To developing countries, the protection of intellectual property rights (such as patents/utility solutions, industrial designs; layout-designs of integrated circuits; plant varieties, industrial designs, trademarks, geographical indications, trade names, trade secrets, rights against unfair competition…) is closely related to foreign investment lure, technology transfer promotion, and consumers’ rights protection. Sufficient and appropriate protection of intellectual property rights can facilitate our country’s integration process to the international economy.

For many years now the Vietnam has paid attention to and made researches on the issue of making and consolidating the law on intellectual property rights, especially after the US-Vietnam Trade Agreement was signed and when Vietnam has been making great effort in the negotiation to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

In order to create a forum for representatives from the National Assembly to exchange ideas on the issues of intellectual property rights protection in Vietnam and promote the abilities of representatives from the National Assembly in doing their tasks, on 11 and 12 December 2003 the Science, Technology & Environment Committee of the National Assembly, the National Assembly Office, and STAR-VIETNAM co-organised the seminar on “Making and consolidating the law on intellectual property rights and implementing the US-Vietnam Trade Agreement” in Hanoi.

Participants of the seminar were representatives from the National Assembly, officers of the National Assembly Office, representatives from the Ministry of Justice, the NOIP, the COV, the Supreme People’s Court, the People’s Court in Hanoi, Custom Department, experts of the STAR-VIETNAM. At the seminar, Mr. Le Hoai Duong – Managing Partner of Lê & Lê Company gave a speech on “Introduction of intellectual property rights and solutions to reach to the international standardisation”.

At the seminar, (i) many gaps, contradiction and overlap in the intellectual property law system were proposed; and (ii) solutions to these problems were proposed, especially solutions to the improvement of IP enforcement organs and procedures.