From secret filming to AI voice editing
The copyright story in Vietnam has never stopped being hot for many years. In the film industry, the situation of secret filming and illegal dissemination of film content on social networks has almost become a "nightmare" for producers.
At the beginning of 2026, Tran Thanh had to speak out to call on the audience to "don't film secretly, don't spoil" the movie "Thỏ ơi!!" when a series of clips revealing important details were posted on TikTok, Facebook and many other platforms. Not only a few short clips, many accounts also cut down the film's content, posting parts to drag interaction, causing the entire knot of the film to be revealed during theater screenings.
Previously, Vietnamese films such as "Mai", "Red Rain" or the series "Face Off" also fell into a similar situation. Ngo Thanh Van once expressed her frustration when secret recordings appeared online just after a short time of screening. Meanwhile, Ly Hai frankly shared that the fact that the film had not yet recovered its capital and was already being livestreamed "is no different from killing people".
The worrying point is that the current violating content is spreading at a very fast speed. Just one account posting, dozens of other accounts can copy, edit or re-post in a short time. When functional agencies or owners promptly request removal, the content has spread widely on many different platforms.
Not only cinema, the music field also continuously has prolonged copyright disputes. The case between musician Do Hieu and singer Noo Phuoc Thinh about the right to perform songs after the exclusive rights expire once caused controversy for a long time. Cases related to the song "Tuy am", or the fact that Tang Duy Tan's song was performed widely without permission, also show a lack of clarity in awareness and implementation of copyright.
However, if previous violations can still be relatively clearly identified, AI is creating a completely new challenge.
Currently, AI not only supports orchestration or sound editing but can also create a complete song, mimic the voice, performance style or songwriting of artists. Many products created by AI make listeners feel "very similar" to a famous singer but cannot accurately determine whose voice it is.
Musician Ha Anh said that listeners can recognize familiar voice colors, but it is difficult to confirm which artist's voice is directly used in that product, because AI often synthesizes data from many different sources. Meanwhile, musician Nguyen Van Chung said that many cases currently only stop at a "similar" feeling, it is very difficult to prove that it is a specific violation according to legal regulations.
According to experts, the biggest difficulty lies in the way AI works. Unlike traditional copying behavior, AI learns from millions of data and then restructures them into new products. This makes it almost difficult to compare, dissect or prove the copying factor.
Lawyer Pham Quoc Bao analyzed that voice is currently only indirectly protected through the rights of the performer and the recording producer. Therefore, to determine the violation, it is necessary to prove which specific recording of the artist AI used. However, when data is taken from many small sources, the identification almost becomes very complicated.
In addition, violations in the digital environment occur at a fast pace, easily erase traces and continuously recur. Creators often have to collect evidence themselves, pursuing lengthy and costly legal procedures. Meanwhile, the habit of using free content of a part of users continues to make copyright issues more painful.
Tighten management and crack down on illegal websites
Faced with the increasingly complex situation of copyright infringement, especially in the digital environment, the Government is taking strong actions to strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights.
On May 5, 2026, Pham Minh Chinh signed Official Dispatch No. 38/CD-TTg requesting functional forces to launch campaigns to fight, prevent and handle acts of intellectual property rights infringement nationwide from May 7 to May 30, 2026.
The Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Public Security to focus on investigating and cracking down on websites and organizing the operation of websites that infringe on online copyright with large traffic, especially websites of movies, music, electronic games and illegal television programs in Vietnamese and English.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is assigned to strengthen the inspection of compliance with regulations on copyright for films, music, television programs and electronic games on the online environment, ensuring that the number of handled cases increases by at least 20% compared to the same period last year. Prosecuting agencies are also required to promote investigation, prosecution and trial of typical intellectual property cases to increase deterrence.
In parallel with tightening management, many experts believe that it is necessary to build more mechanisms suitable for the AI era. This includes perfecting the system for identifying and registering digital works, requiring platforms to apply technology to detect violations, and at the same time transparentizing AI training data.
