Decree No. 46/2024/ND-CP amends and supplements some articles of Decree No. 99/2013/ND-CP dated August 29, 2013, of the Government on administrative penalties in the field of intellectual property which has been amended and supplemented by some articles according to Decree No. 126/2021/ND-CP dated December 30, 2021, of the Government.

DECREE

Amending and supplementing some articles of Decree No.99/2013/NĐ-CP August 29, 2013, of the Government stipulating administrative penalties for violations in the field of intellectual propertywhich has been amended and supplemented with certain articlespursuant to Decree No. 126/2021/NĐ-CP December 30, 2021, of the Government

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Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated June 19, 2015; the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of Local Administration dated November 22, 2019;

Pursuant to the Law on Handling Administrative Violations dated June 20, 2012; the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations dated November 13, 2020;

Pursuant to the Intellectual Property Law on November 29, 2005; the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Intellectual Property Law on June 19, 2009; the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Insurance Business Law and the Intellectual Property Law on June 14, 2019, and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Intellectual Property Law on June 16, 2022;

Pursuant to the Law on Information Technology dated June 29, 2006;

Pursuant to the Competition Law dated June 12, 2018;

Pursuant to the Law on Enterprises dated June 17, 2020;

Pursuant to the proposal of the Minister of Science and Technology;

The Government promulgates this Decree amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 99/2013/NĐ-CP dated August 29, 2013, of the Government stipulating administrative penalties for violations in the field of intellectual property which has been amended and supplemented with certain provisions pursuant to Decree No. 126/2021/NĐ-CP dated December 30, 2021, of the Government.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 99/2013/NĐ-CP dated August 29, 2013, of the Government stipulating administrative penalties for violations in the field of intellectual property which has been amended and supplemented with certain provisions pursuant to Decree No. 126/2021/NĐ-CP dated December 30, 2021, of the Government

1. Amending and supplementing Clause 1 of Article 1 as follows:

"1. This Decree stipulates acts of administrative violations; forms of administrative penalties, penalty amounts, measures to remedy consequences; subjects of administrative penalties; authorities to issue administrative violation notices, authorities to impose administrative penalties, authorities to apply remedial measures, authorities to accept complaints requesting handling of acts infringing intellectual property rights, specific fine amounts according to each position; procedures for imposing penalties for acts infringing intellectual property rights; enforcement of administrative penalties, remedial measures in the field of intellectual property."

2. Amending and supplementing Clause 4 of Article 1a as follows:

"4. The subject of administrative penalties is the branch, representative office, business location of a legal entity, organization implemented according to the Government's Decree detailing certain provisions and implementation measures of the Administrative Violations Handling Law."

3. Amending and supplementing certain points of Article 3 as follows:

a) Amending and supplementing Point c Clause 2 as follows:

"c) Suspension of part or all of production, business, service activities from one month to three months from the date the penalty decision becomes effective."

b) Amending and supplementing Points a, b, and c Clause 3 as follows:

"a) Compelling removal of the violation factor from goods, business means; compelling return of domain name; compelling recovery of domain name; compelling change of company name, removal of the violation factor from the company name;

b) Compelling distribution or use not for commercial purposes of counterfeit goods or geographical indication products;

c) Compelling export or re-export of imported counterfeit goods or geographical indication products; means, materials, materials imported mainly for producing, trading counterfeit goods or geographical indication products after removing the violation factor from the evidence, violating means;"

c) Amending and supplementing Point đ Clause 3 as follows:

"đ) Compelling addition of industrial property identification;"

d) Amending and supplementing Points g and h Clause 3 as follows:

"g) Compelling restoration to the original state;

h) Compelling repayment of unlawful profits obtained through the implementation of administrative violations if there is evidence to determine the amount of unlawful profits; compelling repayment of an amount equal to the value of the evidence, means of administrative violations that have been consumed, disposed of, destroyed contrary to the law if there is evidence to determine the value of the consumed, disposed of, destroyed evidence, means; compelling payment of compensation if there is evidence to determine the transfer price of patent, utility model, design, layout-right usage rights within the scope and duration of use;"

đ) Supplementing Clause 4 as follows:

"4. The compulsory distribution or compulsory use not for commercial purposes of counterfeit goods or geographical indication products provided for in Point b Clause 3 of this Article must comply with the conditions prescribed in the Decree detailing certain provisions and implementation measures of the Intellectual Property Law regarding industrial property ownership, protection of intellectual property rights, rights to plant varieties, and state management of intellectual property."

