WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  IP/N/6/VNM/1 
1 February 2008 
 
 (08-0475) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights Original:  English 
 
 
 
CHECKLIST OF ISSUES ON ENFORCEMENT1 
 
Responses from Viet Nam  
 
 
Civil and Administrative Procedures and Remedies 
  (a) Civil judicial procedures and remedies  
 
1. Specify the courts which have jurisdiction over IPR infringement cases. 
  
 People's Courts (Civil Court), at district and pr ovincial level, had jurisdiction over disputes of 
infringement relating to intellectual property rights .  The People's Court could adjudicate cases with 
respect to claims of abuse of industrial property rights, disputes concerning royalty or remuneration, 
claims on registration right and the right of author ship, and disputes relating to contracts concerning 
assignment of ownership right or licensing contract for the right to use objects of industrial property. 
 
2. Which persons have standing to assert IP Rs? How may they be represented? Are there 
requirements for mandatory personal appearan ces before the court by the right holder? 
 
 Which persons have standing to assert IPRs?
 
 
 According to Article 198 of the Intellectual Pr operty Law, intellectual property right holders 
shall have the right to apply certain measures to pr otect their intellectual property rights, including the 
right to initiate a lawsuit at a competent court or an arbitrator to protect their legitimate rights and interests.  And Article 4.6 together with Article 203 of the same law defines intellectual property right 
holders as the owners and transferees (including  assignees and licensees) of intellectual property 
rights.  In summary, the owners or assignees or li censees of intellectual property rights have standing 
to assert IPRs, particularly, he/she can bring action for civil remedies:  compelling the termination of 
infringing acts; compelling the public apology and r ectification; compelling the performance of civil 
obligations; compelling the payment of damages; co mpelling destruction, distribution or use for non-
commercial purposes of goods, raw materials, materi als or trading of intellectual property right 
distribution or use does not affect the exploitation of rights by intellectual property right holders. 
  How may they be represented?
 
  According to the Civil Proceedings Code, all individuals, bodies and orga nizations with legal 
capacity in civil proceedings have rights to petition the Court to protect their lawful rights and 
interests.   For individual, he himself can exercise the rights and obligations in the civil proceedings or to 
authorize a representative to partic ipate in the civil proceedings. 
                                                     
 
1 Document IP/C/5. IP/N/6/VNM/1 
Page 2  
 
   
 For body or organization, its legal representativ e will be in its name to participate in the 
proceedings.   Are there any requirements for mandatory personal appearances before a court by the right 
holder?  
  According to the Civil Proceedings Code, pe rsonal appearance before a court by the right 
holder is one of the obligations that the intellectual property right holder must comply with in a civil case.  In the case the right holder authorizes his representative to appear before a court, the 
representative will do that in the name of the holder. 
 
3. What authority do the judicial authorities have to order, at the request of an opposing 
party, a party to a proceeding to produ ce evidence that lies within its control? 
  As a general rule, when participating in pr oceedings, a litigant has the rights and obligations 
to provide evidence or to substantiate in order to protect his or her lawful rights and interests. However, where a concerned party which has taken necessary measures to gath er evidence still fails 
to gather the evidence by itself, it may petition the Court to adduce evidence in order to ensure the 
proper resolution of the civil affair. At that requ est, the Court may request directly or in writing 
individuals or organizations which are controlling or holding the evidence to provide such evidence. 
  Where evidence is being destroyed or is in da nger of being destroyed or it will be difficult to 
gather the evidence in the future, any concerned pa rty may submit an application to petition the Court 
to take necessary measures to preserve  the evidence. The Court may decide to take one or a number of 
measures including sealing, keeping, photographing, a udio-recording, video-recording, restoring, 
examining, making a record and other measures.    In addition, under Intellectual Property Law con cerned parties have rights to request the court 
to apply provisional urgent measures to protect thei r legitimate rights and interests. Particularly, upon 
or after the initiation of a lawsuit, an intellectual pr operty right holder has the right to request the court 
to apply provisional measu res in the following cases: 
  -  there exists a danger of irreparable dama ge to such intellectual property right holder; 
  -  goods suspected of infringing upon intellectual property rights or evidence related to 
the act of infringing upon industrial propert y rights are likely to be dispersed or 
destroyed unless they are protected in time. 
  The court will decide to apply provisional urgent measures at the request of the industrial 
right holder as mentioned above before listening to the party subject to such measures.  
 4. What means exist to identify and protect confidential information brought forward as 
evidence?  
   As a general rule, every item of evidence sha ll be publicly and equally disclosed and used. 
However, at the legitimate request  of the concerned parties, the Court shall not disclose publicly 
evidence relating to State secrets, national fine cust oms, professional secrets, trade secrets or private 
secrets of individuals.   Persons conducting proceedings  and persons participating in proceedings must keep 
confidentiality in accordance with the law in respect of evidence which is not allowed to be disclosed  IP/N/6/VNM/1 
 Page 3 
 
