The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has signed a Record of Discussion (R/D) with Vietnam’s Ministry of Science and Technology to help the Southeast Asian nation to strengthen the enforcement of Intellectual Property (IP) rights. This is the third project in the field of Intellectual Property that the Government of Japan has granted to Vietnam, the Cong An Nhan Dan newspaper reported. Under the R/D signed on June 19 in Hanoi, the JICA will help raise the capacity of the National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP) and other IP enforcement authorities in Vietnam. The project will also help strengthen the coordination between NOIP and the other enforcement authorities; and enhance public awareness on Intellectual Property. This is an important project in the context when the Intellectual Property Rights Law in Vietnam has not been implemented properly due to the weak capacity and coordination among related agencies. IP rights protection will become more crucial as Vietnam is shifting from its current model of investment-led growth to knowledge-based economy, particularly after the WTO entrance. “We believe that this project will contribute addressing the issues of Intellectual Property Rights for creating better environment for business and investment in Vietnam” said Mr. Motonori Tsuno, Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office. Earlier, JICA also supported the NOIP in two projects namely “Modernization of Industrial Property Administration” in 2000-2004 and “Utilization of Intellectual Property Information” until March 2009. Vietnam passed the Intellectual Property Law in 2005, but piracy remains rampant. The NOIP said the number of industrial property violation cases in 2010 had increased by 40.5% on year to 215. (Cong An Nhan Dan – People’s Police Jun 20 p2, Quan Doi Nhan Dan –People’s Army Jun 20)