Lao Dong reporter had an interview with Director of the Cinema Department Dang Tran Cuong about the difficulties in the "battle" against pirated films as well as inter-sectoral coordination solutions in the current peak period of handling copyright infringement.
Mr. Director, pirated movie websites have long been likened to "tentacles", blocking one website and appearing many other websites. How do you assess the difficulty and complexity of the fight against pirated movies in the digital space today?
- This is a very difficult and complex battle because film copyright infringement in the digital environment today is no longer small-scale but shows signs of organized, professionalized operation, and may even have cross-border elements. Many pirated film websites operate under the model of "change domain names - change servers - reappear", so when handling one address, many new replacement addresses can appear very quickly.
The actual review of the Network Film Management Task Force under the Department of Cinema shows that many pirated film websites are operating in large numbers, continuously changing domain names and access addresses such as Mot***, Phim***, Bilu***, Sub***, Fmo***, Ghien***... with a series of different domain name variants to avoid handling.
Therefore, the fight against pirated films cannot only be carried out by handling each website individually, but it is necessary to deploy synchronously both legal and technical solutions and inter-sectoral coordination.
Copyright protection in the film industry not only protects the interests of producers but also protects the creative environment and sustainable development of the industry. If the situation of pirated films continues, production units will face difficulties in recovering capital and reducing motivation to invest in quality works.
However, this is a long process. In addition to inspection and handling, it is necessary to raise awareness of using legal content and develop genuine movie viewing platforms with good quality, reasonable costs and convenience. Only when closely combining law enforcement and developing a legal digital content market can the prevention and combat of pirated movies be sustainable.
How do you assess and perceive the "speed" of our handling compared to the "speed" of distortion of violators?
- It can be said that this is a very difficult "speed race". In many cases, the transformation speed of pirated movie websites today is very fast. A website may be blocked or handled the day before, but immediately after that, it has appeared under a new domain name, a new server, even using a distributed system or placing a server abroad to continue operating.
Meanwhile, state management agencies must follow legal procedures, including verifying subjects, collecting electronic evidence and coordinating with many agencies, especially in cases with cross-border elements. Therefore, if handling each website individually, it will be very difficult to keep up with the speed of distortion of violators.
According to you, what is the biggest difficulty in handling cases of pirated websites, pirated movies and copyright infringement in cinema?
- In my opinion, the biggest difficulty today is that the digital environment is changing very quickly, while violations are becoming increasingly sophisticated, flexible and have cross-border elements.
In addition, the awareness of using copyrighted content of a part of users is still limited.
According to Official Dispatch No. 38/CD-TTg newly issued, the Ministry of Public Security will take the lead in coordinating to crack down on large pirated websites. With the professional role of the Cinema Department in this peak period, how will it be specifically demonstrated, Director?
- Fighting and handling pirated movie websites requires coordination between many agencies, in which the Ministry of Public Security plays a key role in investigating and handling criminal law violations in cyberspace.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, through the Copyright Office, is responsible for managing copyright and related rights. The Department of Cinema will coordinate with the Copyright Office and functional agencies to review and identify websites violating films, assess the level of impact and support handling according to functions.
The Department of Cinema will also coordinate with distribution units, cinemas and legal film distribution platforms to detect early acts of secret filming and illegal distribution of films, contributing to protecting copyright and developing the Vietnamese film industry.
After Official Dispatch No. 38/CD-TTg dated May 5, 2026 of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has developed a Plan to implement inspections of compliance with the law on copyright and related rights, with a focus on inspecting the copyright of cinematic works in the online environment. Plan to establish inter-sectoral inspection teams and strengthen coordination with functional agencies.
The Copyright Office presides over and coordinates with the Department of Cinema, the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information, and units of the Ministry of Public Security such as the Department of Cyber Security, the Department of Investigation Police and the Institute of Criminal Science to inspect subjects exploiting and illegally using cinematic works online.
