It is still difficult to handle violations of intellectual property rights.

Through professional measures, in the first 3 months of 2024, the market management force in Sa Pa town discovered and handled 3 cases of intellectual property rights violations, with goods worth nearly 24 million VND; and issued administrative fines of 32 million VND.

Market management officers check labels at clothing stores in Sa Pa town.

Mr. Hoang Duy Hai, Deputy Captain of Market Management Team No. 2 (in charge of Sa Pa town) said: Implementing the direction of the Provincial Market Management Department, the force has actively participated and assigned specific tasks to each officer in charge of the area.

In Sa Pa town, through inspection, it was discovered that the goods infringing on ownership were mainly in the fashion sector; the shops selling these items were often seasonal and small, making control difficult. In particular, handling violations of counterfeit trademarks and labels was difficult because it had to be based on the basis of information ownership rights.

In Lao Cai city, from 2023 to present, Market Management Team No. 1 has handled 25 cases of intellectual property rights violations, imposing administrative fines of nearly VND 216 million. The products violating intellectual property rights are mainly counterfeit trademarks of famous fashion brands.

Mr. Nguyen Hoai Nam, Captain of Market Management Team No. 1, said: The difficulty we encounter in handling intellectual property violations is that brands and owners do not want to report counterfeit products, for fear of affecting genuine brands; the fine for intellectual property violations is very high, while some violators have small businesses, making it difficult to punish.

"Faced with that reality, we have increased propaganda and organized businesses to sign a commitment not to trade in counterfeit goods or goods that violate intellectual property rights. To date, 2,864 businesses in Lao Cai city have signed the commitment," Mr. Nam shared.

From 2023 to present, the market management force of the whole province has handled 65 cases of intellectual property rights violations and counterfeit trademarks; the total amount of administrative fines is 723 million VND.

According to the assessment of the Provincial Market Management Department, in recent times, the fight against intellectual property violations and counterfeit trademarks has faced many difficulties and has not brought about the desired results.

The reasons are that the methods and tricks of counterfeit goods production and trading by subjects are increasingly complex and sophisticated; public awareness of intellectual property violations has not been raised; coordination between businesses and enforcement agencies is still limited; equipment and tools for inspection and rapid detection of counterfeit goods are lacking; and the qualifications and professional skills of civil servants performing the task of inspecting and handling violations of counterfeit goods are still limited.

Market Management Team No. 1 seized and handled many items violating intellectual property rights in Lao Cai city.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Hieu, Deputy Director of the Provincial Market Management Department, said that in order to protect consumers' rights and create a healthy business environment, the Provincial Market Management Department has developed an annual plan to combat counterfeit goods and goods violating intellectual property rights; strictly implement the direction of the Government, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the General Department of Market Management, the Provincial People's Committee, and the Provincial Steering Committee 389 on combating, preventing and combating counterfeit goods, goods of unknown origin and goods violating intellectual property rights; strengthen coordination with relevant agencies in the area in performing tasks...

In the coming time, the Provincial Market Management Department will continue to coordinate with relevant sectors and agencies to strengthen market supervision, inspection and control, promptly combat, prevent and handle violations; promote propaganda and dissemination of laws, raise consumer awareness of the fight against counterfeit goods and goods infringing intellectual property rights...

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