Intellectual Property, Data & Technology

What this chapter covers

A foreign investor's most valuable assets in Vietnam are often intangible: the brand under which its products are sold, the patented process its factory uses, the software its customers rely on, and the data it holds about customers and staff. Vietnamese law protects each of them, but only on Vietnamese terms. Rights in trademarks, patents and designs arise by registration in Vietnam, not by use or registration abroad; technology licensed from a foreign parent must in many cases be registered before the contract takes effect; personal data collected in Vietnam may leave the country only after an impact assessment has been filed with the Ministry of Public Security; and an online platform that serves Vietnamese buyers from abroad may have to register and establish a local presence.

Almost all of the framework changed in 2025 and 2026. The amended Intellectual Property Law (Law No. 131/2025/QH15) and the amended Law on Technology Transfer (Law No. 115/2025/QH15) both took effect on 1 April 2026; the Personal Data Protection Law (Law No. 91/2025/QH15) on 1 January 2026; and the consolidated Cybersecurity Law (Law No. 116/2025/QH15) and the first E-commerce Law (Law No. 122/2025/QH15) on 1 July 2026. Practice under the new instruments is still forming, and the sections flag where it is.

Brands, inventions and designs

Vietnam is strictly first-to-file. A foreign brand that has been sold in Vietnam for years, but never registered there, can be registered by a distributor, a former partner or a squatter, and the true owner may then have to buy it back or fight an invalidation action. The first step for any investor, before a distributor is appointed or goods are shipped, is to file trademark applications with the Intellectual Property Office of Viet Nam (IP Viet Nam), either nationally through a licensed industrial property representative or by designating Vietnam under the Madrid Protocol. Since 1 April 2026 the statutory periods are shorter: publication within one month of formal acceptance, three months for third-party oppositions and five months for substantive examination. Registration lasts ten years and can be renewed indefinitely, but a mark not used for five consecutive years can be cancelled. The procedure, timelines, fees, well-known marks, trade names and .vn domain names are in Trademarks and brand protection.

Inventions are protected by patents for 20 years and lesser innovations by utility solution patents for ten years, both from the filing date; industrial designs are protected for five years, renewable twice. Applicants from abroad commonly enter through the Patent Cooperation Treaty, with a national phase deadline of 31 months from priority. The 2025 amendments cut the deadline for requesting substantive examination of an invention to 36 months and the examination period to 12 months, and extended design protection to partial and digital designs. Employee inventions belong to the employer that assigned the task, subject to statutory remuneration, and an invention made in Vietnam in a field affecting national defence and security is subject to security control before it is filed abroad. These rules, and the protection of trade secrets, are in Patents, utility solutions and industrial designs.

Copyright, software and enforcement

Copyright arises automatically on creation, without registration, and protects computer programs as literary works. Registration with the Copyright Office of Vietnam is voluntary but gives valuable evidence of ownership. The rules that matter most to an investor are those on ownership of works created by employees and contractors, the moral rights that cannot be assigned, and, since 1 April 2026, the limited exception permitting lawfully published and publicly accessible works and data to be used to train artificial intelligence systems where that does not unreasonably prejudice rights holders. The interaction with the Law on Artificial Intelligence (Law No. 134/2025/QH15) is also covered in Copyright, software and AI.

Rights are only as good as their enforcement. Vietnam offers four routes: administrative action through the market surveillance forces, the police, customs and, from 15 July 2026, IP Viet Nam itself; civil proceedings in the People's Courts with provisional measures and damages; criminal prosecution under Articles 225 and 226 of the Penal Code once thresholds are met; and customs recordal to stop infringing goods at the border. The 2025 amendments added platform duties and takedown orders against online infringement. How to choose among them, the evidence needed and what each costs are in IP enforcement and anti-counterfeiting.

Bringing technology into Vietnam

When a foreign group licenses know-how, processes, software or patented technology to its Vietnamese subsidiary or a Vietnamese partner, the Law on Technology Transfer applies alongside the IP Law. A contract transferring technology from abroad into Vietnam must be registered with the science and technology authority within 90 days of signing, and it takes effect only when the registration certificate is issued; technology on the restricted list needs a licence from the provincial People's Committee instead, and prohibited technology cannot be transferred at all. The parties are free to agree the price, and no royalty cap applies, but prices between related parties must comply with the tax and pricing rules. Technology may also be contributed as capital. The registration procedure, the mandatory contents of the contract, the technology appraisal of investment projects and the recordal of IP licences are in Technology transfer and licensing. The foreign contractor tax on royalties and what the bank needs before paying them are in Paying foreign suppliers and group companies and Foreign contractor tax and tax treaties.

Personal data, cybersecurity and data flows

The Personal Data Protection Law applies to every organisation that processes personal data in Vietnam and to foreign organisations that process the personal data of Vietnamese citizens from abroad. It requires a lawful basis for processing, usually consent, sets response times for data subject requests, requires processing and transfer impact assessments to be filed with the Ministry of Public Security's Department of Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention (A05), and requires breaches to be notified within 72 hours. Small enterprises and start-ups have a five-year grace period for some duties. Fines under Decree No. 330/2026/ND-CP reach 5% of the previous year's revenue for unlawful cross-border transfers. See Personal data protection.

Data localisation is a separate cybersecurity rule. Domestic providers of online services must store prescribed user data in Vietnam; foreign providers of listed services must do so, and open a branch or representative office, only once the Ministry of Public Security issues a decision after an unremedied violation. The Data Law adds controls on the transfer abroad of core and important data. The three regimes, and a decision guide for moving group IT and HR data offshore, are in Cybersecurity, data localisation and cross-border transfers.

Selling online, and how to use this chapter

Online sales are governed by the E-commerce Law and Decree No. 248/2026/ND-CP, both in force since 1 July 2026, which classify platforms, regulate livestream selling and affiliate marketing, require seller identification and set the conditions on which foreign platforms may serve Vietnamese buyers. The Law on Protection of Consumer Rights adds rules on remote sales, standard-form contracts and large digital platforms, and the amended Advertising Law governs online advertising and influencers. See E-commerce, digital platforms and consumer protection, and for electronic contracts and signatures Commercial contracts in Vietnam.

An investor should file its trademarks before anything else, then read the technology transfer section before signing any licence with its parent, and the data sections before switching on group HR, CRM or cloud systems for the Vietnamese company. Incentives for high-technology, digital technology and research projects are in Investment incentives and are not repeated here; sector licences for telecoms and digital services are covered in the regulated-sector FAQs. The position is stated at 10 October 2026, and several implementing instruments under the 2025 laws are still expected.