HCM City (VNA) - Vietnamesefirms should take advantage of the international Patent Cooperation Treaty(PCT) system to increase the value of their brand names and protect theirintellectual property rights, experts have urged.

Speaking at a seminar held recently in HCM City, Phan NganSon, deputy director of the Intellectual Property (IP) Office of Vietnam, saidthat only about 10 Vietnamese have filed applications abroad through Vietnam’sPCT system each year since 1993 when the country joined the PCT system.

Even the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, which has more than 3,500 officers, including 237 professors and associate professorsand more than 953 people with doctoral degrees, has not hadsubmitted international patent applications except for those filed asco-authors with foreign colleagues.

Nguyen Hong Quang from the Institute of Physics under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, said that inventors have doubts aboutbeing accepted abroad and are not aware of the long-term benefits of applyingfor a patent abroad or the funding available to pay for the applications.

He recommended that the State issue a policy to supportintellectual property protection and technology commercialisation, especially afinancial policy to support businesses.

Anjali Aeri, counselor at the PCT Legal and InternationalAffairs Department under the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), said by filing only one application under the PCT with thenational office of Vietnam, or with the international bureau of WIPO, theVietnamese applicant obtains the effect of a regularly filed national orregional patent application for all 152 PCT contracting states.

A Vietnamese applicant would be entitled to a 90 percentreduction of certain PCT fees for international applications filed under thePCT, according to Aeri.

In addition, use of the patent and PCT system can be seen asan engine for technology transfer.

The seminar was organised by WIPO in collaboration with theVietnam Intellectual Property Office.-VNA