Protecting intellectual property rights (IPR) is the first thing that every individual, organization, and business needs to pay attention to right from the beginning of developing ideas and preparing to bring ideas to market. Below are the mistakes that individuals, organizations, and businesses need to avoid when implementing the Law on Intellectual Property .

Disclosing new ideas, especially inventions, before filing for intellectual property protection is a mistake for individuals, organizations, and businesses.

Making your ideas public too soon

Disclosing new ideas, especially inventions, before filing for intellectual property protection is a mistake of individuals, organizations, and businesses. This can cause individuals and businesses to lose their competitive advantage over their competitors. At the same time, it can prevent individuals and businesses from benefiting from their intellectual property in the future.

Misunderstandings about intellectual property rights in different countries

When registering intellectual property for products, many individuals and businesses assume that all countries have the same registration procedures. This is a serious misunderstanding that can easily lead to wasting time and money. In fact, each country will have different regulations and registration procedures. The form of registration in one country cannot be applied to another country.

Do not do research before registering

Before registering for intellectual property protection of a product, individuals and businesses need to look up information on the government website. Avoid duplicate products when submitting applications. If duplicate products are found, the risk of litigation and compensation is certain.

No international protection registration

Currently, many individuals and businesses misunderstand the scope of intellectual property protection for products in Vietnam. This leads to not registering for international or regional protection for products they create and export globally.

Do not use intellectual property (IP) maps

The market is not an accurate indicator of existing or protected third-party technologies. Patent mapping analysis can provide organizations (universities, research institutes, etc.) and businesses with valuable information about the technology they are interested in before investing a significant amount of time and money in a research project. A technology landscape analysis can reveal that another organization or early-stage startup may be able to patent the technology the business is pursuing. Thus, a landscape analysis will not only help organizations and businesses prevent wasted resources in R&D, but also provide valuable insights into the state of the technology to identify needed improvements or innovation opportunities around third-party technologies.

Failure to establish clear intellectual property rights provisions in employment agreements or with third-party vendors

Depending on the laws of each country, the results of work performed by employees or independent contractors may not belong to the organization or business. Therefore, it is advisable to include an IP ownership clause in relevant agreements to determine IP ownership, even between co-founders, and to be cautious about outsourcing important work.

No monitoring of competitors’ IPs

Monitoring the IP profile (especially patent landscape analysis, trademark searches, designs) of competitors will provide a lot of important information.

Monitoring the IP profiles (especially patent landscape analysis, trademark searches, and design searches) of competitors can provide valuable information. This information can be useful as an early warning tool for new technologies or products that competitors are about to introduce to the market; and can help businesses respond promptly in research and development (R&D) or product marketing.

No existing IP

Most startups and small and medium-sized businesses often fail to recognize the valuable assets they have. Not recognizing valuable IP prevents a business from developing a strategy to protect it. A startup should regularly ask, “What are we doing better than others?” The answer will likely point to an intangible asset worth protecting.

Missing IP documentation

Keeping records of ideas and research is always a good practice. Not only can these documents be useful in the event of an IP challenge, but they can also help businesses improve and innovate on existing ideas.

No budget to protect intellectual property rights

Securing IP can be expensive even when spread over several years. A startup often lacks sufficient funding and may not be able to allocate sufficient resources to IP filings, maintenance costs, and fees paid to IP professionals who will assist the company in filing. Entrepreneurs will often try to manage costs by delaying filing IP applications, attempting to draft registration documents themselves, or choosing cheaper but less qualified service providers. Startups need to budget for the costs of securing IP rights. Startups should factor the costs of IP protection (including service fees to service providers) into their fundraising process.