4. Supplementing Article 3a following Article 3 as follows:

"Article 3a. Application of preventive measures and assurance of administrative violation handling

1. The application of preventive measures and assurance of administrative violation handling shall be carried out in accordance with Part IV of the Administrative Violations Handling Law and the provisions of this Decree.

2. Temporary detention of domain names shall be carried out in accordance with Clause 1 Article 125 of the Administrative Violations Handling Law to handle administrative violations as stipulated in Point a Clause 16 Article 14 of this Decree.

3. Authorities, persons with authority to handle administrative violations may request the Ministry of Information and Communications (Vietnam Internet Network Center), Domain Name Registrar to cooperate, provide professional opinions, maintain the status quo of domain names before implementing temporary detention measures for evidence, means used for administrative violations.

4. The Ministry of Information and Communications (Vietnam Internet Network Center), Domain Name Registrar shall be responsible for cooperating with authorities, persons with authority to handle administrative violations in temporarily detaining domain names, providing professional opinions, maintaining the status quo of domain names."

5. Amend and supplement Article 4 as follows:

"Article 4. Determination of the value of evidence, means of administrative violations as the basis for determining the fine range and penalty authority

1. The basis for determining the value of evidence, means of administrative violations stipulated in this Decree shall be applied based on one of the bases in the order of priority prescribed in Point a, b, and c Clause 2 Article 60 of the Administrative Violations Handling Law.

2. In cases where it is not possible to apply the bases prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article to determine the value of the evidence items and means of violation as the basis for determining the fine range and the authority to impose penalties, the person in charge of handling the case may issue a decision to temporarily seize the evidence items and means of violation and establish an Appraisal Board in accordance with Clause 3 of Article 60 of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations.

3. The principle for determining the value of infringing goods shall be carried out in accordance with the principles stipulated in the Decree detailing some provisions and measures for implementing the Intellectual Property Law regarding industrial property rights, protection of industrial property rights, rights concerning plant varieties, and state management of intellectual property.

6. Amend and supplement the name of Article and some Points of Article 6 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement the name as follows:

“Article 6. Violation of provisions on indications protecting industrial property rights and transfer of rights to use objects of industrial property.”

b) Amend and supplement Point c, Clause 1 as follows:

“c) Accepting the transfer of trademark rights without implementing it in the form of a written contract in cases where the trademark being transferred is used on goods or packaging; providing false or failing to indicate information about goods produced under a contract for using objects of industrial property.”

c) Amend and supplement Point a Clause 2 as follows:

“a) Order the removal of the infringing elements from goods and business means for violations specified in Points a and b Clause 1 of this Article and for the act of providing false information about goods produced under a contract for using objects of industrial property as specified in Point c Clause 1 of this Article;”

d) Amend and supplement Point c Clause 2 as follows:

“c) Order the supplementation of information about goods produced under a contract for using objects of industrial property for the act of failing to provide such information as specified in Point c Clause 1 of this Article.”

7. Amend and supplement some Points and Clauses of Article 7 as follows:

a) Supplement Points đ and e after Point d Clause 1 as follows:

“đ) Failing to inform customers of the fees and charges related to procedures for establishing and protecting industrial property rights;

e) Deceiving customers in the conclusion and performance of contracts for intellectual property representation services without reaching the level of criminal prosecution or compelling customers to conclude and perform contracts for intellectual property representation services.”

b) Amend and supplement Point c Clause 2 as follows:

“c) Failing to provide or providing inaccurate and incomplete notifications and requirements of competent state agencies regarding the establishment, resolution of disputes, and handling of violations of industrial property rights within the required time limit for the represented party, except in cases of objective obstacles or force majeure;”

c) Amend and supplement Point a Clause 3 as follows:

“a) Engaging in the business of intellectual property representation services when not meeting the conditions for doing business and practicing as prescribed in Article 154 and Article 155 of the Intellectual Property Law;”

d) Amend and supplement Clause 5 as follows:

"5. Forms of supplementary penalties:

a) Revoking the right to use the professional practice certificate for intellectual property representation services from one month to two months for individuals who violate or suspending from one month to two months part of the business activities of intellectual property representation services for organizations that violate the provisions of Points a, b, c, d, đ, g, and i Clause 2 of this Article from the date the penalty decision takes effect;

b) Revoking the right to use the professional practice certificate for intellectual property representation services from two months to three months for individuals who violate or suspending from two months to three months all business activities of intellectual property representation services for organizations that violate the provisions of Clause 4 of this Article from the date the penalty decision takes effect.”

8. Amend and supplement Article 9 as follows:

“Article 9. Violation of provisions on sealing, temporary seizure of evidence items and means of violation during inspection and supervision

1. Fine from VND 2,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 for the act of failing to maintain the original condition, removing, or breaking the seal on evidence items and means of violation that are sealed or temporarily seized.

2. Fine from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 for the act of changing but not consuming, disposing of, or destroying evidence items and means of violation that are under consideration during inspection and supervision or are sealed or temporarily seized.

3. Fine from VND 15,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 for the act of consuming, disposing of, or destroying evidence items and means of violation that are under consideration during inspection and supervision or are sealed or temporarily seized.

4. Measures to remedy consequences:

a) Order the restoration of the original condition of the evidence items and means of violation that have been changed as specified in Clause 2 of this Article;

b) Order the return of an amount equal to the value of the consumed, disposed of, or destroyed evidence items and means of violation as specified in Clause 3 of this Article.”

9. Amend and supplement some Points and Clauses of Article 10 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Point a of Clause 1 as follows:

“a) Selling; offering for sale; storing for sale; displaying for sale; transporting excluding transit products infringing patents, utility models, layout designs, or products manufactured from processes infringing patents or utility models;”

b) Supplement Clause 13a after Clause 13 as follows:

“13a. Fine from VND 20,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 for the act of using patents, utility models, layout designs without paying compensation as prescribed in Article 131 of the Intellectual Property Law.”

c) Amend and supplement Points a and b Clause 15 as follows:

a) Order the removal and destruction of infringing elements for violations specified in this Article;

b) Order the destruction of evidence items and means of violation if the infringing elements cannot be removed for violations specified in this Article;”

d) Supplement Point đ Clause 15 as follows:

“đ) Order the payment of compensation equivalent to the transfer price of the infringed patent, utility model, or layout design within the scope and duration of use as specified in Clause 13a of this Article.”

10. Amend and supplement some Points and Clauses of Article 11 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Point a of Clause 1 as follows:

“a) Selling; offering for sale; storing for sale; displaying for sale; transporting goods and services that infringe upon trademark rights, trade name rights, geographical indication rights, and industrial design rights, excluding transit goods and services;”

b) Add Clause 14a after Clause 14 as follows:

“14a. A fine of VND 20,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed on the act of using an industrial design without paying compensation as prescribed under the temporary rights provision in Article 131 of the Intellectual Property Law.”

c) Amend and supplement Point d Clause 17 as follows:

“d) Order the change of the business name and removal of the infringing elements from the business name for acts violating the provisions from Clause 1 to Clause 14 and Clause 15 of this Article;”

d) Add Point e Clause 17 as follows:

“e) Order the payment of compensation equivalent to the transfer price of the infringed industrial design right within the scope and duration of use as provided for in Clause 14a of this Article.”