 
  publicly relating to State secrets, national fine cust oms, professional secrets, trade secrets or private 
secrets of individuals.   In special cases where it is necessary to mainta in State secrets or work-related secrets in 
accordance with the law; to  keep national fine customs and mora ls, to maintain occupational secrets, 
trade secrets and privacy of individuals upon the le gitimate request of concerned parties, the Court 
shall carry out closed hearings but must pronounce publicly its judgment.   In special cases where it is necessary to protect State secrets; to keep national fine customs, 
protect occupational secrets, trade secrets and privacy of individuals upon the request of a concerned 
party, the Council of Adjudicators shall not disclose documents in the case file. 
 
5. Describe the remedies that may be ordered by the judicial authorities and criteria, 
legislative or jurisprudential, for their use ; 
 
 - injunctions;  - damages, including recovery of profits,  and expenses, including attorney's fees; 
 - destruction or other disposal of infringing goods and materials/implements for 
their production; 
 - any other remedies.  
 Injunction
 
  Injunction is one of the civil remedies whic h courts apply to handle organizations and 
individuals having committed acts of infringing upon in tellectual property rights. It is understood that 
at the right holder's request in writing, the court will base on evidence, arguments, etc. provided by 
him to decide whether an injunction is made.   Damages including recovery of profits, and expenses, including attorney’s fees
 
  Compelling the payment of damages is one of th e civil remedies which courts apply to handle 
organizations and individuals ha ving committed acts of infringing upon intellectual property rights. 
  According to Article 204 of the Intellectual property Law, principles of determination of 
damage caused by infringements of intellectual property rights:  
 - Damages caused by acts of infringing upon industrial property rights: (i) material 
damage, including property losses, decreases in  income and profit, loss of business 
opportunities, reasonable expenses for prev ention and remedying of such damage; 
(ii) spiritual damages, including damage to honor, dignity, prestige, reputation and 
other spiritual losses caused to the authors of  literary, artistic and scientific works; to 
performers, authors of inventions, industri al designs, lay-out designs; and breeders of 
plant varieties. 
  - The extent of damage shall be determ ined on the basis of actual losses suffered by 
intellectual property right holders due to acts of infringing upon intellectual property 
rights. 
 
 According to Article 205 of the Intellectua l Property Law, bases for determination of 
compensations for damage caused by infri ngements of intellectual property rights:  
 IP/N/6/VNM/1 
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   - Where the plaintiff can prove that an act of infringing upon intellectual property 
rights has caused material damages to him or her, he or she shall have the right to 
request the court to determine the compen sation level on one of the following bases: 
               - The total material dama ge determined in an amount of money plus profits 
gained by the dependant as a result of  an act of infringing upon intellectual 
property rights where the reduced profits amount of the plaintiff has not yet been calculated into the total material damage; 
               -  The price of the licensing of an intellectual property subject matter with the 
presumption that the defendant has been licensed contract by the plaintiff to 
use that object under a license contract  within a scope corresponding to the 
committed infringing act; 
               - Where it is impossible to determine the level of compensation for material 
damage on the bases specified in th e two subparagraphs above, such 
compensation level shall be set by the court depending on the damage extent 
but must not exceed VND 500 million. 
  - If the plaintiff can prove that an act of infringing upon intellectual property rights has 
caused spiritual damage to him or her, he or she shall have the right to request the 
court to determine the compensation level ranging from VND 5 million to 
VND 50 million, depending on the damage extent. 
  - In addition to the damages referred to  in clauses 1 and 2 mentioned above, an 
intellectual property holder may request the court to compel organizations or 
individuals that have committed acts of in fringing upon industrial property rights to 
pay reasonable costs of hiring attorneys. 
  Destruction or other disposal of infringi ng goods and materials/implements for their 
production  
 
 One of civil remedies in handling organiza tions and individuals having committed acts of 
infringing upon intellectual property rights is to compel destruction, distribution or use for non-commercial purposes of goods, raw materials, materials and means used largely for the production and trading of interest of intellectual property right  infringing goods, provided that such destruction, 
distribution or use does not affect the exploitation of rights by intellectual property right holders. 
 
 Any other remedies
 
  In addition to the civil remedies mentione d above, courts can apply others to handle 
organizations and individuals that have committed acts of infringing upon intellectual property rights, 
particularly: 
 
 - compelling the public apology and rectification;   -  compelling the performance of civil obligations.  
   IP/N/6/VNM/1 
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  6. In what circumstances, if any, do judici al authorities have the authority to order the 
infringer to inform the right holder of the identity of third persons involved in the 
production and distribution of the goods of services found to be infringing and of their 
channels of distribution? 
 
