Businesses "on duty" to protect copyright
Many movies that have just been released in theaters, movies exclusively shown on digital platforms or popular TV shows are quickly illegally posted just a few hours after broadcasting.
Although many raids have been deployed in the past time, reality shows that violating websites are still continuously changing domain names, changing servers or switching to other platforms to continue operating.
This makes the copyright protection battle in the digital environment increasingly difficult for both management agencies and content publishing businesses.
A representative of a popular online television and entertainment platform in Vietnam said that the unit currently has about 10 personnel specializing in performing content copyright sweeping and protection duty.
However, although many websites have been handled, the situation of violations has not shown signs of cooling down.
Although cases like Xoi Lac have been successful and created a certain effect, with the participation of state management agencies as well as investigating agencies to dismantle large-scale lines, illegal websites have sprung up like mushrooms after rain. This is the most painful issue today," this person shared.
According to a business representative, currently distribution units almost only have enough resources to prioritize protecting exclusive content in the form of simulcast - that is, films broadcast in parallel with the unit holding the broadcasting rights. With these films, businesses often have to send official letters of denunciation to the administrators of illegally posted websites such as MotChill or Mot Phim.
There are TVB movies, Korean movies, European and American movies or movies that are shown on the platform immediately after being released in theaters that are exclusive simulcast content, copyright purchased at a very high cost. However, pirated websites still brazenly take it and broadcast it, even broadcasting it before legitimate radio and television service providers," this person said.
Meanwhile, for non-monopoly films, businesses believe that there needs to be synchronous coordination between domestic content distribution platforms as well as stronger support from management agencies. A reality pointed out is that the time to handle violations is still slow.
Sometimes when the movie is removed, the movie is already finished," the business representative added.
The "speed race" with illegal websites
Recognizing this situation, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Hoai Son, a full-time member of the National Assembly's Committee for Culture and Society, said that digital copyright infringement is no longer simply an act of "watching pagodas", "listening to pagodas".
He assessed that behind many pirated movie and music websites is a whole ecosystem of profiteering from advertising, luring users into harmful content, even related to gambling, fraud and data theft. According to him, the Prime Minister's request to crack down on pirated websites with large traffic is "hitting the right target" of digital copyright infringement.
It is impossible to develop the cultural industry if the market cannot protect intellectual property rights; it is impossible to encourage creativity if creators do not enjoy legitimate achievements from their labor," Mr. Bui Hoai Son emphasized.
Meanwhile, Mr. Dang Tran Cuong, Director of the Cinema Department, said that this is a "speed race" between functional agencies and violators.
A website can be blocked or handled the day before, but immediately after that it appears under a new domain name, a new server, even using a distributed system or placing a server abroad to continue operating," he said.
According to Mr. Dang Tran Cuong, through actual review, there are systems that maintain many domain names at the same time such as Motchi**, Roph** or Ghien Ph** to be ready to replace them when handled. Meanwhile, management agencies must fully implement legal procedures, verify subjects, collect electronic evidence and coordinate with many units, especially in cases with cross-border elements.
However, the positive point is that recently, the handling work has shifted to stronger inter-sectoral coordination. According to the Plan to implement Official Dispatch No. 38/CD-TTg, specialized management forces, network security and investigation will coordinate to inspect and handle film copyright infringement violations on the network environment instead of handling them individually as before.
On the side of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, state management of copyright and related rights is under the professional function of the Copyright Office.
Mr. Dang Tran Cuong said: "The Department of Cinema will coordinate with the Copyright Office and functional agencies in reviewing and identifying websites and content violations related to films; coordinate to assess the level of impact on the film market; provide professional information on films, copyright holders, film distribution and dissemination activities and support the process of handling according to assigned functions and tasks".
In addition, the Department of Cinema will also continue to coordinate with distribution units, cinema systems, and legal film distribution platforms to strengthen early detection of acts of secret filming and illegal distribution of films on the online environment. Thereby, contributing to improving the effectiveness of copyright protection and protecting the healthy development environment of the Vietnamese film industry.
