Licensed software boosts IP rights

Bolstering intellectual property (IP) rights enforcement, including computer software, is high on the Government’s agenda, as part of its efforts to uphold international IP rights commitments it has made.

The Vietnam Intellectual Property Association (VIPA) and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), in co-operation with the Software Alliance (BSA), held a workshop titled “Opportunities for businesses to explore legally and efficiently using software” in Hanoi.

Gary Gan, director of the Compliance program for Asia-Pacific, BSA (Photo: ictnews.vn)

In his opening remarks, VIPA Chairman Mai Ha said that "As Vietnam integrates internationally, compliance with international laws becomes more imperative".

"This requires businesses, in particular, to closely adhere to laws and observe fair competition rules," he added.

On having a workshop gathering both software corporate users and software companies, 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 help businesses use software efficiently.

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

The director also detailed the Software Asset Management toolkit that allows companies or businesses to conduct an assessment of the software they have.

 Addressing the workshop, Tran Van Minh, Deputy Inspector General, Ministry of Culture-Sports-Tourism, said that inspection efforts indicated that violation of ownership rights and related rights was still going on, abusing the rights and interests of both domestic and foreign rightful owners, and compromising innovation, economic-cultural-social development of the nation, and its progress of global integration.

In addition to being able to steer clear of legal risks, probably the most important benefit of using licensed software is that it can improve efficiency and information security for businesses.

Reports from the Vietnam Computer Emergency Response Team from 2016 show a total of 134,375 cyber attacks, 4.2 times higher than in 2015. In the first half of 2017 alone, Vietnamese websites were victims to more than 6,000 instances of cyber attacks.

(Source: VNA)