11. Amend and supplement the title and some Points and Clauses of Article 12 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement the name as follows:

“Article 12. Producing, importing, selling, offering for sale, storing for sale, displaying for sale, transporting counterfeit goods bearing trademarks or geographical indications that have not yet reached the level of criminal liability.”

b) Amend and supplement Point a Clause 1 as follows:

“a) Selling; offering for sale; storing for sale; displaying for sale; transporting, including transit, counterfeit goods bearing trademarks or geographical indications;”

c) Amend and supplement Clause 12 as follows:

“a) Confiscate the infringing objects and means of transportation for acts violating the provisions of this Article, except in cases where measures to remedy the consequences are applied as provided for in one of the Points a, b, or c of Clause 13 of this Article;

b) Suspend part or all of the production, business, and service activities for a period of one to three months for acts of producing, importing, or ordering, assigning work, or hiring others to carry out acts of producing or importing as provided for in this Article.”

d) Amend and supplement Clause 13 as follows:

“a) Order the destruction of counterfeit goods bearing trademarks or geographical indications, raw materials, and materials primarily used for producing and trading counterfeit goods bearing trademarks or geographical indications for acts violating the provisions of this Article, except in cases where measures to remedy the consequences are applied as provided for in Point b or Point c of this Clause;

b) Order the distribution or use for non-commercial purposes of counterfeit goods bearing trademarks or geographical indications for acts violating the provisions of this Article, except in cases where measures to remedy the consequences are applied as provided for in Point c of this Clause;

c) Order the removal from Vietnam or re-exportation of imported or transiting counterfeit goods bearing trademarks or geographical indications; means, raw materials, and materials imported primarily for producing and trading counterfeit goods bearing trademarks or geographical indications after removing the infringing elements for acts of importing, transiting, or ordering, assigning work, or hiring others to carry out acts of importing or transiting as provided for in this Article;

d) Order the return of illegal profits obtained from carrying out the violations provided for in Clauses 1 to 10 of this Article.”

12. Amend and supplement the title and some Points of Article 13 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement the name as follows:

“Article 13. Producing, importing, selling, providing, storing for sale, displaying for sale, transporting counterfeit labels, products bearing counterfeit trademarks or geographical indications.”

b) Amend and supplement Point a Clause 1 as follows:

“a) Selling; providing; storing for sale; displaying for sale; transporting, including transit, counterfeit labels, packaging, and products bearing counterfeit trademarks or geographical indications;”

13. Amend and supplement some Points and Clauses of Article 14 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Point a of Clause 1 as follows:

“a) Selling; storing for sale goods and services with misleading commercial indicators attached to the goods, packaging, or services that cause confusion about the business subject, business activities, commercial origin of the goods or services, or their place of origin, method of production, features, quality, quantity, or other characteristics of the goods or services, or the conditions for supplying the goods or services;”

b) Add Clause 15a after Clause 15 as follows:

“15a. A fine of VND 50,000,000 to VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed on the act of infringing upon trade secrets as provided for in Article 127 of the Intellectual Property Law.”

c) Amend and supplement Point a Clause 16 as follows:

“a) Possessing or using domain names that are identical or similar and likely to cause confusion with registered trademarks or trade names of others or geographical indications without having the right to use them with malicious intent or to take unfair advantage of the reputation or fame of the corresponding trademarks, trade names, or geographical indications;”

14. Amend and supplement the title and some Clauses of Article 15 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement the name as follows:

“Article 15. Allocation of Penalties Authority.”

b) Amend and supplement Clauses 3, 4, and 5 as follows:

“3. Market management authorities shall have the authority to impose penalties on the following violations:

a) Violations as provided for in Articles 12 and 13 of this Decree in the production, sale, offering for sale, transport, storage, and display of goods in the domestic market;

b) Violations as provided for in Articles 6, 9, 11, and 14 of this Decree in the sale, offering for sale, transport, storage, and display of goods in the domestic market. In cases where violations as provided for in Point b Clause 3 of this Article are handled and the production base of such goods is identified, the Market Management Authorities shall continue to handle the violation at the production base.

4. Customs shall have the authority to impose penalties on violations as provided for in Articles 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 of this Decree in the importation of goods, transit, and transport of goods within the customs area.

5. Police shall have the authority to impose penalties on violations as provided for in Clause 4 Article 8, Articles 9, 12, and 13 of this Decree.”

15. Amend and supplement Clause 2 Article 21a as follows:

“2. Members of the People's Public Security Forces performing official duties; civil servants and officials in agencies as provided for from Article 16 to Article 21 of this Decree performing official duties.”

