Vietnam Strengthens Online IP Protection With New E-Commerce Law: What Brand Owners Must Know
Vietnam has overhauled its online intellectual property enforcement regime through a new E-Commerce LaandDecreeNo.248/2026/NDCP, both effective from 1 July 2026. Together, they move Vietnam away from a reactive, complaint driven system toward a proactive model where e-commerce platforms must actively screen for counterfeit and infringing goods before they ever reach consumers. For trademark owners, patent holders, and businesses selling into Vietnam or the wider ASEAN region, this is one of the most significant shifts in Southeast Asian online IP
reinforcement in recent years
Quick Definition Decree No. 248/2026/ND-CP is Vietnam’s implementing regulation under the new E-Commerce Law that sets out platform obligations for screening, filtering, and removing counterfeit or IP-infringing product listings, along with a stay-down duty to stop removed listings from reappearing.
What Changed Under Vietnam’s New E-Commerce Law?
Vietnam’s E-Commerce Law and Decree No. 248/2026/ND-CP came into force on 1 July 2026,replacing the old notice-and-takedown approach with a proactive enforcement model. Previously, an online marketplace generally acted only after a rights holder filed a complaint about a specific listing. Under the new rules, platforms are required to screen listings before publication, detect counterfeit goods, IP-infringing products, and goods of unknown origin, and keep keyword filters updated in line with guidance issued by Vietnamese authorities. This is a structural shift in responsibility. Enforcement no longer depends solely on a brand owner discovering and reporting infringement after the fact. Platforms themselves now carry a legal duty to prevent infringing goods from appearing in the first place.
Why Did Vietnam Move From Notice-and-Takedown to Proactive Screening?
Notice-and-takedown systems place the entire burden of detection on rights holders, who must continuously monitor thousands of listings across multiple platforms, file complaints, and wait for removal, often after real sales and reputational damage have already occurred. Regulators in Vietnam, in line with a broader regional trend across ASEAN markets, concluded that this reactive model could not keep pace with the volume of counterfeit and unauthorised goods sold through online marketplaces. Proactive screening is designed to stop infringing listings from going live at all, rather than cleaning up after the fact.
How Will E-Commerce Platforms Screen Listings for Counterfeit Goods?
Under Decree No. 248/2026/ND-CP, platforms are expected to combine automated and procedural measures, including: Pre-publication review of new listings for signs of counterfeit goods, IP infringement, or unclear product origin
- Keyword filters updated in line with official guidance from Vietnamese authorities
- Seller verification and monitoring to flag repeat or high-risk sellers
- Image recognition tools to detect visual matches with known counterfeit or previously removed listings
This places new compliance costs and operational obligations on platforms, but it also gives rights holders a stronger evidentiary basis when working with platforms and enforcement authorities, since screening records and filter logs can support later action
What Is the Stay-Down Obligation and How Does It Work?
One of the most significant reforms is the introduction of a stay-down obligation. Once a counterfeit or infringing listing has been removed, the platform must take reasonable steps to prevent it from reappearing, whether through a new seller account, a modified product title, or altered images. In practice, this is expected to require automated technologies such as image recognition, keyword filtering, and ongoing seller monitoring. For brand owners, the stay-down duty is a meaningful upgrade. Under the old model, a removed listing could simply resurface under a new account within days, forcing rights holders into anendless cycle of complaints. The new rule shifts the burden of preventing recurrence onto the platform itself.
Which Types of Intellectual Property Are Covered?
The new framework extends well beyond copyright. It now covers trademarks, patents, and industrial designs, giving brand owners, product innovators, and design rights holders a unified set of protections across a single regulatory framework. This is particularly relevant for consumer goods, fashion, electronics, cosmetics, and FMCG brands, where counterfeit trademark use and design copying are the most common forms of online infringement.
How Can Rights Holders File Complaints Under the New Law?
Platforms are required to establish clear complaint mechanisms so that rights holders can request the review and removal of infringing listings more efficiently. This typically means a defined intake channel, expected response timelines, and a documented review process, replacing the informal or inconsistent complaint routes many platforms previously relied on. Businesses with an active brand protection programmes should update their monitoring and complaint workflows to align with these new channels as platforms roll them out
Do Foreign E-Commerce Platforms Need to Register in Vietnam?
Yes, in many cases. The reforms strengthen Vietnam’s oversight of cross-border e-commerce .Foreign platforms thatserve Vietnamese consumers may be required to register locally and comply with the same screening, stay-down, and complaint-handling obligations imposed on domestic platforms. This closes a gap that previously allowed some cross-border marketplaces to operate with lighter obligations than local platforms.
Old Model vs New Model: A Side-by-Side Comparison
| Area | Previous Framework | New Framework (from 1 July 2026) |
| Trigger for action | Rights holder complaint after listing goes live | Platform screening before listing goes live |
| Removed listings | No obligation to prevent reappearance | “Stay-down” duty to block reappearance |
| Scope of IP covered | Mainly copyright and trademark disputes | Trademarks, patents, industrial designs, and more |
| Foreign platforms | Limited direct obligations | May need local registration and compliance |
| Detection method | Manual, complaint driven | Automated keyword filters, image recognition, seller monitoring |
What Should Brand Owners Do to Prepare?
Businesses selling into Vietnam, or licensing brands, patents, or designs for the Vietnamese market, should treat this as a trigger to review their IP protection strategy rather than a purely administrative update. Recommended next steps include:
- Confirm that trademarks, patents, and industrial designs are registered and enforceable inVietnam before relying on platform-level enforcement
- Set up or refresh online monitoring for marketplaces serving Vietnamese consumers, including cross-border platforms
- Prepare a standard evidence package (registration certificates, proof of use, prior takedown history) to support faster complaint handling
- Establish a direct complaint contact or workflow with each major platform’s new grievance mechanism
- Track repeat offenders and previously removed listings to support stay-down enforcement requests
- Review distribution and licensing agreements to confirm who is responsible for platform-level
enforcement in Vietnam
Common Mistakes Brand Owners Should Avoid
- Assuming platform screening replaces the need for local trademark and patent registration in Vietnam
- Waiting for infringement to appear before registering IP rights, which weakens the legal basis for any takedown request
- Treating the stay-down obligation as automatic without submitting the identifying details platforms need to block reappearance
- Ignoring cross-border sellers on the assumption that only domestic Vietnamese platforms area effected
- Failing to update internal brand protection policies to reflect the broader scope now covering patents and industrial designs
Key Takeaways
- Vietnam’s E-Commerce Law and Decree No. 248/2026/ND-CP took effect on 1 July 2026
- Platforms must now screen listings before publication instead of relying only on rights holder complaints
- A new stay-down obligation requires platforms to prevent removed counterfeit listings from reappearing
- Protection now covers trademarks, patents, and industrial designs, not just copyright
- Foreign platforms serving Vietnamese consumers may need to register locally and meet the same obligations as domestic platforms
- Registered IP rights remain the foundation for effective enforcement under the new framework
Final Thoughts
Vietnam’s shift to proactive e-commerce IP enforcement gives brand owners stronger tools, but those tools are only as effective as the underlying IP registrations and monitoring strategy behind them. Businesses that register early, document their rights clearly, and engage promptly with platform complaint mechanisms will be best placed to benefit from the stay-down protections and expanded IP coverage introduced by Decree No. 248/2026/ND-CP.
