S.Korea expands cooperation with Vietnam in intellectual property rights

The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) on Thursday said it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (IP Vietnam) in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi on protecting intellectual property rights (IPR), sharing experiences and know-how in IPR, and boosting inspection capacity.

The agreement reflects the latest trends in the policy environment like cooperation in the smooth implementation of IPR provisions in the free trade agreement Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which both countries are signatories to.

KIPO said it expects close cooperation to enforce RCEP provisions on IPR protection like patent, trademark and industrial design rights to safeguard the IPR of South Korean companies in Vietnam.

KIPO and IP Vietnam also signed a document extending the Patent Prosecution Highway, which took effect in 2019, for two years from this year and agreed to resume a meeting of trademark experts suspended due to COVID-19.

"Vietnam is an extremely important market for our companies but economic damage to them is rising due to infringement and unauthorized preoccupation of trademarks," KIPO Commissioner Lee In-sil said. "Both organizations will do their best to closely cooperate to create a favorable business environment for our companies in Vietnam."

Write to Han-Shin Park at phs@hankyung.com