16. Amend and supplement the title of Chapter IV as follows:

"Chapter IV PROCEDURES FOR ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES FOR INFRINGEMENT OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS"

17. Amend and supplement Article 22 as follows:

"Article 22. Grounds for conducting verification of administrative violations infringing industrial property rights

1. Verification to determine administrative violations infringing industrial property rights shall be conducted when there is one of the following grounds:

a) A request to handle acts infringing the rights of the industrial property right holder;

b) The results of inspection and audit by the competent authority to handle administrative violations;

c) Recommendations from organizations or individuals who have suffered losses or are likely to suffer losses due to unfair competition acts in the field of industrial property;

d) Information provided by individuals or organizations that discover acts infringing industrial property rights causing damage to consumers or society, or related to goods, labels, packages, items bearing counterfeit trademarks or geographical indications.

2. The holders of industrial property rights referred to in point a Clause 1 of this Article include:

a) The holder of industrial property rights who has suffered losses due to infringement, including organizations granted management authority over protected geographical indications in Vietnam;

b) The person with the right to use the object of industrial property rights who has suffered losses due to infringement, if not restricted by the industrial property rights holder from requesting handling of infringement.

3. The competent authority to handle violations referred to in point b Clause 1 of this Article shall take the initiative to inspect, audit, detect, and cooperate with the holder of industrial property rights to verify administrative violations related to the following objects:

a) Goods, labels, packages, other items bearing counterfeit trademarks or geographical indications;

b) Goods or services violating regulations related to foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, feed, fertilizers, veterinary drugs, plant protection products, building materials, means of transportation, chemicals used in healthcare, agriculture, environment, and other goods determined by the authorized person based on periodic or spot inspection tasks."

18. Amend and supplement Article 23 as follows:

"Article 23. Delegation to Request Handling of Infringement of Industrial Property Rights

1. The holder of industrial property rights referred to in Clause 2 of Article 22 of this Decree shall directly submit a request to handle infringement of industrial property rights or delegate the head of their representative office, branch, agent, or industrial property representative in Vietnam to submit the request.

2. The delegation must be made in writing in the form of a power of attorney or a delegation contract.

The power of attorney document must contain the following main contents: Full name and address of the delegator and the delegatee; Scope of delegation; Duration of delegation; Date of issuance of the power of attorney; Signature and seal (if any) of the delegator; Signature and seal (if any) of the delegatee in case of a delegation contract.

The power of attorney document of organizations or individuals in Vietnam must bear the signature of the legal representative of the delegator and the seal confirmation of the delegator, if they have a legally registered seal.

The power of attorney document of foreign organizations or individuals must be confirmed by a notary or local government or consulate, or another form recognized as legal according to the laws at the place where the power of attorney document is issued.

3. The power of attorney submitted together with the request to handle infringement must be the original. If the power of attorney is in a foreign language, it must be accompanied by a certified Vietnamese translation by the local government or a commitment and confirmation by the industrial property representative as the delegatee.

In cases where the power of attorney is a copy of the original power of attorney already submitted in a previous file to the same infringement handling agency, it will also be considered valid, provided that the requester clearly indicates the file number already submitted and the original power of attorney remains effective and consistent with the delegation content.

4. A power of attorney with value in the procedure for establishing rights under Article 107 of the Intellectual Property Law, which clearly states the scope of delegation including enforcement and protection procedures for industrial property rights in Vietnam, also has legal value in the procedure for requesting handling of infringement under this Decree.

5. The duration of the delegation is determined according to the period stated in the power of attorney document. In cases where the power of attorney does not specify the period, the duration of the delegation is determined according to Clause 3 of Article 107 of the Intellectual Property Law."

19. Amend and supplement Article 25 as follows:

"Article 25. Acceptance and Examination of Requests to Handle Infringement in Administrative Penalties

1. The request and accompanying documents and evidence for requests to handle infringement shall be implemented according to the provisions of Articles 89, 90, 91, and 92 of the Decree detailing certain provisions and implementation measures of the Intellectual Property Law regarding industrial property, protection of industrial property rights, rights to plant varieties, and state management of intellectual property. For cases where the request is sent to multiple authorities with concurrent jurisdiction, the request must clearly state the names of the receiving authorities.

