Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Bolstering intellectual property (IP) rights enforcement,including computer software, is high on the Government’s agenda, as part of itsefforts to uphold international IP rights commitments it has made.

TheVietnam Intellectual Property Association (VIPA) and the Vietnam Chamber ofCommerce and Industry (VCCI), in co-operation with the Software Alliance (BSA),held a workshop titled “Opportunities for businesses to explore legally andefficiently using software” in Hanoi on August 29.

Inhis opening remarks, VIPA Chairman Mai Ha said that "As Vietnam integratesinternationally, compliance with international laws becomes moreimperative".

"Thisrequires businesses, in particular, to closely adhere to laws and observe faircompetition rules," he added.

Onhaving a workshop gathering both software corporate users and softwarecompanies, Nguyen Thi Thu Hang, VCCI Secretary General, said that actually,many businesses were unaware that most current software companies like PTC,Microsoft, Autodesk, Siemens and others have various policies in place to helpbusinesses use software efficiently.

Ascyber security attacks targeting major Vietnamese organisations and businessesare increasing, Gary Gan, director of the Compliance program for Asia-Pacific,BSA, underscored that there was strong connection between the use of illegal orunlicensed software and malware attacks or cyber attacks.

“Thefirst advice for Vietnamese businesses is to use licensed software. Thisenables you to have the latest patches from the software companies, regardlessof which ones you use whether it is Microsoft, Adobe, Autodesk, etc. This willallow you to first of all be quick in identifying a cyber attack when ithappens and able to deal with it effectively.”

Thedirector also detailed the Software Asset Management toolkit that allowscompanies or businesses to conduct an assessment of the software they have.

 “Whatthat means is traditionally, when people think of software, they think it isthe responsibility of the management or IT manager. But I would say that nowwith everyone using mobile phones, laptops and the internet, everyone hasaccess to different types of software, so everyone needs to know what they’reusing, how they’re using it, what risks they’re exposing themselves to, and whenthere’s an instance of an attack, how to identify it quickly and again, be ableto deal with it effectively,” he said.

Addressingthe workshop, Tran Van Minh, Deputy Inspector General, Ministry ofCulture-Sports-Tourism, said that inspection efforts indicated that violationof ownership rights and related rights was still going on, abusing the rightsand interests of both domestic and foreign rightful owners, and compromisinginnovation, economic-cultural-social development of the nation, and its progressof global integration.

“Thecauses of this mostly come from a lack of awareness, understanding, andparticularly a culture of adherence to ownership rights and related rights byrelevant organisations and individuals, or inability to recognise the gravityof the problem,” he added.

Minhalso said that in 10 years of the Intellectual Property Law being in effect,from 2006 to 2016, the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Culture-Sports-Tourismaudited 541 businesses, inspected 27,602 computers, and imposed administrativefines worth 8.61 billion VND.

Inspectionactivities took place at 55 businesses, with 1.38 billion VND in administrativefines levied in the first eight months of this year alone.

“Enforcementand protection of ownerships and related rights, and ownership rights forcomputer software in particular, are one of the biggest concerns that requirespecial attention from businesses. Without adequate awareness, businesses mayface adverse implications on their operations and challenges in theirintegration attempts,” Minh accentuated.

Inaddition to being able to steer clear of legal risks, probably the mostimportant benefit of using licensed software is that it can improve efficiencyand information security for businesses.

Reportsfrom the Vietnam Computer Emergency Response Team from 2016 show a total of134,375 cyber attacks, 4.2 times higher than in 2015. In the first half of 2017alone, Vietnamese websites were victims to more than 6,000 instances of cyberattacks.-VNA