Vietnamese start-ups are still not paying adequate attention to registering intellectual property, although this type of intangible asset plays a significant role in their future development.

Phan Ngan Son, Deputy Director of the National Office of Intellectual Property of Viet Nam (NOIP), said that entrepreneurship was developing rapidly but start-ups were currently focusing on raising funds, while little attention was being paid to registering their intellectual property.

Son said that intellectual property was of significant importance to socio-economic development – a valuable intangible asset to businesses, especially start-ups, which helps enhance competitiveness and create added value.

He cited statistics showing that several decades ago, most of the assets of US companies were tangible assets while intangible assets accounted for just below 20 per cent. In 2005, intangible assets of the S&P 500 firms accounted for 80 per cent of their total market value and 87 per cent in 2015.

It was necessary to enhance firms’ awareness of intellectual property, Son said.

According to Tran Le Hong from NOIP, several start-up firms had not identified the right time for registration of intellectual property, which might result in unexpected disputes.

Hong said that enhancing awareness of intellectual property should start from universities, but few universities were currently providing training on the subject.

Deputy principal of the University of Foreign Trade, Le Thi Thu Thuy, said that the Ministry of Science and Technology needed to enhance cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Training to put intellectual property onto the syllabus.

The Ministry of Science and Technology was implementing an intellectual property development programme between 2016-20, with a focus on providing support to start-ups and entrepreneurs.

The ministry’s report showed that there were around 3,000 start-ups in Viet Nam, nearly doubling the figure at the end of 2015.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc previously affirmed that the Government was committed to protecting intellectual property rights, innovations and ideas because these were valuable intangible assets for start-ups.

Phuc also urged ministries to provide support to start-ups and enhance their awareness of intellectual property to promote their development. – VNS