When implementing requests to handle acts infringing industrial property rights as stipulated in point a Clause 1 of Article 211 of the Intellectual Property Law, the requester must clearly state the nature and degree of violation in the request to handle infringement and provide relevant documents and evidence.

2. Requests to handle infringement of industrial property rights shall be submitted to the competent authority to handle infringement rights as stipulated in Clause 3 of Article 200 of the Intellectual Property Law. Upon receipt of the request to handle infringement, the receiving authority shall be responsible for determining the authority to handle infringement rights, and if the request to handle infringement falls within the jurisdiction of another authority, it shall guide the requester to submit the request to the competent authority or transfer the request to the competent authority for resolution within ten days from the date of receipt.

3. The competent authority resolving the case shall examine the request to handle infringement according to the following provisions:"

a) Within ten working days from the date of receiving the request for handling infringement, the authority responsible for handling the request shall be responsible for examining the validity of the request and accompanying documents and evidence;

b) In case the documents and evidence provided by the requester are incomplete, the authority responsible for handling the request shall require the requester to supplement the documents and evidence or provide explanations within a maximum period of thirty days from the date of the request;

c) The authority responsible for handling the request may require the party requested to handle the infringement to provide information, evidence, and explanations within thirty days from the date of the request; if an administrative violation record has been established, the party requested to handle the infringement shall exercise their right to explain according to the provisions of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations; request the opinion of the state agency on intellectual property rights or request an intellectual property rights appraisal to clarify the circumstances of the case;

d) Within thirty days from the date of receiving complete files that meet the requirements, the authority responsible for handling the request shall issue a document accepting the case and notify the organization or individual requesting the handling of infringement about the planned time, procedures, measures for handling, and the cooperation and support required from the subject of intellectual property rights during inspection, verification, and handling of infringement;

4. In cases where disputes arise regarding registration rights, ownership rights, rights to request handling of infringement, conditions for protection, and scope of protection of intellectual property rights related to the request for handling infringement after the request for handling infringement is accepted, the competent authority accepting the case shall implement the following measures:

a) Require the relevant parties to carry out the procedure for requesting resolution of complaints, accusations, and disputes at the competent authority within ten days from the date of recording the occurrence of the dispute;

b) Require the state agency on intellectual property rights to clarify the legal status of the intellectual property rights currently under complaint, accusation, or dispute. The state agency on intellectual property rights shall provide a document clarifying the legal status of the intellectual property rights currently under complaint, accusation, or dispute within no more than ten days from the date of receipt of the request;

Within thirty days from the date of receiving the reply from the state agency on intellectual property rights, the competent authority accepting the case shall be responsible for informing the person requesting punishment about the progress of the infringement handling procedure or rejecting the request to handle infringement of intellectual property rights;

5. Rights and responsibilities of the party requested to handle infringement:

a) During the process of handling the case, the party requested to handle may themselves or upon the request of the competent authority provide information, documents, evidence, explanations, and work with the competent authority to resolve the case when disagreeing with the party requesting the handling of infringement rights;

b) The party requested to handle may authorize another organization or individual meeting the conditions stipulated in Article 23 of this Decree to represent them in performing the tasks mentioned in point a of this clause;

c) To prove non-infringement of rights against patents or utility models which are processes, the party requested to handle may prove that the product alleged to have been produced from the infringing process is not actually produced from the protected patent or utility model process, in accordance with the corresponding conditions prescribed in Clause 4 of Article 203 of the Intellectual Property Law;

6. Responsibilities of the party requesting to handle infringement as prescribed in the Detailed Decree on some provisions and implementation measures of the Intellectual Property Law concerning industrial property rights, protection of industrial property rights, rights to plant varieties, and state management of intellectual property rights.";

20. Amend and supplement Article 28 as follows:

"Article 28. Refusal and Suspension of Processing Requests for Infringement Handling in Administrative Violation Penalties

