Vietnam cracks down on piracy, prosecutes 44 intellectual property cases

Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung chaired a conference on June 2 reviewing the implementation of the Prime Minister’s directives on combating intellectual property infringements.

Speaking at the meeting, Ho Quoc Dung said intellectual property violations remain widespread and increasingly sophisticated, particularly on digital platforms and in e-commerce activities.

As of May 30, authorities nationwide had identified 2,036 cases showing signs of intellectual property violations. Of these, 1,616 cases were subject to administrative penalties totaling nearly VND 17.9 billion (approximately USD 688,000), with more than 1,600 organizations and individuals sanctioned. The value of infringing goods handled by authorities exceeded VND 115.5 billion (approximately USD 4.44 million).

Efforts to combat online violations have also intensified. Authorities blocked access to 1,073 infringing websites, including 263 piracy movie sites, 177 unauthorized online novel platforms, 612 illegal television streaming websites and 21 e-commerce websites suspected of violating industrial property rights.

Criminal enforcement has also been strengthened. Authorities have initiated 44 criminal cases related to intellectual property infringements, while prosecutors have approved prosecution decisions in 43 of those cases.

According to the Ministry of Public Security, investigators examined 148 cases showing signs of intellectual property violations and processed 128 of them. Among these, 44 criminal cases were formally launched.

Police also dismantled several major online piracy networks, including illegal football streaming websites known as CakhiaTV and Rakhoi TV. The total value of seized infringing goods exceeded VND 28 billion (approximately USD 1.08 million).

Concluding the conference, Ho Quoc Dung noted that in just over three weeks of a nationwide enforcement campaign, authorities had uncovered more than 2,000 suspected violations, imposed administrative penalties in 1,616 cases and expanded criminal proceedings against a number of serious intellectual property offenders.

The Deputy Prime Minister instructed ministries, agencies and local authorities to launch a new enforcement campaign, conduct comprehensive reviews and intensify efforts against intellectual property violations across all sectors.