Vietnam Issues First Criminal Sentence for Online Copyright Infringement
On April 23, 2024, the People’s Court of Hanoi made history by delivering Vietnam’s inaugural criminal sentence for online copyright infringement.
Le Hai Nam, the individual behind the piracy platform BestBuy IPTV, received a suspended jail term of 30 months. His platform offered unauthorized streams of Premier League football matches, along with movies and TV shows, to viewers both within Vietnam and internationally.
Alongside the suspended sentence, Nam was fined D100 million (US$3,930) and ordered to pay D300 million (US$11,770) in compensation. Additionally, authorities confiscated D615 million (US$24,150) from Nam, representing the illegal earnings from BestBuy IPTV, which has gained considerable popularity in the United States and Europe.
BestBuy IPTV has been listed on the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) Notorious Markets List for counterfeit and pirated goods for the past five years.
Nguyen Van Vien, a counsel at Frasers Law Company in Ho Chi Minh City, pointed out that IP rights enforcement is a significant weakness in Vietnam’s intellectual property protection framework, especially in the digital domain.
“This first criminal sentence for online copyright infringement, recently issued by the People’s Court of Hanoi, marks a pivotal moment in the enforcement of IP rights. It signifies the State’s political commitment to safeguarding the rights and interests of IP owners equally alongside public rights,” Vien stated.
Before this verdict, there was skepticism about whether the state prioritized public interests over those of IP rights holders. However, this landmark decision now provides a strong precedent for IP lawyers in Vietnam to prevent and deter future infringements, according to Vien.
This significant judicial milestone was achieved through collaborative efforts among Vietnamese authorities, law enforcement, the Premier League, and the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment, a global anti-digital piracy coalition. Digital piracy has been a growing issue in Vietnam, which was highlighted in a 2022 report by Media Partners Asia ranking Vietnam as the leading country for accessing and sharing pirated online videos per capita. Moreover, Vietnam has been on the USTR’s Special Report 301 Watch List for notorious counterfeiting and piracy for many years.
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