Vietnam’s Law on Intellectual Property (the IP Law) has undergone continuous amendment in recent years, with the latest amendment issued at the end of 2025. Among the amended and supplemented provisions, the regulation that has perhaps attracted the most attention is a provision relating to the use of protected IP objects by AI systems.
Specifically, Article 7 of the 2025 IP Law introduces a new Clause 5, which reads in full as follows: “5. Organizations and individuals are permitted to use texts and data relating to intellectual property objects that have been lawfully published, and which the public is allowed to access, for the purposes of scientific research, experimentation, and training of artificial intelligence systems, provided that such use will not unreasonably affect the legitimate rights and interests of the authors and intellectual property rights holders in accordance with this Law.
“With respect to texts and data that are objects protected by copyright and related rights, the use of the texts and data as set forth herein must also be in accordance with the regulations of the Government.”
Analysing this newly added provision in the context of how it was conceived, as well as the challenges that still lie ahead, can provide some interesting insights.
From aspirations to flight in science and technology
From the end of 2024 and throughout 2025 – the 50th anniversary of the country’s reunification – Vietnam witnessed numerous sweeping changes in many areas, including legislative development. It could be said that no sessions of the National Assembly have adopted as many laws, resolutions, and major policies as this one. The aspirations of the highest-level leadership have been concretised into major law and policy projects, which were drafted, developed, and passed at record speed.
All of this was aimed at building a foundation for Vietnam to achieve breakthrough development, with an expected GDP growth rate of up to 10% per year over the next decade. As a key driver of this growth, science and technology were given special attention, and the legal framework in this sector, including IP law, was urgently developed and amended.
Vietnam has not been hesitant to introduce new regulations, unprecedented even in developed countries, and established the relationship between IP and AI with these goals in mind.
Caution in building the legal framework
In this context, the question of whether the relationship between IP and AI should be incorporated into the amended 2025 IP Law became a topic of attention and debate from the outset, with two distinct approaches.
Legal scholars and practising lawyers tended to be cautious about the idea of incorporating regulations governing the relationship between IP and AI into law, especially provisions relating to the use of protected IP objects by AI systems. Legal practitioners favoured a more prudent approach, hoping that Vietnam would not move too hastily and would instead take time to observe and evaluate advanced legislative models worldwide. However, significant momentum came from upper leadership and the technology sector, which sought a legal corridor providing the most favourable conditions for tech companies to develop.
Even the tech companies themselves could not converge upon one consistent approach. Content-producing companies, the rights and interests of which are closely tied to the control of the use of their works, tended to have the view that the use of protected IP objects must be subject to prior authorisation by the rights holders. Meanwhile, companies with business models that rely heavily on access to data welcomed and actively promoted a trend allowing them to freely use such objects even if they were protected by IP law.
Ultimately, the form of the provision that was adopted partially reflects the prevailing influence of the tech companies, as the 2025 IP Law officially introduced a principle allowing AI systems to “use texts and data relating to intellectual property objects […] provided that such use will not unreasonably affect the legitimate rights and interests of authors and intellectual property right holders”.
However, caution continues to be reflected in the final sentence of Article 7.5, which adds the key clause that “[w]ith respect to texts and data that are objects protected by copyright and related rights, the use […] must also be in accordance with the regulations of the Government.”
Thus, the current regulation chosen by Vietnam could be deemed to be both open and closed. It is open in that it clearly sets out the principle that AI systems can use protected IP objects without prior consent from the right holders. However, the use of objects protected by the specific form of copyright and related rights – the form of IP protection most likely to apply to online content accessed by AI systems – will be implemented in accordance with regulations yet to be issued, which could close off certain avenues in the future. For now, pending the issuance of such regulations, AI systems can enjoy the rights already recognised.
Vietnam’s legal provisions in this area appear to be of a pioneering nature. However, only time will tell if this is truly the case.
