In the first six months of 2026, the Intellectual Property Office received 89,816 industrial property applications but processed as many as 115,819, while also granting 39,981 protection titles. For the first time in a long time, the narrative surrounding intellectual property can shift its focus from clearing backlogs to a more significant issue: how intellectual property assets will be utilised after rights are established.
The gap between the number of applications received and those processed reflects efforts to resolve a long-standing bottleneck in the industrial property rights establishment system. However, this result has also given rise to new demands for intellectual property activities, as the granting of a protection title does not automatically mean the asset's value has been realised in practice.
Streamlining procedures and processing methods
Pressure on the intellectual property system remains high, as the number of applications received in the first six months rose by 20.7% year on year. Increases were observed across various categories, ranging from inventions, utility solutions, and trademarks to post-grant requests, appeals, and proceedings to terminate or invalidate protection titles.
Against this backdrop, processing a volume of applications that exceeds the intake not only helps clear the backlog but also creates conditions to minimise the accumulation of new overdue cases.
However, removing bottlenecks cannot rely solely on increasing the number of applications processed. Operational procedures, processing times, compliance costs, and service methods must also change.
The number of administrative procedures in the intellectual property sector has been reduced from 57 to 31. The total time required to complete these procedures has dropped from 6,096 days to 2,719 days — a reduction of approximately 55% — while compliance costs for citizens and businesses have fallen from 525.6 billion VND to 247.7 billion VND.
Approximately 80% of applications are now received and processed online. The expansion of electronic application processing, the refinement of specialised databases, and the application of new technologies — including artificial intelligence — are transforming the operational model of the intellectual property system.
Artificial intelligence is being targeted for use in searching, examination, consulting, and the provision of industrial property information. These stages directly impact the quality and speed of application processing.
Consequently, procedural reform and digital transformation involve more than simply moving paper-based files to a digital environment; the goal is to build a system capable of handling an ever-increasing workload without the recurrence of backlogs.
Value extends beyond the protection title
Once the bottlenecks regarding rights establishment are cleared, the focus of intellectual property activities must shift from mere protection to value exploitation.
This is a necessary transition. While establishing rights serves to recognise and protect creative achievements, it is through management and commercialisation that intellectual assets truly contribute to research, production, business operations, and innovation.
This direction is reflected in three main pillars: promoting the use and commercialisation of intellectual property assets; strengthening the protection of rights, particularly in the digital environment; and accelerating digital transformation across the entire intellectual property system.
The institutional foundation for this shift is also continuing to be improved. In 2026, detailed regulations for implementing amendments and supplements to a number of articles of the Law on Intellectual Property are being built, while operational forms and procedures for processing applications within the management system are being reviewed and adjusted.
On June 17, 2026, the Politburo issued Conclusion No. 51-KL/TW on strengthening intellectual property work to serve socio-economic development in the new situation. The conclusion provides a foundation for further improving policies and enhancing the effectiveness of the protection, enforcement, and exploitation of intellectual property assets.
If clearing backlogged applications is a step towards removing a bottleneck in the system, commercialisation is the measure of its ability to bring intellectual property into practical use. These two tasks are inseparable: rights must be established quickly and transparently, while protected assets must also be effectively managed and exploited.
Intellectual property, therefore, is not simply a matter of applications or protection titles. Only when intellectual property assets are brought into production, business, and innovation can they truly become a resource for development, helping to strengthen national competitiveness.
