Law on Technology Transfer No. 07/2017/QH14: AMENDMENT, SUPPLEMENT TO SOME ARTICLES OF THE 2006 LAW ON TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

On June 19, 2017, the 14th National Assembly adopted the Law on Technology Transfer No. 07/2017/QH14 (the New TT Law) which amends, supplements some articles of the Law on Technology Transfer No. 80/2006/QH11 providing regulations on technology transfer activities (the Old TT Law). The New TT Law comes into effect as of July 01, 2018, replacing the Old Law. Below are some remarkable features of the New TT Law.

1. Assistance for the development of Science and Technology market

The State promulgates policies and measures to support or make investment in the science and technology sector with funding from state budget and mobilize other lawful sources of funds to develop the science and technology market by means of developing sources of technological supply and demand, and intermediary organizations for the science and technology market.

According to Article 43 of the New TT Law,  in order to help undertaking the role of technology transfer brokerage, consultancy, promotion, technology evaluation, appraisal and verification, connection and assistance for suppliers, demanders and other parties involved in technology-related transactions, intermediary organizations operating in the science and technology market shall be supported by the State via the following measures:

a) Building technical infrastructure and assisting operations of the National Technology Transactions Exchange, National Technological Start-up Supporting Center in the first 05 years of operation;

b) Supporting the training of human resources of intermediary organizations;

c) Assisting, enhancing the capability of exploiting information on technology, intellectual property, findings of domestic and foreign scientific research and domestic and foreign technological development for organizations, individuals providing services of technology transfer consultancy, brokerage and promotion, technology evaluation, appraisal and verification.

In addition, the State shall also encourage the organizations and individuals to conduct technology transfer brokerage, consultancy, and promotion in research institutions and training institutions; to establish a network for connecting domestic and foreign technology transfer, consultancy activities.

2. Commercialization of findings of scientific research and technological development

With respect to promoting the commercialization of findings of scientific research and technological development, Article 36 provides regulations for clarifying some outstanding difficult contents regarding:

a) Transfer of ownership of and right to use findings of scientific research and technological development funded by the state budget;

b) Responsibility of State management agencies in collecting, evaluating, selecting, recognizing, publishing the findings of scientific research and technological development;

c) The State’s assistance for connecting the local organizations of technology application, transfer with science and technology organizations in finalizing the findings of scientific research and technological development in compliance with the local specific characteristics;

d) The State’s assistance in establishment of the industrial property rights, recognition, registration for circulating new products, new technologies for organizations, individuals performing the commercialization of findings of scientific research, technological development, technology transfer

d’) The distribution of profits obtained from commercialization of findings of scientific research and technological development created by funds from the State budget must guarantee the interests of the owners, authors, presiding organization, intermediaries, organizations, individuals involved in commercialization of findings of scientific research and technological development in accordance with the regulations of relevant laws.

3. Assistance and encouragement for enterprises’ technology application and innovation

New Law on Technology Transfer is amended and supplemented with the enterprise-assisting orientation, specifically in Article 35:

a) The State shall offer assistance to the enterprises with projects within the investment-incentive areas or sectors which perform the technology transfer with the science and technology organizations.

b) Enterprises may use their science and technology development funds for investment, counterpart funding, receipt of counterpart funds for making investment in technology innovation, technology incubation, science and technology business incubation, creative start-up, commercialization of their findings of scientific research and technological development and covering other expenses according to the regulations in laws on science and technology.

c) Ownership, right to use, other rights arising from findings of scientific research and technological development, intellectual property objects whose value can be evaluated are referred to as property rights.

National Foundation for Science and Technology Development, National Technology Innovation Fund, and credit institutions may receive the property rights as stipulated in this Clause as collaterals for loans for investment in projects of science and technology, creative start-up, business and manufacture development from findings of scientific research and technological development.

d) The State shall encourage forms of cooperation between the enterprises and agencies, organizations, individuals to deploy projects of technology innovation investment, creative start-up, infrastructures development in service of science and technology development, and general research activities.

d’) Enterprises making investment in material – technical facilities for reverse engineering, and organizations, individuals conducting the reverse engineering may enjoy the following incentives: (i) Funding assistance, loan guarantee, preferential loan interest rate from National Technology Innovation Fund and credit institutions; (ii) Other supports and incentives according to the provision of this Law and other provisions of the relevant laws.

e) Socio-political organizations, social organizations, socio-professional organizations shall, within their functions and duties, facilitate organizations, individuals and enterprises in technology transfer.

Moreover, the State also offer tax incentives to those entities as stipulated in Article 39 of the New TT Law to motivate the technology transfer, application and innovation.

4. State management with respect to technology transfer

Article 3 provides the State policies on technology transfer, specifically including:

a) Giving priority to the transfer of high technologies, advanced technologies, new technologies, clean technologies, technologies for developing national key products, technologies for national defense and security from foreign countries to Vietnam and domestic technology transfer; allocating investment resources for technology transfer in agriculture and rural development; placing emphasis on technology transfer in those areas under difficult and extremely difficult socio-economic conditions;

b) Assisting technological ideas, creative start-up, technology incubation, science and technology business incubation; assisting the technology application, technology innovation, connection of the organizations of scientific research and technological development with training centers, manufacturing facilities; paying attention to commercialization of domestic findings of scientific research and technological development; developing intermediaries of the science and technology market;

c) Promoting the transfer of advanced technologies, high technologies from foreign countries to Vietnam; encouraging the technology transfer from Vietnam to foreign countries; motivating domestic technology transfer; paying attention to spreading advanced technologies, high technologies from foreign-invested enterprises to domestic enterprises; motivating the creative innovation movement of organizations and individuals;

d) Preventing, eliminating out-of-date technologies or technologies causing adverse impacts on the society – economy, national defense, security, environment, and human health.

Article 8 of the New TT Law specifies that for those investment projects funded by the State capital, the technology that is used for making capital contribution to the projects must be appraised according to the regulations in Laws.

Regime of voluntary registration of technology transfer agreement is amended to regime of compulsory registration for organizations and individuals who performs transfer of technology from a foreign country to Vietnam, from Vietnam to a foreign country and domestic technology transfer funded by the state budget, except for those cases which is granted Certificate of registration of science and technology findings in compliance with Clause 1 Article 31 of the New TT Law.

To enhance the efficiency of State management in technology transfer, commercialization, application and innovation, Articles 53-56 of the New TT Law stipulating the responsibility of each agency, level, ministry, sector and locality to ensure that every stage of the technology transfer process is undertaken by the person in charge.

5. Transitional provision

In case technology transfer agreements have been concluded by parties before the effective date of this Law and require an extension after the date of entry into force of this Law, procedures for registration of extension shall be conducted in accordance with this Law. For applications for registration of technology transfer agreements which have been received before the effective date of this Law but not yet resolved, the said applications will be processed in accordance with the regulations of the Old TT Law.