 According to laws of Viet Nam, in civil pro ceedings judicial authorities have no authority to 
order the infringer to inform the right holder of th e identity of third persons involved in the production 
and distribution of the goods or services found to be infringing and of their channels of distribution.   
7. Describe provisions relating to the indemnification of defendants wrongfully enjoined.  
To what extent are public authorities and/or officials liable in such a situation and what 
"remedial measures" are applicable to them?    
  Describe provisions relating to the indemn ification of defendants wrongfully enjoined
 
  In the event of requesting the court to apply provisional urgent measures by a right holder, he 
or she is obliged to pay compensations for damage  caused to persons subject to such measures in 
cases where the latter are found having not infringed  upon industrial property rights. To secure the 
performance of this obligation, he has to depos it a security in one of the following forms: 
  - a sum of money equal to 20% of the value of the goods subject to the application of 
provisional urgent measures, or at least VND 20 million where it is impossible to value such goods. 
 
 - a guarantee deed is issued by a bank or another credit institution. 
 
8. Describe provisions governing the length a nd cost of proceedings.  Provide any available 
data on the actual duration of proceedings and their cost. 
  Describe provisions governing th e length and cost of proceedings
 
 
 Regarding the length of proceedings:   Accord ing to the Civil Proceedings Code, time-limit 
for proceedings includes: time for providing evidence , time for reviewing application for initiation of 
a legal proceeding, preparation for trial at first inst ance, appeal proceedings, judicial review, new trial; 
time for appeals and protests against judgments or decisions of the Court; time for issuance, service and notification of legal process; time for comp laints and resolution of complaints in civil 
proceedings, etc. Therefore, it depends on the compli cated level of the case to determine the length of 
a proceeding. 
 
 Regarding the cost of proceedings:  Accordi ng to laws of Viet Nam, the court carries out 
handling of civil cases due to faults of parties or parties’ own interest through the State budget. 
Therefore, parties have to bear a certain cost (charges and fees) for such activity.  
 
 There are many kinds of fees and charges such as court fee deposits, charge deposits, court 
fees and charges, and other judicial expenses su ch as deposits for expenses of examination and 
expenses of examination, etc. Moreover, parties must bear some other proceeding cost such as cost of 
evaluation, cost of interpretation,  Therefore, th e total cost of proceedings depends on many factors 
such as the length of action, quality of lawyer, successful party, etc. 
 IP/N/6/VNM/1 
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   Provide any available data on the actua l duration of proceedings and their cost
 
  Because proceedings have different length a nd cost and the number of intellectual property 
infringement cases handled in the courts in Viet Na m is not considerable, thus it is not possible to 
provide meaningful data on this issue at the present time. 
  
 (b) Administrative procedures and remedies  
 9. Reply to the above questions in relation to any administrative procedures on the merits 
and remedies that may result from these procedures. 
 
 The bodies competent to take administrative ac tion in relation to infringement of intellectual 
property rights are the market control agenci es of the trade administration (Market Control 
Department and Market Control Branch Offices), customs agencies (Customs Department, Customs 
branch offices, anti-smuggling inspection office) , specialized inspection authorities such as the 
Culture and Information Inspectorates at the nati onal and provincial levels and the Science and 
Technology Inspectorates at the national and provincia l levels, the People's Committees at the district 
and provincial levels, and public security agen cies (District Police, Provincial Police, and the 
Economic Police).     Administrative handling of IPR infringement is applicable to counterfeiting, pirating, 
intentional infringements and infringements of remarkab le social effect (Artic le 211 of the Intellectual 
Property Law). 
 
 The responsibility of each agency depends on their area of administration and jurisdiction, as spelled out in Article 200 of the 2005 Intellectual Property Law.  Market control agencies can impose 
administrative remedies and other measures against infringements of industrial property rights and 
trade in cultural-informational products and services  occurring in the country.  Customs agencies have 
the competence to impose administrative remedies against infringements of intellectual property 
rights in the course of exportation and importati on, Science and Technology Inspectorates against 
infringements of industrial property rights, Cu lture and Information Inspectorates against 
infringements of copyright, and People's Committees against infringements of intellectual property 
rights occurring within their jurisdiction.  As for public security agencies, these are responsible for 
handling infringements of intellectual property righ ts in the course of production and trade.  The 
Economic Police - composed of the heads of the Di strict Police and Economic Police Division, of the 
Director of the Provincial Police, and of the Dir ector General of the Economic Police Department - 
have the competence to investigate and handle infring ements of intellectual property rights in all areas 
of production and business.  The Economic Police can search the houses of persons deemed to hide 
instruments involved in or evidence of infringeme nt cases, and suspend business licenses in case of 
serious violation of the provisions regulating the use of business licenses.  It may impose 
administrative remedies against acts of industria l property infringement related to business and 
production activities and acts of copyright infringement  associated with public order and security.   
  Administrative measures and remedies are govern ed, under the new legislative framework, by 
Government Decree No. 106/2006/ND-CP of 22 September 2006 on handling administrative 
violations in the industrial property field and Government Decree No. 105/2006/ND-CP 
of 22 September 2006 providing de tailed provisions and guidelines for implementing certain articles 
of the 2005 Intellectual Property Law regarding the pr otection of intellectual property rights and State 
management of intellectual property.  Under the 1998 Law on Complaints and Denunciations, as 
amended in 2005, any natural or le gal person, including non-resident  foreigners or foreign legal 
entities without a representation in Viet Nam, had th e right and obligation to denounce a violation by 
informing the competent authorities in writing or by other means.     IP/N/6/VNM/1 
 Page 7 
 
