This is the comment of Mr. Dam Quang Thang, Chairman of the National Innovation and Startup Advisory Council, at the workshop "Sharing experiences in intellectual property education for high school students in Vietnam" organized by the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam.

According to Mr. Thang, besides the business model, intellectual property is one of the important factors that create competitive advantages for businesses in the innovation ecosystem. However, awareness of intellectual property has not yet received due attention.

“Many startups have great business models, but overall there is a need to raise awareness about intellectual property,” he said. “Intellectual property issues are becoming more common, with about 6-7 out of 10 businesses having problems in this area.”

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Mr. Dam Quang Thang, Chairman of the National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Advisory Council, spoke at the workshop “Sharing experiences in intellectual property education for high school students in Vietnam” held on March 24. Photo: Minh Son.

One of the important goals of innovative enterprises is divestment. However, if they do not focus on establishing intellectual property rights, enterprises will have difficulty convincing investors to buy them back at a high price.

This situation forces support organizations, such as the Innovation Startup Advisory Council, to spend a lot of resources and time to help businesses. Therefore, Mr. Dam Quang Thang proposed making intellectual property a compulsory subject in the training program for businesses, communities and organizations supporting the innovation ecosystem.

In addition, it is necessary to establish intermediary organizations such as the Intellectual Property Science Institute, Valuation Institute... to support businesses in establishing and protecting intellectual property rights.

Representatives of the Innovation Startup Advisory Council also shared about the intellectual property management and exploitation model that this organization is supporting businesses. Accordingly, businesses can establish intellectual property, then use these assets to borrow from banks or contribute capital.

“The intellectual property resources in the community today are huge but have not been exploited effectively,” Mr. Thang commented.

Intellectual property education is linked to the future of the country's economy.

Mr. Luu Hoang Long, Director of the Department of Intellectual Property, said that in the context of international economic integration, intellectual property plays an increasingly important role in promoting innovation, improving technological level and enhancing national competitiveness.

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Mr. Luu Hoang Long speaking at the Workshop. Photo: Minh Son.

'To develop the national intellectual property system in a synchronous and sustainable manner, intellectual property education for the young generation, especially from high school level, is necessary,' emphasized Director of the Intellectual Property Office Luu Hoang Long.

Sharing the same view, a representative of the General Education Department under the Ministry of Education and Training said that Vietnam currently has 23.2 million high school students, accounting for nearly a quarter of the country's population. This is a group of students with great potential in education on intellectual property and creative startups, contributing to promoting the economy in the future.

Ms. Altayework, Head of Online Training at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Academy, affirmed that innovation is the foundation of progress, and intellectual property is the most important accompanying factor in this process.

According to WIPO’s “Global Intellectual Property Index 2024,” 2023 will see a record of nearly 3.5 million patent applications, with China, the United States, and Japan leading the way. As of November 2024, data from Darts-ip shows that more than 2.4 million copyright-related lawsuits have been filed globally.

Experts estimate that the cost of intellectual property theft, infringement, and counterfeiting is in the hundreds of billions of dollars worldwide each year. In the United States alone, the International Trade Commission reported that intellectual property-related cases cost the industry an estimated $600 billion in 2018.

Young people who know intellectual property will make money from their ideas . Early understanding of intellectual property helps young people nurture creativity, develop ideas and even generate income from creativity in their future jobs.