Vietnam’s Intellectual Property Framework Enters a New Era: Advanced International Standards, AI Governance, and Specialised IP Adjudication

Executive Summary

On 17 June 2026, the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam issued Conclusion No. 51-KL/TW (“Conclusion”) on strengthening intellectual property (“IP“) work in support of socio-economic development in the new era. Against this backdrop, Vietnam has enacted a sweeping package of legislative and regulatory reforms that fundamentally reshape its IP framework. To read more about the Conclusion and its key features, please see our June 2026 Legal Update titled “Vietnam Signals a New Wave of Intellectual Property Reform: AI, Digital Assets and Technology Commercialisation in Focus“. 

Between 2025 and 2026, the National Assembly and the Government enacted Law No. 131/2025/QH15 amending the Law on Intellectual Property (“Amended IP Law“), Law No. 134/2025/QH15 on Artificial Intelligence (“AI Law“), and Resolution No. 81/2025/UBTVQH15 of the National Assembly Standing Committee (“Resolution 81“), establishing specialised regional IP courts. A series of implementing decrees, decisions and circulars were also enacted and issued.

Taken together, these reforms position Vietnam not merely as a rule-taker under international IP obligations, but as an active participant in adopting advanced international standards, particularly in relation to artificial intelligence (“AI“)-assisted innovation, AI training data governance, IP commercialisation, digital enforcement and specialised IP adjudication.

This Update provides a high-level overview of the key legal and practical developments shaping Vietnam’s evolving IP landscape.

Background 

Vietnam’s IP obligations have traditionally been assessed against its mandatory treaty commitments under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and the European Union (“EU“)-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). These set the baseline for the country’s IP obligations.

The current reform cycle goes further. Rather than merely implementing international treaty obligations, Vietnam incorporates internationally recognised best practices in areas such as AI governance, digital enforcement, IP commercialisation and specialised IP adjudication, thereby aligning Vietnam’s IP framework with advanced international standards. At the same time, it responds to the rapid development of generative AI, large-scale data processing and digital platforms, and seeks to position IP not only as a protective right but also as a strategic economic asset capable of supporting innovation, technology transfer and capital formation.

The legislative and regulatory measures outlined below have either entered into force or are scheduled to enter into force throughout 2026. Further implementing guidance is expected to be issued over time.

Key Developments

Protectability of IP Rights Involving Artificial Intelligence

For industrial property, Article 10a of Decree No. 100/2026/ND-CP amending Decree No. 65/2023/ND-CP on industrial property (“Decree 100“) confirms that inventions, industrial designs and trademarks developed with AI assistance remain eligible for protection, provided that they satisfy the applicable statutory requirements.

For copyright, Decree No. 134/2026/ND-CP amending Decree No. 17/2023/ND-CP on copyright and related rights (“Decree 134“) introduces Article 5a, which sets out three conditions under which copyright subsists in works created with the assistance of AI:

1. A significant and decisive human creative contribution, with the human author retaining control over the input data, prompts, and the selection, arrangement or editing of the final output;
2. The human author bears ultimate legal responsibility for the content and lawfulness of the work; and
3. The work does not infringe any IP rights subsisting in the input data.

Decree 134 further clarifies that where a work is generated entirely by an AI system without qualifying human creative contribution, no copyright shall subsist.

AI Training Data: Statutory Permission and Author Opt-Out 

The Amended IP Law permits the lawful use of published data for scientific research and AI training purposes, provided that such use does not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate rights and interests of the authors and IP right holders. Decree 134 further sets out the conditions governing text and data mining for AI training purposes:

1. the training data must have been lawfully published and obtained through lawful means and sources; and
2. the processing must not circumvent technological protection measures deployed by right holders to protect their work.