 
   Pursuant to Article 214 of the 2005 Intellectual Property Law, main administrative measures 
are warnings and monetary fines amounting to one to  five times the value of the discovered infringing 
goods.  Additional measures include suspension of bu siness activities for a definite term, and in the 
case of counterfeit and piracy goods, and materials and implements used for manufacturing or trading 
such goods, confiscation, destruction, distributi on, use for non-commercial purposes, or compulsory 
delivery of transiting goods out of the territory of Viet Nam or re-exportation, after infringing 
elements had been removed. The cumulative effect of these measures would deter further infringement.   Customs procedures for imports and exports could be suspended to protect intellectual 
property rights in accordance with Articles 57, 58, and 59 of the Customs Law of 29 June 2001 as 
amended and supplemented in 2005 by Law No . 42/2005/QH11, Decree No. 154/2005/ND-CP 
of 15 December 2005, and Article 218 of the 2005 Intellectual Property Law.   Decisions to impose an administrative measure ar e issued in writing within ten days following 
the reporting of the violation, or 30 days in co mplicated cases.  Appeals procedures are regulated 
according to the 1996 Ordinance on procedures for judgment of administrative cases, and the Law on 
Complaint and Denunciation of 199 8 as amended by Law No. 58/2005/ QH11 (Articles 1.19 and 2.2).  
Administrative decisions can be appealed by either party, first to the authority having issued the 
decision and subsequently either to the administra tive court or to a superior administrative body.  
Decisions of the superior administrative body can be further appealed to the administrative court 
 
Provisional Measures
 
 
 (a) Judicial measures  
 10. Describe the types of provisional measures that judicial authorities may order and the 
legal basis for such authority. 
 
 The Courts having jurisdiction over violations and disputes in relation to intellectual property 
rights could decide on the application of provis ional measures. Detailed provisions on provisional 
urgent measures in civil in general and in intellect ual property rights in particular are laid down in 
the 2004 Civil Procedure Code and the 2005 Intellectua l Property Law of  Viet Nam, respectively.   
  According to the Intellectual Property Law,  the court may apply the following provisional 
urgent measures to goods suspected of infringing upon intellectual property rights or to raw materials, materials or means of production or trading of such goods: 
 
 -  seizure;  -  distraint;  -  sealing: ban from alteration of original state; ban from movement;  -  ban from ownership transfer;  -  other provisional urgent measures applied according to the provisions of the Civil 
Procedure Code. 
 
11. In what circumstances may such measures be ordered inaudita altera  parte ? 
  Pursuant to Articles 99 and 119 of the 2004 Ci vil Procedure Code, in an emergency where it 
is necessary to immediately protect evidence or to prevent potential serious consequences, any 
individual, body or organization has the right to make an application to petition the competent Court 
to issue a decision to apply at the same time as fili ng an application to such Court for initiation of a 
legal action. 
 IP/N/6/VNM/1 
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   The Court may also on its own initiative issue a decision to grant the provisional measures in 
cases where the concerned party does not petition for the application of such preliminary injunctive 
relief.    Pursuant to Article 206.2 of the 2005 Intellect ual Property Law, the Court could, prior to 
hearing the opinion of the party liable for provisi onal measures, take an immediate decision which 
would also be effective immediately. The decision coul d be appealed to the Chief of Justice by either 
party, in which case the Prosecution Institute would ha ve the right to make a proposal to the Chief of 
Justice, who was required to respond within th ree days (Articles 124 and 125 of the 2004 Civil 
Procedure Code). 
 
12. Describe the main procedures for the initia tion, ordering and maintenance in force of 
provisional measures, in particular relevant time-limits and safeguards to protect the 
legitimate interests of the defendant. 
 
