Commerce Ministry Encourages Copyright Registration

Source: Vientiane Times

All commodities produced in Laos will have copyright protection under the Property Law after it has been found that many products have been copied and sold because they were not registered.

To ensure they are protected under law, product owners need to submit documentation to the Department of Intellectual Property, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, to register their product so that the necessary information is recorded for the purposes of dispute resolution.

Registration protects their intellectual property rights and is an additional way of ensuring justice.

There have been many violations of copyright as evidenced by the widespread sale of certain goods.

But because items have not been registered with the Department of Intellectual Property, no legal action can be taken against the persons who copied the original product.

The department’s Director General, Dr Khanlasy Keobounphanh, told Vientiane Times about a workshop that was held in relation to intellectual property and the registration of industrial applications.

The meeting addressed the topics of trademarks, registration of copyright and rights related to copyright and intellectual property.

In addition to informing people about the importance of intellectual property, the department will conduct studies on industrial application registration, commercial brochures, dispute resolution, copyright protection, and other associated issues.

The workshop aimed to enhance participants’ knowledge of modern intellectual property management and ways in which to create a just society in this regard.

The ministry encourages industrial and commercial training departments across the country to apply for industrial registration.

In the future, the ministry will raise awareness of copyright and related rights and promote better understanding of the role of copyright in enhancing cultural and economic development and encouraging creativity.

Intellectual property applies, for example, to industrial designs, the layout of integrated circuits, trademarks, geographical indications, new plant varieties, copyright, and related rights and traditional knowledge.

So far, people in Vientiane have applied to register 55,000 commercial items including more than 550 industrial designs, and drawn up more than 700 copyrights and related rights notices, while more than 100 administrative disputes have been settled, according to the Department of Intellectual Property.