr Philip Noonan) and the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam (Mr Tran Viet Hung).

“This government is aware of the important role IP plays in every exporter’s strategy, as a result we are supportive of efforts to make the IP system in countries like Vietnam stronger and more effective. Improvements to the Vietnamese IP system will also benefit local Vietnamese innovators, enabling them to develop and commercialise their intellectual property with increased confidence” said Senator Carr.

For more information on IP Australia’s international assistance program visit: http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au