On May 4, 2024, the Government issued Decree No. 46/2024/ND-CP ("Decree 46") amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 99/2013/ND-CP ("Decree 99") on the sanctioning of administrative violations in the field of industrial property (as amended and supplemented by Decree No. 126/2021/ND-CP), with the aim of improving regulations on administrative sanctions in the field of industrial property to ensure compliance with the amended Law on Intellectual Property. Decree 46 includes the following notable contents:
1. Amendment of remedial measures, addition of preventive measures, and ensuring administrative handling of domain name violations
Decree 46 supplements the application of preventive measures and ensures the handling of administrative violations in accordance with the Law on Handling Administrative Violations to ensure the uniformity of the legal system.
In addition, Decree No. 46 supplements the preventive measure of temporarily holding domain names as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 125 of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations to address administrative violations for acts such as: registering, holding, or using domain names that are identical or confusingly similar to another's protected trademark, geographical indication, or trade name with the intent to hold the domain name, exploit, or damage the reputation of the corresponding trademark, trade name, or geographical indication.
2. Increasing penalties for certain acts infringing on trade secret rights
In Decree 99, acts infringing on trade secret rights under Article 127 of the Law on Intellectual Property were fined from 5,000,000 VND to 15,000,000 VND. The new regulations increase the penalty for this act nearly tenfold, to between 50,000,000 VND and 100,000,000 VND.
It can be seen that the new penalties are more preventive and deterrent, and are also more reasonable when considering the potential damage that acts of infringing trade secret rights can cause to businesses.
3. Using inventions and industrial designs without paying compensation according to temporary rights regulations can be fined up to 30 million VND
Decree No. 46 introduces fines ranging from 20,000,000 VND to 30,000,000 VND for the following acts:
• Using inventions, utility solutions, or layout designs without paying compensation as stipulated in the temporary rights regulations under Article 131 of the Law on Intellectual Property;
• Using industrial designs without paying compensation as stipulated in the temporary rights regulations under Article 131 of the Law on Intellectual Property.
In addition to the monetary fines mentioned above, remedial measures for these violations are also supplemented. Specifically, violators who use inventions, utility solutions, or layout designs without paying compensation according to temporary rights regulations must also pay compensation equivalent to the transfer price of the usage rights of the infringed invention, utility solution, or layout design within the corresponding usage scope and duration.
Decree 46 takes effect from July 1, 2024.
Comment: