Vietnam's Supreme People's Court Approves Three IP Precedents
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The Council of Judges of Vietnam's Supreme People's Court approved three new precedents on intellectual property on 24 September 2026, according to reports by Rouse and Hogan Lovells. Precedents in Vietnam are binding guidance for lower courts once published, so these three will shape how IP disputes are argued there. The official texts had not yet been published when the law firm reports appeared.
Damages for software infringement
The first precedent comes from Appeal Judgment 07/2023/KDTM-PT. The court calculated damages for unlicensed software use by reference to the most recent comparable licence fee, giving an award of about VND 1.1 billion. This offers right holders a practical method when actual losses are hard to prove.
Copyright certificates can be rebutted
The second precedent, from Appeal Judgment 66/2023/KDTM-PT, involved song lyrics copied from a poem. The court treated a copyright registration certificate as a presumption of ownership that can be rebutted with evidence of earlier authorship. It also allowed recovery of reasonable legal fees, of about VND 100 million, under Article 49.3 of Vietnam's IP Law.
Criminal trademark infringement
The third precedent, from First Instance Judgment 04/2026/HS-ST, concerned counterfeit goods bearing luxury brand marks worth about VND 230 million and the application of Article 226 of the Penal Code. Hogan Lovells notes that Article 226 is itself under review for amendment.
Why it matters
Vietnam has been building a more specialised IP court system, and precedents give right holders and defendants more predictability on evidence and damages. Brand owners in ASEAN should note the criminal route under Article 226 and the clarity on licence fee based damages.
Sources
- Rouse, "Vietnam: Supreme People's Court approves three intellectual property precedents", 7 October 2026
- Hogan Lovells, "Evidence, damages and criminal enforcement: practical implications of Vietnam's new IP precedents", 12 October 2026
- Thư Viện Pháp Luật, "Hội đồng Thẩm phán TANDTC thông qua 03 án lệ về sở hữu trí tuệ"
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