The year 2014 saw several groundbreaking cases in IP enforcement in Vietnam. As negotiations ramp up in talks for the EU-Vietnam FTA and TPP, Vietnam has sent several strong signals to investors that it is taking steps to ensure better protection of IP rights. Notable cases in the last year included:
A clear-cut victory for a major European research-based pharmaceutical company in an administrative patent infringement action heard by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) Inspectorate. In this case, the infringing pharmaceutical distributor was fined and also ordered to cease infringement of a patent for a cancer-fighting medicine. The precedent-setting aspect of this case was that the product was brought into Vietnam under a special import quota (SIQ), which allows pharmaceuticals that have not yet been granted a marketing authorization to be imported under special conditions. Of note was the fact that the state-owned pharmaceutical entity that imported the product (a separate entity from the distributor) was issued a formal warning by the authorities. This is a significant victory given that the authorities often hesitate to take formal action versus state-owned companies. With this decision, the plaintiff may now file a civil suit and seek compensation with a very strong basis, or demand further settlement payment.