U.S. Embassy, Government of Vietnam and AmCham Work Together to Raise Awareness of Intellectual Property Rights and Cyber Security

HANOI, November 7, 2013 – The U.S. Embassy and the American Chamber of Commerce partnered with the Government of Vietnam to co-host two collaborative discussions on “Intellectual Property Rights” (IPR) and the “Role of Cyber Security in Building a Digital Economy in Vietnam.”

During the morning session, the Embassy and Amcham teamed up with the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) to hold a roundtable discussion on IPR enforcement in Vietnam. In their opening remarks, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam David Shear and MOST Vice Minister Tran Quoc Khanh emphasized the need for key policymakers and industry experts to discuss trends of IPR enforcement in Vietnam and explore options to help the Government of Vietnam further strengthen its IPR enforcement regime.

“Having a strong IPR legal framework and enforcement environment is important to the growth and diversification of Vietnam’s economy, its attractiveness for intellectual property dependent and technology-related foreign investment, and its ability to compete in the ASEAN Economic Community and globally. This IPR roundtable allows for a frank and valuable discussion of Vietnam’s current plans,” said event moderator Peter N. Fowler, the U.S. Government’s Regional Intellectual Property Attaché for Southeast Asia.

During the afternoon session, the Embassy and Amcham hosted a second collaborative discussion in cooperation with the Vietnam Information Security Association and the Vietnam Computer Emergency Response Team (VNCERT) on the Role of Cyber Security in Building a Digital Economy in Vietnam. U.S. Embassy Economic Counselor Laura Stone and VNCERT Director General Vu Quoc Khanh delivered opening remarks. Vietnam’s frontline cyber officials and representatives from leading Vietnamese and U.S. IT companies and industry associations discussed the seriousness of the cyber threats to the development of Vietnam’s digital economy.

“For Vietnam to grow and capture its share of the knowledge economy, particularly IT services outsourcing, a robust IP regime combined with secure internet infrastructure is a must have today,” said the afternoon event moderator and panel participant Michel Mudd, Chair of Amcham’s Information Technology, Intellectual property and Telecommunications committee.

http://vietnam.usembassy.gov/pr110713.html