 The applicant petitioning the Court to appl y/grant provisional measures must make an 
application to the competent Court. Such appli cation must comprise the principal contents:  
 
 -  date of the application;   -  name and address of the applicant;   -  name and address of the person who is subject to preliminary injunctive relief;  
 -  summary of the dispute or act of infringing the lawful rights and interests of the 
applicant;  
 -  reasons for application of preliminary injunctive relief;  
 -  preliminary injunctive relief to be applied and specific requirements.    Subject to the petition for application of provisional measures, the applicant must provide the Court with evidence to substantiate the necessity  to grant such preliminary injunctive relief.  
 
 Within three days of the receipt of the application, if the applicant is not required to provide security or immediately after such persons provide security, the judge must issue a decision to grant 
preliminary injunctive relief; where the application is refused, the judge sha ll notify the applicant in 
writing of the reasons therefore.   
 In case of urgency, upon receipt of an applica tion together with an application for a legal 
action and accompanying evidence, the presiding ju dge shall appoint one judge to accept and deal 
with the application. Within 48 hours of receipt of the application, the judge must consider and issue a 
decision to grant preliminary injunctive relief; wher e the application is refused, the judge shall notify 
the applicant in writing of the reasons therefore.  
 
 Any body or organization initiating a legal action to protect rights and interests of others can 
also make a petition in writing to the Court for preliminary injunctive relief specifying reasons 
therefore; preliminary injunctive relief to be gran ted; name and address of the person whose lawful 
rights and interests need to be protected; name and address of the person who is subject to preliminary 
injunctive relief; summary of the dispute or acts of infringing the lawful rights and interests of 
concerned parties; and evidence to substantiate  that the petition is well-grounded and lawful.  
  The applicant petitioning the Court to grant one of the provisional measures must deposit a 
sum of money, precious metals, gemstones or valuable  papers which are fixed by the Court, but such 
deposit must be equivalent to the property obliga tion to be performed by the obligor aimed at 
protecting the interests of the person who is subject  to the preliminary injunction and preventing any 
abuse of the right to petition for the application of preliminary injunctive relief by the applicant. 
  IP/N/6/VNM/1 
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   The 2005 Intellectual Property Law regulated th at the applicant for provisional measures shall 
be obliged to pay compensation for loss caused to a person subject to such measures in a case where 
the latter is found not to have infringed industrial pr operty rights. To secure the performance of this 
obligation, an applicant for provisional urgent measur es shall deposit security in one of the following 
forms: a sum of money equal to twenty per cent of the value of the goods subject to the application of 
provisional urgent measures, or at least twenty million (20,000,000) dong where it is impossible to 
value such goods; or a deed of guarantee i ssued by a bank or other credit institution. 
 
13. Describe provisions governing the length a nd cost of proceedings.  Provide any available 
data on the actual duration of proceedings and their cost. 
 
 Regarding length of proceedings  
 
 Any concerned party has the right to lodge a complaint, and the inspectorate shall have the 
right to lodge a petition against the decision to grant,  change or cancel provision al urgent measures, or 
against the fact that the judge h as refused to issue a decision to gr ant, change or cancel preliminary 
injunctive relief measures with the chief justice of the Court which is resolving the case. The time-
limit for a complaint or petition shall be three working days from the date of receipt of the decision to 
grant, change or cancel preliminary injunctive re lief measures or the response of the judge on the 
refusal to issue a decision to grant, change or cancel preliminary injunctive relief measures. 
  The chief justice of the Court will consider and resolve a complaint or petition by any concerned party as mentioned above within three working days from the date of receipt of the 
complaint or petition.  
 
 Regarding cost of proceedings
 
  Notwithstanding fees and charges such as court fee deposits, charge deposits, court fees and charges, total cost of a proceeding depends on many other factors and therefore it is changed due to 
the complicated level of cases. 
  Provide available data on the actual duration of proceedings and their cost
 
  There is no available data on the actual duration of proceedings and their cost because the 
number of decisions to grant provisional urgent measures by the Court which is appealed is not 
considerable in reality.   
 (b) Administrative procedures 
 
14. Reply to the above questions in relation to any administrative provisional measures. 
 
 The Intellectual Property Law provides for prev entive measures and measures to ensure the 
imposing of administrative remedies. Particular ly, Article 215 of that Law reads as follows: 
  - In the following cases, organizations and individuals shall have the right to request 
the competent agency to apply preventive measures and measures to ensure the imposing of administrative remedies as provide d for in paragraph 2 of this Article:  
 
              - Acts of infringement of  intellectual property rights may cause serious damage 
to consumers or the society; 
                - There is a threat of the infringing means being dispersed or the infringer 
evading his or her liabilities; IP/N/6/VNM/1 
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              - In order to guarantee the implementation of deci sions on handling of the 
administrative offences. 
  - Preventive measures and measures to ensure  the imposing of administrative remedies 
applicable under administrative procedures for infringing acts of intellectual property 
rights comprise the followings: 
   - Temporary hold of related individuals;   
              - Temporary detention of the goods, means and implements used for such 
infringement;  
   - Search of related individuals;   
              - Search of means of tr ansport and objects; search of places where infringing 
goods, materials evidence and means are hidden;  
               - Other administrative preventive measures in accord ance with the laws and 
regulations. 
 Special Requirements Related to Border Measures
 
