HANOI, Oct. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Vietnam plans to put harsher punishment and higher fines on violators of intellectual property rights, in a move to deal with the rampant piracy in the country, according to Vietnam Investment Review on Monday.

    Under a draft decree, organizations or individuals that are involved in intellectual property rights violations may be subjectto temporary or permanent revocation of their business license, while producers and sellers of fake products could face fines of up to 100 million Vietnamese dong (VND) (nearly 6,400 US dollars).

    Stiffer fines are expected to reduce the rampant sales of fake products, especially electronic devices and sport brands like Nikeand Adidas, Tran Viet Hung, deputy head of Vietnam's National Office of Intellectual Property, said, noting that penalties stipulated in a decree issued in 1999 are relatively mild.

    Under the expected new decree, organizations or individuals giving false information regarding rights ownership of any item will be fined 1-3 million VND (64-191 dollars) instead of the current 0.5-2 million VND (32-128 dollars).

    Penalties will also be based on the value of the property in question. A fine of 15-30 million VND (955-1,910 dollars) is proposed for producers of counterfeit goods worth 20-50 million VND (1,274-3,185 dollars).

    Vietnam has made great efforts to combat piracy and comply withinternational rules on intellectual property rights. At the 8th round of negotiations for its entry into the World Trade Organization in Switzerland in June 2004, the country basically pledged to abide by the organization's agreements, including the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.

    Recently, Vietnam's Ministry of Culture and Information has released guidelines for the implementation of the Berne conventionfor the protection of literary and artistic works, of which the country is to become full member on Oct. 26. Accordingly, as of Oct. 1, professional organizers of art performances, publishers ofmusic tapes or discs and professional performance troupes are supposed to ask for permission of foreign authors, owners or legalrepresentatives before using their works. Enditem