IP protection for online exports increases in Vietnam

A sorting chain at Amazon. Many Vietnamese companies register for Intellectual property (IP) protection for online exports as the country has entered a new stage of cross-border e-commerce. (Photo courtesy Amazon Global Selling)

Intellectual property (IP) protection of online exports has become increasingly important for Vietnamese businesses as the country has entered a new stage of cross-border e-commerce, experts said.

A recent report from Amazon Global Selling Vietnam revealed Vietnamese selling partners’ awareness of brand building and intellectual property protection has gradually improved.

In the past three years, the number of Vietnamese brands enrolled in its brand registry has grown seven times. The duration of Vietnamese selling partners from seller account registration to brand registry enrollment shortened 85% on average, the report said.

In addition, Vietnamese selling partners are paying more attention to global expansion, with 18.6% of Vietnamese selling partners having trademarks in the US, EU, Japan and other regions.

“Vietnam has implemented some fundamental IP initiatives to help increase awareness about the importance of protecting IP rights and streamline IP rights enforcement. With continued investment in strong IP rights, we can harness this positive momentum to stimulate its domestic capacity for innovation, enhance its global competitiveness, and help enterprises as well as the country's economy integrate widely and effectively with the global economy," said Nguyen Van Toan, Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises (VAFIE).

"It is recommended that small and medium-sized companies understand the importance of working together with trade associations and organisations to support efforts to protect IP, stop counterfeiting, as well as improving the capability to enforce rights and obligations under Vietnam’s IP law and international commitments to which Vietnam is a signatory.”

To obtain patent and trademark protection, Toan suggested Vietnamese enterprises use the guidance of the Ministry of Science and Technology when introducing their products or services to the local market and get support from trusted international organisations when bringing their products and services to global markets.

A recent Amazon survey showed that, besides sales growth, global brand building and adoption are among the top key motivations for Vietnamese businesses to engage in cross-border e-commerce.

In recent years, the most successful Amazon selling partners from Việt Nam have invested in brand registration and brand building. They take advantage of Amazon’s tools and products to understand customer needs, attract and encourage visitors to their online store and product pages, and put effort into having a good image, product content, and brand stories.

Also, according to an internal survey, Vietnamese selling partners showed high satisfaction with Amazon’s products and services to build their own brand with a 7.5/10 score.

In March 2021, An Phát Holdings successfully registered AnEco trademark in the US. This is a solid stepping stone for the company to strongly develop their made-in-Việt Nam compostable product line.

Lagooco is also one of the first Vietnamese businesses to acquire the "Climate Pledge Friendly" badge on Amazon, making it easier for everyone to discover the brand "Lagooco" and purchase items that fulfill environmental sustainability requirements. After only two weeks on Amazon, three out of four Lagooco cashew products have landed at the top of the ten best-selling new cashew items, indicating the company's early success.

Longevity Sea Grapes realised the importance of investing in improving their branding strategies to protect and strengthen the reputation of made-in-Vietnam products as well as to make the most of this ever-growing need from global customers. Thus, since June 2020, the company has successfully registered for a trademark in the US. In the coming years, Longevity Sea Grapes is determined to become not only the leading sea grape brand in the world but also the pride of Vietnam./.