1. The authority responsible for handling requests shall refuse to accept the request in the following cases:

a) The request for handling infringement is submitted while there is a pending complaint, dispute regarding registration rights, ownership rights, rights to request handling of infringement, conditions for protection, and scope of protection of industrial property rights;

b) The party requesting to handle infringement does not comply with the requirements of the authority responsible for handling the request regarding explanations, supplementation of evidence proving the subject's status of industrial property rights and proving infringement within the time limit prescribed in point b, Clause 3 of Article 25 of this Decree;

c) The statute of limitations for administrative penalty violations has expired. If the conditions for applying remedial measures are met, they shall be implemented according to the provisions of the law on handling administrative violations;

d) The results of the verification by the authority responsible for handling the request show that there is no infringement as described in the request for handling infringement;

đ) There is a conclusion, decision, or notification from the competent authority regarding the lack of grounds to proceed with the infringement handling procedure;

e) The behavior proposed to be penalized in the request for handling is not an administrative violation as defined in this Decree;

g) The request for handling has already been accepted and handled by another authority in cases where the request was sent to multiple authorities with concurrent jurisdiction;

2. The authority accepting the request for handling infringement must suspend the handling of the request in the following cases:

a) A dispute arises after the request has been accepted and must wait for the result of the resolution by the competent authority as prescribed in Clause 4 of Article 25 of this Decree;

b) There is insufficient basis to determine the infringement behavior after the request has been accepted;

c) The person submitting the request for handling infringement has withdrawn the request for handling infringement or requested suspension of the case proceedings, except in the case prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article;

3. In cases where it is determined that the infringement behavior is an administrative violation, the authority with the power to impose penalties will still proceed with the administrative penalty procedure for that infringement behavior, even though a notice withdrawing the request for handling infringement or requesting suspension of the case proceedings as prescribed in point c, Clause 2 of this Article has been received.";

21. Amend and supplement some clauses of Article 31 as follows:

a) Amending and supplementing Clause 2 as follows:

"2. Remedial measures requiring a change of company name or removal of elements violating the company name."

a) In case the competent authority issuing the administrative violation penalty decision or the decision to apply remedial measures, including the remedial measure of compelling the business name change or removing the infringing element from the business name, sends such decisions to the relevant parties and the Business Registration Authority for their knowledge. Within sixty days from the date the administrative violation penalty decision or the remedial measure decision becomes effective, the violating enterprise shall be responsible for changing its business name or removing the infringing element from its business name.

b) If the violating enterprise does not proceed with the procedures to change its business name or remove the infringing element from its business name, it will be subject to compulsory enforcement. Within ten working days from the expiration date of the deadline set forth in point a of this clause, the competent authority handling the violation shall notify the Business Registration Authority to coordinate in handling the matter.

Within five working days from the date of receipt of the notification from the competent authority handling the violation, the Business Registration Authority shall issue a Notice requiring the enterprise to report and explain according to the provisions of point c, Clause 1, Article 216 of the Enterprise Law.

c) Responsibilities and coordination in handling business names that infringe on intellectual property rights:

The intellectual property right holder shall be responsible for providing all necessary documents and cooperating with the competent authorities during the process of handling business names that infringe on intellectual property rights.

The Business Registration Authority where the enterprise's main office is located shall be responsible for receiving and processing requests to change the business name at the request of the competent authority handling the violation or the intellectual property right holder; and requesting the enterprise to report and explain according to the provisions of the Enterprise Law upon receipt of the notification from the competent authority handling the violation.”

b) Amend and supplement clause 3 as follows:

“3. Remedial measures compelling the return of domain names

a) In cases where the remedial measure is compelling the return of domain names, organizations and individuals shall be responsible for returning the domain names to the domain management authority within thirty days from the date the administrative violation penalty decision or the remedial measure decision becomes effective;

b) After the aforementioned period, if the violating organization or individual does not proceed with the procedures to return the domain name, they will be subject to compulsory recovery of the domain name;

c) The domain management authority and the Domain Name Registrar shall be responsible for recovering the domain name to enforce the compulsory measure stipulated in point b of this clause.

