The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Trophy for Innovative Enterprises will facilitate the access of the Vinacafe Bien Hoa Joint Stock Co. to the world market, Vinacafe Bien Hoa Deputy General Director Pham Quang Vu has stated.

Vinacafe Bien Hoa is one of the world’s 100 enterprises recently presented by the UN agency with the honourable award. This award is granted to companies that have successfully applied intellectual property systems in their business activities.

The 2005 WIPO trophy winners were selected from 140,000 candidates across the world based on a system of recognised standards, including the number of successful business activities which are due to the flexible and reasonable use of intellectual property rights, the application of intellectual property rights in marketing activities, the use of information on intellectual property rights to support research and development activities as well as business and technological supervision services, and measures to stimulate innovative and inventive activities among their staff.

“If Vietnam joins the World Trade Organisation, the world will pay special attention to the enforcement of intellectual property rights in the country. This award will facilitate trade activities not only for our company but also for the country’s coffee sector in the international economic integration process,” Vu said.

According to WIPO, the WIPO awards seek to stimulate inventive and innovative activities around the world, particularly in developing countries. They aim to attract and enhance public recognition of inventors and their work. Offering these awards also improves the image of inventors through recognition of their merits as creators who contribute to national wealth creation and development.

Since the launch of this programme in 1979, over 900 WIPO medals have been awarded to inventors from more than 100 countries, including women and young inventors.

Jordan Ryan, former UN Resident Co-ordinator and former UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam, once said that WIPO and the entire UN system “hope that the awarding of the WIPO medals will further stimulate Vietnam’s fast-growing research and development climate, and boost the effort of the numerous Vietnamese scientists whose work is crucial to the development and prosperity of their country.”

With further investment, some of Vietnam’s scientific research work could be exported to other developing countries, Ryan added.

Other than the WIPO awards, the VIFOTEC Technology Invention Awards are becoming an important measure of/certificate for the scientific level of manufacturers/researchers in Vietnam. These awards are annually presented by the National Fund for Supporting Technological Creativity (VIFOTEC) for scientific research works applied in Vietnam for the first time and with positive socio-economic effects.

Vietnamese leaders have paid due attention to the VIFOTEC Technology Invention and WIPO awards. President Tran Duc Luong attended the awarding ceremony last year, and Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Van An was present at this year’s event.

(VNA)