Vietnam-RoK agreement to deal with trade fraud

The Market Surveillance Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Korea (KIPO) on April 8 inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in intellectual property observation.
The Market Surveillance Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Korea (KIPO) on April 8 inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in intellectual property observation.

The deal will also allow the two sides to share experience in preventing and combating trade fraud and fake commodities.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, counterfeit goods remain a serious problem in Vietnam as well as many countries in the world, causing billions of dollars in losses for the economies.

In 2013, the total value of smuggled commodities seized by authorities in Vietnam exceeded 1 trillion VND (47.4 million USD).

Statistics from the Market Surveillance Agency showed that imitated RoK products are predominantly cosmetics, food and garments.

In the RoK, the KIPO established special judicial forces in September 2010 to combat fake commodities, conducting criminal proceedings against more than 900 smugglers.

The MoU is expected to help Vietnam build a healthy and equal business environment, moving in a positive direction for partnership between enterprises of both sides.-VNA

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