 
15. Indicate for which goods it is possible to apply for the suspension by the customs 
authorities of the release into free circulati on, in particular whether these procedures 
are available also in respect of goods which involve infringements of intellectual property rights other than counterfeit trademark or pirated copyright goods as defined 
in the TRIPS Agreement (footnote to Article 51).  Specify, together with relevant 
criteria, any imports excluded from the app lication of such procedures (such as goods 
from another member of a customs union, goods in transit or de minimis imports).  Do 
the procedures apply to imports of goods put on the market in another country by or 
with the consent of the right holder and to goods destined for exportation?  
 
 Under Vietnamese laws, all im ports and exports suspected as infringing intellectual property 
rights, not only counterfeit trademark or pirated co pyright goods, may be subject to the suspension of 
the release into free circulation by the cust oms authorities upon requests of right holders.  
  However, ex officio  suspension by the customs authorities is applicable to counterfeited 
trademark, geographical indication goods and pirated copyright goods only.   
 There is no exception for goods from another member of a customs union or goods in transit. 
De minimis  imports are considered as for personal n eeds or non-commercial purpose and therefore 
excluded from these procedures.   The suspension procedures are not applied to imports of goods put on the market in another 
country by or with the consent of the right holder bu t to goods destined for exportation, provided that 
there is reasonable basis to su spect that the preparation of goods destined for exportation 
(manufacture, storage, offer to sell, trading, et c.) do infringe intellectual property rights that are 
protected in Viet Nam.    IP/N/6/VNM/1 
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  16. Provide a description of the main elements of the procedures relating to the suspension 
of the release of goods by customs authoriti es, in particular the competent authorities 
(Article 51), the requirements for an applic ation (Article 52) and various requirements 
related to the duration of suspension (Article 55).  How have Articles 53 (security or equivalent assurance), 56 (indemnification of the importer and of the owner of the 
goods) and 57 (right of inspection and information) been implemented?   
 
 Under Decree No. 105/2006/ND-CP of the Government providing guidelines for implementation of a number of articles of the Law with respect to protection of rights and State 
administration of intellectual property rights, Cust oms divisions shall have authority to receive 
applications at border gates within the administra tive authority of such customs division; Customs 
departments of provinces and cities under central author ity shall have authority to receive applications 
at border gates within the administrative author ity of such customs department. The intellectual 
property right holder may file an application with each division or department in the mentioned 
circumstances; The General Department of Custom s shall have authority to receive suspension 
applications at border gates within the administra tive authority of two or more provincial customs 
departments.   A suspension application shall contain the following particulars:
 
 
 -  date of the application;    
  -  name and address of the applicant; full name of the representative of the applicant (if 
the request is made by a representative);    
 
 -  name of the body receiving the application;    
  -  name and address of the offender; name and address of the object suspected of 
infringing rights;    
  -  names and addresses of any entities with  related rights and interests;    
 
 -  names and addresses of any witnesses;      -  summarized information about the infringed intellectual property right, namely the 
type of right, the grounds on which the right arose, and a summary of the rights 
object;    
  -  summarized information about the act of infringement, namely the date and place of 
occurrence, a brief description of any infringing product and of the act of infringement together with any other relevant information.     
 
 Besides, it must contain additional informati on namely information on the mode of import or 
export, the country to which the goods will be exporte d, mode of packaging, the lawful importer or 
exporter, the special features of lawful imports or exports which distinguish them from infringing goods, the risk of occurrence of circumstances in which it would be necessary to apply preventative 
measures or measures to secure an administra tive penalty, and any other information;    
 
 -  contents of the claim for application of  measures to deal with an infringement;    
  -  list of data and evidence accompanying the application;     
 -  signature and seal (if any) of the applicant.   IP/N/6/VNM/1 
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 An applicant for application sh all have the following obligations: 
 
  -  to prove that the applicant is an intellectual property right holder by producing the 
documents and evidence;  
 
 -  to supply information sufficient to identify goods suspected of infringing intellectual 
property rights or to detect goods showing signs of infringing intellectual property 
rights;  
 
