Vietnam's copyright crackdown

Vietnamese authorities are intensifying their enforcement against online piracy and wider intellectual property (IP) violations, following the country's disastrous showing as a Priority Foreign Country on the April 30th USTR report. For background see here.

Vietnam's campaign is an attempt to show a shift from sporadic takedowns to more co-ordinated compliance action. Steps are being taken to disrupt pirate distribution channels, strengthen deterrence, and improve general adherence to copyright rules by organisations that use music, films, broadcasts, and other protected works.

Enforcement agencies are stepping up inspections and sanctions for copyright and IP infringements, with an emphasis on raising compliance and targeting repeat or organised violators. Tuoi Tre news reports that multiple pirate websites have been shut down after the government began an online enforcement crackdown on infirnging websites and services facilitating unauthorised streaming and downloads. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has launched nationwide copyright compliance checks of businesses and venues that publicly communicate copyrighted content.

Rights holders have long argued that effective anti-piracy requires rapid takedown processes, co-operation from intermediaries (hosting providers, registrars, platforms), and meaningful penalties that outweigh the commercial gains from infringement.

One key goal is to avoid the US initiating a Section 301 investigation into Vietnam. The USTR report highlight 5 main IP concerns:

• Online Copyright Infringement: Ineffective enforcement against digital piracy platforms.

• Counterfeit Goods: Insufficient control of counterfeit and trademark-infringing products.

• Border Enforcement: Limitations in the mechanisms used to stop infringing goods at the border.

• Unlicensed Software: Lack of enforcement against the use of unlicensed software in business and government.

• Signal Theft: Absence of criminal measures against cable and satellite signal theft.

A 30 day campaign will not solve those, only long term sustained enforcement. If Vietnam can avoid a Section 301 investigation and engage in the bilateral discussions that are also required, perhaps a long term plan can be agreed for Vietnam to improve its IP environment.