Notably, Decree 134 introduces a Right of Reservation, entitling right holders to opt out of permitting their works to be used for AI training purposes. This mechanism broadly mirrors the text and data mining reservation mechanism under Article 4 of the EU Copyright in the Digital Single Market (DSM) Directive and is consistent with the copyright compliance obligations imposed on providers of general-purpose AI models under the EU AI Act. It is therefore directly relevant to content owners, publishers, media organisations and creators seeking to retain control over how their works are used in machine learning processes.

AI Governance: Risk Classification, Mandatory Labelling and Public AI Datasets 

From 1 May 2026, Decree No. 142/2026/ND-CP providing detailed guidance on certain provisions of, and implementation measures for, the AI Law (“Decree 142“) requires AI-generated audio, image and video content that simulate a real person or depict a real event to be technically watermarked and clearly labelled as AI-generated, thereby providing an additional safeguard for the moral rights of authors and performers against impersonation.

Building on the risk-based framework established under the AI Law, Decree 142 further clarifies the applicable risk classification criteria and the corresponding legal obligations. Providers of high-risk AI systems must conduct a conformity assessment before placing such systems on the market and must report serious incidents within 72 hours.

To support domestic AI development and reduce the risk of third-party data rights infringements, Decision No. 804/QD-TTg approves a catalogue of priority datasets for AI development, focusing on legal, administrative, healthcare and transport data. These publicly approved datasets are intended to provide a safe and lawful source of training data for AI models developed in Vietnam. 

IP Rights as Financial and Commercial Assets 

The Amended IP Law formally recognises IP rights as a category of assets that may be used for internal management, capital contributions, secured financing and transactions under investment and credit laws. To operationalise this framework, Decree 100 requires IP asset owners to maintain an internal management register for IP assets that do not yet qualify for recognition in the company’s accounting records.

This creates an impetus for businesses to formally identify, inventory and manage intangible assets that may previously have gone unrecorded, while facilitating the development of IP-backed financing and IP valuation and audit services in Vietnam.

Hanoi Spin-Off Mechanism for Commercialising Public Research 

A long-standing constraint on the commercialisation of research results held by public universities and research institutes has been the application of public asset management rules to IP and know-how generated using state funding. The most advanced application of the IP commercialisation framework is found in the Capital Law and its implementing Decree No. 271/2025/ND-CP on the establishment of spin-off enterprises for the commercialisation of research results in Hanoi.

Under this mechanism, public universities and public research institutes in Hanoi may use IP rights and scientific research results as capital to establish or participate in spin-off enterprises for the commercialisation of those results. Personnel of these institutions are permitted to participate as equity holders, managers and directors of such commercialisation enterprises.

Digital Enforcement and Platform Obligations 

The Amended IP Law establishes a framework of obligations for online platform operators in relation to IP protection. Decree 100 further introduces an “automation mechanism” for IP enforcement, enabling competent authorities to deploy automated monitoring technologies to detect infringing content, suspend user accounts, and remove infringing content from online platforms.

Concluding Words

The 2025-2026 reforms collectively represent a structural shift in Vietnam’s approach to IP, moving beyond a framework centred on baseline treaty compliance towards one that integrates AI governance, data governance, IP commercialisation and specialised IP adjudication.

For foreign investors and multinational enterprises, the new framework provides greater legal certainty regarding the protectability of AI-assisted innovation and the lawful use of data for AI training, while also introducing new compliance obligations relating to AI risk classification, labelling and data provenance.

The establishment of specialised regional IP courts and the increased cap on moral damages are likely to be of particular interest to rights holders considering enforcement action in Vietnam, while the Hanoi spin-off mechanism creates new opportunities for the commercialisation of publicly-funded research.

Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers will continue to monitor legislative and regulatory developments arising from the issuance of the Conclusion and provide further updates as implementing measures become available.

Further Information

Please feel free to reach out to our contact partners should you have queries on the above development.

For regional IP matters, please see Rajah & Tann Asia’s Intellectual Property Practice for more information.

This Update was authored by Dr. Chau Huy Quang, Mr. Cao Dang Duy, and Dr. Le Hong Phuc, Of Counsel at Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers and Lecturer at Phenikaa University.