 -  to file a written request with the cu stoms office and to the pay fees and charges 
stipulated by law;  
  -  to pay damages and other expenses incurre d to persons subject to control measures in 
a case where the controlled goods are found not to have infringed industrial property 
rights.   
  When an applicant for the suspension of customs procedures has fulfilled these obligations, 
the customs office shall issue a decision suspending customs pro cedures with regard to the goods 
consignment in question.    
 The duration of suspension of customs proce dures shall be ten (10) working days from the 
date of issuance of the suspension decision. Where the applicant has justifiable reasons, this duration 
may be extended but must not exceed twenty (20) working days, provided that the applicant deposits 
the security in one of the following forms: a sum of money equal to twenty (20) per cent of the value 
of the goods consignment subject to the application of the measure of suspension of customs 
procedures, or at least twenty million (20,000,0 00) dong where it is impossible to value such goods; 
or a deed of guarantee issued by a bank or other credit institution.  
  Upon expiry of the duration, if the applicant does not initiate civil proceedings and the customs office does not issue a decision accepting ju risdiction to deal with the case in accordance 
with administrative procedures as an administrativ e breach by the importer or exporter of the goods, 
then the customs office shall have the following responsibilities: to continue customs procedures for 
the goods consignment in question; to compel the applicant to compensate for all loss and damage 
caused to the owner of the goods consignment due  to the unreasonable request for suspension of 
customs procedures, and to pay expenses for ware housing and preservation of goods as well as other 
expenses incurred by the customs office and a ny related body, organizat ion or individual in 
accordance with the law on customs; to refund to the applicant the remaining security amount after 
the obligation to pay compensation and expenses has been fulfilled. 
 
17. Describe provisions governing the length a nd cost of proceedings.  Provide any available 
data on the actual duration of  proceedings and their cost.  How long is the validity of 
decisions by the competent authorities for the suspension of the release of goods into free 
circulation? 
 
 According to Article 36 of Decree No. 10 5/2006/ND-CP on enforcement of intellectual 
property rights, within 24 working hours since the re ceipt of the request for temporary suspension of 
completion of customs procedures, the customs authority shall be liable to consider and issue a notice 
on acceptance of the request, if the applicant has satisfied the requirements under Articles 217.1(a), 
(b), (c) and Article 217.2 of the Intellectual Propert y Law. In case of refusal, the customs authority 
must reply in writing to the applican t and specify the reasons thereof.  
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   Notwithstanding  fees and charges such as court fee deposits, charge deposits, court fees and 
charges, total cost of a proceeding depends on many other factors and therefore it is changed due to 
the complicated level of cases.   The validity of decisions by the competent au thorities for the suspension of the release of 
goods into free circulation shall be ten (10) working days from the date of issuance of the suspension 
decision. Where the applicant has justifiable reas ons, this duration may be  extended but must not 
exceed twenty (20) working days.   Actual duration of proceedings and their cost ar e the same as stipulated in the laws. There is 
no available data on the actual duration of proceedings and their cost by now. 
 
18. Are competent authorities required to act upon their own initiative and, if so, in what 
circumstances?  Are there any special provisions applicable to ex officio  action? 
 
 According to Article 200 of the Intellectua l Property, Law and Customs offices have the 
authority to handle administrative violations in the field of intellectual property with regard to import 
and export goods at their own initiative. Particular ly, import and export goods that are subject to 
ex officio  actions by the customs offices comprise of intellectual property counterfeit goods (i.e. 
counterfeit trademark, geographical indication goods and pirated copy right goods) and articles 
bearing a mark or a geographical indication that is identical or confusingly similar to a protected mark or a protected geographical indication. When det ecting such goods or articles, the customs offices 
shall have the right and duty to impose admini strative remedies referred to in Article 214 and 
Article 215 of this Law. 
 
19. Describe the remedies that the competent authorities have the authority to order and 
any criteria regulating their use.   
 
 In those cases as indicated in the answers to question 18 above, the customs offices have the 
authority to order the following remedies:  
 
 - compelling termination of the infringing act;    - warning;  
 - Imposing of monetary fine; 
  - confiscation of intellectual property count erfeit goods, materials, raw materials and 
implements mainly used for manufacturi ng or trading such intellectual property 
counterfeit goods; 
 
 - compelling destruction, distribution or use of the intellectual property counterfeit 
goods for non-commercial purposes and materi als, raw materials and implements 
mainly used for manufacturing or trading such intellectual property counterfeit goods 
provided that such distribution and use do not affect the exploitation of rights by the intellectual property right holder; 
 
 - compelling delivery of the transiting goods out of the territory of Viet Nam or re-
export of the intellectual property counterfe it goods, implements and materials that 
are imported mainly for manufacturing or trading such intellectual property counterfeit goods, after having re moved infringing elements;  
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   In addition, the preventive measures and measu re to ensure the imposing of administrative 
remedies as described in the answer to question 14 above are also under authority of the custom 
office.   
Criminal Procedures
 
 
20. Specify the courts which have jurisdiction  over criminal acts of infringement of IPRs. 
 
 Criminal courts of the People's Courts, at dist rict and provincial level, have jurisdiction over 
crimes relating to intellectual property rights.   Pursuant to Article 170 of the Criminal Pro cedure Code, as amended in 2004, the District 
People's Courts had the jurisdiction as the first instance over offences subject to less than seven years 
imprisonment, except offences harmful to national security and peace, war crimes, crimes against 
humanity, and other specific cases as specified by law.   District People's Courts therefore have 
jurisdiction as the first instance over offences in  respect of intellectual property rights.   
 21. In respect of which infringements of which intellectual property rights are criminal 
procedures and penalties available? 
  
