Ajinomoto, Acecook, Lego... have all proposed to cooperate to solve the problem of counterfeit goods.

Inspected nearly 3,000 cases, fined nearly 30 billion

Speaking at the seminar "Protecting brands against counterfeit goods, fake goods, and goods violating intellectual property rights" organized by Industry and Trade Magazine on June 30, Mr. Tran Huu Linh, Director General of the General Department of Market Management (Ministry of Industry and Trade), said that in the past year, issues related to counterfeit goods, fake goods, and goods violating intellectual property rights have begun to become active again.

Regarding brands and trademarks, in the past year, the General Department of Market Management has continuously received requests, questions and requests for cooperation from major companies in the world or companies with factories in Vietnam.

Ajinomoto, Acecook, Lego… tới tấp đề nghị phối hợp giải quyết nạn hàng giả, hàng nhái - Ảnh 1. — Guests attending the discussion

Typical examples include Ajinomoto (Japan) which produces MSG, and Acecook (Japan) which produces instant noodles. "A short time ago, both companies came to work with me and said that there is more and more fake MSG and instant noodles on the market, even fake seasoning packets in the noodle package," said Mr. Linh.

The leader of the General Department of Market Management also mentioned the aspect: "Very famous brands of Procter & Gamble Group (USA) such as cosmetics, shower gel, soap... are also counterfeited a lot.

Or the world famous toy company Lego (Denmark) has also worked with us twice in the past month about intellectual property infringement of Lego products in the Vietnamese market."

According to Mr. Linh, brands and trademarks are being counterfeited more and more sophisticatedly, and counterfeit products come in all varieties.

In the first 6 months of the year, market management forces have inspected nearly 3,000 cases related to counterfeit goods and imposed fines of nearly 30 billion VND. However, these cases are still not enough to fully illustrate the current problem of counterfeit goods.

Businesses need to be more proactive in fighting counterfeit goods

Mr. Linh said that with counterfeit goods and copyright infringements, the first loss is to consumers. However, from the business perspective, this situation will affect and lose the trust of FDI enterprises. The abundance of counterfeit goods in the domestic market makes investors feel insecure about the investment and business environment in Vietnam.

For domestic enterprises, according to Mr. Linh, the damage to their brands is very clear. Brands are counterfeited and imitated, and most dangerously, the productivity of enterprises is eroded when they have to compete with counterfeit goods.

The difficulty in dealing with the problem of counterfeit goods was pointed out by the leader of the General Department of Market Management that businesses and consumers are still hesitant and do not cooperate with the authorities. Along with that, the sanctions are relatively complete but in some specific contents are not enough to deter violators, especially in terms of criminal handling.

To increase the effectiveness of protecting the reputation and brand of businesses against counterfeit goods, fake goods, and goods that infringe intellectual property rights, according to Mr. Linh, businesses must be more proactive in coordinating with authorities.

I see Mr. Linh mention the cooperative relationships, raise the issue between the market management agency and large foreign corporations to protect their famous brands. With Vietnamese corporations, I think there are also, but clearly Vietnamese enterprises have not found a cooperative mechanism. I dare not say the word dependence, but they only rely on one side, that is, when there is an incident, they complain to the authorities.

Lawyer Nguyen Tien Lap, arbitrator at Vietnam International Arbitration Center

Agreeing with Mr. Linh, lawyer Nguyen Tien Lap, arbitrator at the Vietnam International Arbitration Center, also said that to protect the brand, businesses must be proactive. In addition, there needs to be cooperation between state agencies, businesses and people in enforcing sanctions for violations.

"I saw Mr. Linh raise the issue of cooperation and issues between market management agencies and large foreign corporations to protect their famous brands.

With Vietnamese corporations, I think there is, but clearly Vietnamese enterprises have not found a cooperation mechanism. I dare not say the word "dependence", but they only rely on one side, that is, when there is an incident, they complain to the authorities," said Mr. Lap.

On the business side, Ms. Bui Thi Thu Hien, representative of the legal department of URC Vietnam Co., Ltd., shared the story of brand protection at URC. Accordingly, URC has taken many actions to protect the brand and prevent counterfeit goods, such as by coordinating with authorities to prevent and stop them.

At the same time, the company has proposals to the authorities to handle any violations, if any; implement brand identification guidelines for agents, distributors as well as consumers and are always ready to answer questions related to the logos and trademarks of the company's products, making it possible for consumers to identify the company's brands through official communication channels such as the company's website or hotline.

"The management of state agencies is very important in preventing and combating counterfeit and fake goods. In the coming time, we propose to speed up the process of handling violations; at the same time, we can increase the level of punishment for violators, for violations of intellectual property infringement, especially repeated violations," Ms. Hien emphasized.

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