Improving institutional framework to promote innovation and national competitiveness

These amendments not only remove long-standing "bottlenecks" in the technology market but also aim to build a modern, transparent legal environment suited to the digital economy - a landscape where knowledge, data, and algorithms become the core elements of national competitiveness.

Establishing a new legal framework for the modern technology market

During the 10th session, the 15th National Assembly passed the Law amending and supplementing several articles of the Law on Technology Transfer with a very high approval rate: 421 out of 427 deputies, equivalent to 89.01%. The Law will take effect on 1 April, 2026, though provisions regarding procedures for approving technology transfer licenses take effect immediately upon passage to meet urgent practical demands.

Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung emphasized that the draft Law was meticulously refined and adjusted, amending 21 articles, adding one new article, and abolishing nine articles that were no longer appropriate. The entire content aims to institutionalize the Party's new guidelines and policies on developing a knowledge-based economy, building a science-technology market, and promoting innovation within enterprises.

These structural changes create an essential legal foundation to resolve long-standing inadequacies in technology transfer activities, which were previously often slow, lacked transparency, and failed to keep pace with the rapid development of global technology.

A prominent highlight of this Law is the expansion of the concept of "technology objects". No longer confined to machinery, equipment, and technical processes as in traditional models, the new Law recognizes knowledge, data, designs, models, algorithms, software, and artificial intelligence as full-fledged technology objects. This is a fundamental shift, accurately reflecting the reality that in the digital economy, the greatest added value lies in intangible assets.

Institutionalizing new types of technological assets creates critical conditions for Vietnam to participate more deeply in global value chains, attract high-quality investment, and support businesses in the process of innovating products and business models.

Simultaneously, the Law also clarifies forms of transferring technological documents, ranging from technical descriptions and standards-regulations to operational data and solution models. These regulations help transparentize relationships between transferors and transferees, prevent risks of intellectual property disputes, and ensure the quality of transferred technology.

Controlling risks without obstructing innovation

Technology appraisal is one of the issues of greatest concern to the National Assembly and the business community. In the context where many large projects have the potential to adversely impact the environment or carry risks of obsolete technology, the Law introduces a new approach: appraising only projects using restricted-transfer technologies or technologies with potential for harm. This aligns with risk management principles without hindering general investment activities.

Minister Nguyen Manh Hung emphasized that the Party and State's viewpoint is to strictly control obsolete technology to protect public health and the environment. Once risks occur, the costs for remediation are immense and sometimes irreversible. Therefore, controlling from early on and from a distance is mandatory.

Notably, the Law strongly reforms appraisal procedures, reducing them from twice to a single instance at the appropriate time. This method reduces administrative procedures and saves time and costs for businesses, while management agencies still fulfill their risk monitoring objectives.

Another important new feature is the decentralization of technology appraisal to local authorities. This is a step in line with the trend of decentralization and delegation of power, helping to expedite procedural progress and enhance local responsibility in attracting and managing technology investment. However, to ensure consistency, the Law clearly stipulates that there must be a national set of criteria, and appraisal decisions must be publicly announced and subject to supervision and post-inspection by state management agencies.

Post-inspection mechanisms have been strengthened, aiming to prevent risks such as inflating technology values, receiving obsolete technology, or causing environmental pollution. Crucially, post-inspection must not become a barrier but must play the role of a "safety net", creating trust and transparency for the market.

The Law also affirms the rights of organizations and individuals to commercialize, transfer, or contribute capital using technology. This regulation both promotes the value of intellectual property assets and helps businesses maximize technological assets in investment, production, and business activities.

Institutional refinement - creating new momentum for innovation

As Vietnam sets its sights on becoming a nation with high innovative capacity in the region, possessing a developed digital and high-tech industrial base, the Law amending and supplementing several articles of the Law on Technology Transfer creates a vital tool to turn these goals into reality. Enterprises will have a more favorable legal environment to invest in new technologies; scientists will have opportunities to commercialize research results; localities will have greater autonomy in receiving technology; and the State will have powerful tools to protect the environment, public health, and national interests.

Therefore, this Law is not merely a technical improvement in legislation but a strategic step forward, laying the foundation for a dynamic, modern, and integrated technology market, contributing to enhancing Vietnam's competitiveness in the era of the knowledge economy and digital transformation./.

Copyright belongs to the Vietnam Journal of Science and Technology (VJST-MOST).