 The Criminal Code of 1999 includes provisi ons on copyright infringement (Article 131), 
production and trade in counterfe it (Articles 156-158), deceptive practices (Article 162), false 
advertising (Article 168), and infringe ment of industrial property rights (Article 171).  Acts of willful 
trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy on a commercial scale are considered crimes under 
Articles 156-158 of the Criminal Code and Article 213 of the 2005 Intellectual Property Law.  (More 
details are included in the answer to question 24 below)  
22. Which public authorities are responsible fo r initiating criminal proceedings? Are they 
required to do this on their own initiative and/or in response to complaints? 
 
 Investigation Agencies (the Police), People’s  Procuracies (People's Prosecution Institute) and 
Courts are responsible for initiating criminal procee dings. They are required to  do this both on their 
own initiative and/or in response to complaints. In fact, criminal proceedings for intellectual property 
infringement cases are identical to procedures fo r other criminal cases and usually involve the 
denouncement of the crime before the competent police, an  investigation, the transfer of the file to the 
prosecution agency (Supreme People's Prosecution Ins titute), criminal proceedings at the competent 
court, judgment and enforcement of the judgment. 
 
23. Do private persons have standing to in itiate criminal proceedings and, if so, who? 
 
 Under Vietnamese laws, private persons do not ha ve standing to initiate criminal proceedings. 
However, any private person who detects a crime ha s the right and duty to denounce the crime before 
the competent authorities for criminal proceedings, usually the investigation agencies (the police).  
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  24. Specify, by category of IOPR and type of  infringement where necessary, the penalties 
and other remedies that may be imposed: 
 
 - imprisonment; 
 - monetary fines;  - seizure, forfeiture and destruction of infringing goods and materials and 
implements for their production; 
 - other.  
 Under the Criminal Code of 1999, any pers on appropriating copyrights,  wrongfully assuming 
an author's name or illegally amending, publishing or  disseminating copyrighted works is subject to a 
fine of 20 to 200 million dong or non-custodial probation of up to two years (Article 131).  
Infringements of organized character or carrying very  serious consequences, and repeated offence are 
punishable by imprisonment from six months to thr ee years.  Offenders also risk fines from 10 
to 100 million dong and being banne d from holding certain positions or  practicing certain professions 
during one to five years.     Persons producing or trading counterfeits valued up to 150 m illion dong risk six months to 
five years imprisonment, or three to ten years for organized or professional counterfeiting, recidivism, 
abuse of position, abuse of names of organizati ons, counterfeits priced between 150 to 500 million 
dong, large illicit profits, and acts resulting in very serious consequences (Article 156).  In case of 
counterfeited value exceeding 500 million dong, very  large illicit profits and extremely serious 
consequences, the penalty shall be increased from seven to 15 years imprisonment.  Offenders would 
also face a fine of 5 to 50 million dong, possible conf iscation of property, interdiction to hold certain 
positions and practice certain professions during one to five years.   
  Persons falsely advertising goods or ser vices are subject to a fine ranging from 10 
to 100 million dong, non-custodial probation for up to three years or imprisonment of six months up 
to three years (Article 168).  They also risk a fine of 5 to 50 million dong  and an interdiction to 
practise certain professions during one to five years.  
   According to Article 171, infringements of indu strial property rights constituting criminal acts 
are subject to a fine of 20 to 200 million dong or non-custodial probation of up to two years. 
Violations of organized character or carrying very serious consequences, and repeated infringements, 
are punishable by six months to three years imprisonment.  Offenders also risk a fine of 10 
to 100 million dong and an interdiction to hold cer tain posts and practise certain professions during 
one to five years.     Article 41 of the Criminal Code also provides for the seizure, confiscation and destruction of 
materials and implements used for committing the acts of crime, i.e. including materials and 
implements used for production of the infringing goods.  
 
25. Describe provisions governing the length and any cost of proceedings.  Provide any 
available data on the actual duration of proceedings and their cost, if any. 
 
 Length of a proceeding depends on the complicated  level of the criminal cases. Each stage of 
the proceeding has different time-limit, therefore there is no fixed provision governing the length of 
proceedings.  IP/N/6/VNM/1 
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   Notwithstanding fees and charges, cost of pro ceedings depends on different factors such as 
the complicated level of the criminal cases, length of the cases, etc.   There is no available date on the actual dura tion of proceedings and their cost by now.  
 
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