The Government issued Decree No. 46/2024/ND-CP dated May 04, 2024 amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 99/2013/ND-CP dated August 29, 2013 regulating penalties for violations Administration in the field of industrial property has been amended and supplemented with a number of articles according to Decree No. 126/2021/ND-CP dated December 30, 2021.
Some new regulations in Decree No. 46/2024/ND-CP:
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Additional measures to prevent domain name seizure
Decree No. 46/2024/ND-CP adds "Article 3a. Applying measures to prevent and ensure the handling of administrative violations".
Specifically, Decree No. 46/2024/ND-CP supplements the preventive measure of temporary seizure of domain names implemented in accordance with the provisions of Clause 1, Article 125 of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations to handle administrative violations against Violations: Registering, seizing the right to use or using a domain name that is identical or confusingly similar to another person's protected trademark, geographical indication or trade name in order to seize the domain name, take advantage or damage the reputation of the respective trademark, trade name, or geographical indication.
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Supplement sanctions for cases of transfer of rights to use industrial property objects
The current IP Law regulates violations of industrial property, including the act of transferring the right to use industrial property objects without the form of a written contract, but sanctions are not specified in Decree No. 99/2013/ND-CP. Accordingly, the transfer of the right to use a trademark is not carried out in the form of a written contract in the case of using the licensed trademark on goods, packaging of goods, or giving incorrect instructions or not stating instructions about the goods produced under a contract using an industrial property object will be fined from 10,000,000 VND to 20,000,000 VND.
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Amend regulations on sealing and temporary seizure of evidence and means of violation during the inspection and examination process
Decree No. 46/2024/ND-CP also amends and supplements "Article 9. Violations of regulations on sealing and temporary seizure of evidence and means of violation during the inspection and examination process".
According to the new regulations, fines range from 2,000,000 VND - 5,000,000 VND for acts of not ensuring the status quo, removing or breaking the seal of evidence and means of violation that are being sealed or temporarily detained.
Fine from 5,000,000 VND to 10,000,000 VND for acts of changing but not consuming, dispersing, or destroying exhibits and means that are being considered during the inspection or examination process or are being sealed. , custody.
Fines from 15,000,000 VND to 30,000,000 VND for acts of consuming, dispersing, destroying exhibits and means that are being considered during the inspection or examination process or are being sealed or temporarily detained.
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Fine up to 30 million VND if using inventions or industrial designs without paying compensation according to regulations on temporary rights
Decree No. 46/2024/ND-CP adds Clause 13a after Article 10.13, regulating sanctions for infringement of rights to inventions, utility models, and layout designs. Accordingly, Decree No. 46/2024/ND-CP adds fines from 20,000,000 VND to 30,000,000 VND for acts of using inventions, utility models, layout designs without paying compensation according to the provisions on temporary rights specified in Article 131 of the Law on Intellectual Property.
At the same time, Decree No. 46/2024/ND-CP also adds Clause 14a after Article 11.14 on sanctions for infringement of rights to trademarks, geographical indications, trade names, and industrial designs. Specifically, Decree No. 46/2024/ND-CP adds a fine of from 20,000,000 VND to 30,000,000 VND for acts of using industrial designs without paying compensation according to regulations on temporary rights specified in Article 131 of the Law on Intellectual Property.
For detailed content of Decree No. 46/2024/ND-CP, please see: https://thuvienphapluat.vn/van-ban/So-huu-tri-tue/Nghi-dinh-46-2024-ND-CP- sua-doi-Nghi-dinh-99-2013-ND-CP-xu-phat-vi-pham-hanh-chinh-so-huu-cong-nghiep-608829.aspx
The Decree takes effect from July 1, 2024. In Decree No. 46/2024/ND-CP , penalties for violations in the field of industrial property have had certain changes compared to previous regulations.
New points in sanctioning administrative violations in the field of industrial property
For each administrative violation in the field of industrial property, violating organizations and individuals must be subject to one of the main forms of sanction: a warning or a fine.
* Additional penalties
Depending on the nature and severity of the violation, violating organizations and individuals may also be subject to one or more of the following additional sanctions:
- Confiscate evidence and means of administrative violations, including goods with counterfeit trademarks or geographical indications; raw materials, materials, and means used mainly to produce, trade, or goods with counterfeit trademarks or geographical indications;
- Deprivation of the right to use the industrial property representation service practice certificate; assessor card; Certificate of organization qualified to practice assessment from 01 month to 03 months from the effective date of the sanctioning decision;
- Suspension of part or all of production, business and service activities from 01 month to 03 months from the effective date of the sanctioning decision. (Current regulations in Decree No. 99/2013/ND-CP : Suspension of production and business activities of violating goods and services from 01 month to 03 months from the date the sanctioning decision takes effect ).
* Remedial measures for violations in the field of industrial property (Some newly amended contents according to Decree No. 46/2024/ND-CP ).
In addition to the main and additional sanctions, violating organizations and individuals may also be forced to apply one or more of the following remedial measures:
- Forced removal of infringing elements on goods and means of business; force return of domain name; force domain name revocation; Force change of business name, removal of infringing elements in business name; (Current regulations in Decree No. 99/2013/ND-CP : Forced removal of infringing elements on goods, means of business and destruction of infringing elements; forced change of domain name information or return of name domain; force change of business name, removal of infringing elements in business name).
- Forcible distribution or use for non-commercial purposes of goods with counterfeit trademarks or geographical indications;
- Forced removal from Vietnamese territory or forced re-export of imported or transited goods with counterfeit trademarks or geographical indications; Imported means, raw materials and materials are mainly used to produce and trade goods with counterfeit trademarks or geographical indications after infringing elements on the evidence and means of violation have been removed;
- Forced destruction of goods with counterfeit trademarks or geographical indications; Raw materials, materials and means used mainly to produce and trade goods with counterfeit trademarks or geographical indications; Evidence or means of violation if the violating elements attached to those evidence or means of violation cannot be removed; infringing goods that are harmful to human health, livestock, crops and the environment; stamps, labels, and articles bearing counterfeit trademarks or geographical indications; stamps, labels, packaging, and other items containing infringing elements;
- Forced addition of instructions on industrial property;
- Forced public correction of acts of incorrect indication of industrial property rights;
- Forced restoration to original state;
- Forced to return illegal profits obtained from administrative violations in cases where there are grounds to determine illegal profits; Force to return an amount equal to the value of exhibits and means of administrative violations that have been consumed, dispersed, or destroyed in contravention of the law in cases where there is a basis to determine the value of exhibits and means of violation. has been consumed, dispersed, destroyed; Compulsory payment of compensation in cases where there is a basis to determine the transfer price of the right to use an invention, utility solution, industrial design, or layout design that is infringed within the corresponding scope and term of use;
- Forced to return papers and documents that have been erased or altered to falsify the content to the competent agency or person that issued those papers and documents.
In addition, the forced distribution or forced use for non-commercial purposes of goods with counterfeit trademarks or geographical indications specified in Decree No. 46/2024/ND-CP must meet the conditions stipulated in Decree 65/2023/ND-CP .
In addition, it is also possible to apply measures to prevent and ensure the handling of administrative violations according to the regulations supplemented in Decree No. 46/2024/ND-CP . Decree No. 46/2024/ND-CP takes effect from July 1, 2024.