The Domain Name Registrar shall be responsible for notifying the domain name registrant of the domain name recovery, performing the recovery procedures, and submitting a report to the domain management authority after completing the domain name recovery.”

c) Supplementing Clauses 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 as follows:

“5. For administrative violation penalty decisions applying remedial measures compelling the removal from Vietnam’s territory or re-exportation of goods or means of transport involved in the violation, if the violating organization or individual does not voluntarily comply, then the goods or means of transport involved in the violation will be compulsorily destroyed.

6. Remedial measures compelling the distribution or non-commercial use of counterfeit goods bearing trademarks or geographical indications shall be implemented as follows:

The violating organization or individual must distribute or use the counterfeit goods bearing trademarks or geographical indications for non-commercial purposes as prescribed by law; if they do not voluntarily comply, they will be subject to compulsory implementation.

7. Remedial measures compelling the addition of intellectual property markings shall be implemented as follows:

The violating organization or individual must add intellectual property markings on goods, packaging, and labels as prescribed by law; if they do not voluntarily comply, they will be subject to compulsory implementation.

8. Remedial measures compelling the return of documents or materials altered or falsified to misrepresent their content to the issuing authority or person shall be implemented as follows:

The violating organization or individual must return the altered or falsified documents or materials to the issuing authority or person as prescribed by law; if they do not voluntarily comply, they will be subject to compulsory implementation.

9. Remedial measures compelling the payment of compensation equivalent to the transfer price of infringed patents, utility models, designs, or layout-designs shall be implemented as follows:

The violating organization or individual must pay compensation equivalent to the transfer price of infringed patents, utility models, designs, or layout-designs to the owner of the infringed patents, utility models, designs, or layout-designs; if they do not voluntarily comply, they will be subject to compulsory implementation.”

Article 2. Supplement, replace, and abolish phrases, points, clauses, and articles of Government Decree No. 99/2013/NĐ-CP dated August 29, 2013 on administrative penalties for violations in the field of intellectual property which has been amended and supplemented by some articles pursuant to Government Decree No. 126/2021/NĐ-CP dated December 30, 2021.

1. Supplement the phrase "and other activities producing" after the phrase "packaging" at Point a Clause 13 Article 10, Point a Clause 13 Article 11, Point a Clause 10 Article 12.

2. Replace the phrase "order to change domain name information or return the domain name" with the phrase "order to return the domain name" at Point c Clause 18 Article 14; the phrase "Head of the Criminal Investigation Division for Corruption, Economic and Smuggling Crimes under the Provincial Police" with the phrase "Head of the Criminal Investigation Division for Corruption, Economic, Smuggling and Environmental Crimes under the Provincial Police" at Clause 2 Article 20.

3. Abolish the provisions at Point e Clause 3 Article 3, Point b Clause 2 Article 6; Point h Clause 2 Article 7; Point c Clause 15 Article 10; Clause 16, Point c Clause 17 Article 11; Point a Clause 15, Clause 17 Article 14; Clause 5 Article 20; Article 24; Article 26; Article 27; Point d Clause 2 Article 28.

This Circular takes effect from December 25, 2025/.

1. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall guide the implementation of this Decree.

2. Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government-affiliated agencies, Chairpersons of provincial People's Committees directly under the central government shall be responsible for organizing the enforcement of this Decree.

Article 4. Implementation provisions

1. This Decree takes effect from July 1, 2024.

2. Transitional provisions:

For administrative violations in the field of intellectual property occurring before the date this Decree takes effect but discovered afterwards or currently under examination and resolution, the applicable Government Decree on administrative penalties for violations in force at the time of the violation shall be applied for handling, except where this Decree does not provide for legal liability or provides for lighter legal liability for the committed act, then the provisions of this Decree shall be applied for handling.

For decisions on administrative penalties that have been issued or fully executed before the effective date of this Decree, if the organizations or individuals subject to administrative penalties still lodge complaints, the provisions of Government Decree No. 99/2013/NĐ-CP dated August 29, 2013 on administrative penalties for violations in the field of intellectual property which has been amended and supplemented by some articles pursuant to Government Decree No. 126/2021/NĐ-CP dated December 30, 2021 shall be applied for consideration and resolution.