The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) recently released its 2024 Special 301 Report, which identifies countries where anti-piracy enforcement and other forms of intellectual property protection fall short. Countries such as Argentina were singled out as key threats, while Vietnam was singled out as a major source of online piracy. The USTR also urged the Asian country to address the issue and take criminal proceedings seriously.

Every year, USTR releases an updated version of its Special 301 Report, highlighting countries that fail to meet U.S. copyright protection standards.

The annual report is intended to urge foreign governments to improve their policies and legislation in favor of U.S. copyright holders.

The United States believes this process is an effective diplomatic tool and will help initiate copyright reform around the world. However, not all governments have been receptive to the US criticism, with Canada once describing the process as "flawed". Despite this, no country wants to be included in the list.

2024 Special 301 Report

The newly released report has considerable overlap with previous versions. The "priority watch list" countries (regions) remain unchanged.

The report covers issues ranging from rampant online piracy to trademark protection. Inadequate legal protection, flawed enforcement and other barriers to trade are also frequently cited.

They are followed by the common countries on the "watch list," with a total of 20. They include US neighbours Canada and Mexico, as well as Brazil, Bulgaria, Egypt and Vietnam.

Vietnam's inclusion on the "watch list" is not surprising, as it has been there for several years. Since then, according to reports from copyright owners, the piracy problem has only worsened.

Vietnam - a haven for online piracy

USTR's report is based in part on complaints from those rights holders. These include a detailed document filed earlier this year by the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (IIPA), which describes the country as a major global exporter of piracy services.

"Vietnam has become a major global exporter of piracy services, and Vietnamese operators have been linked to some of the most rampant piracy websites in the world, causing significant damage to both domestic and international markets," the IIPA wrote in the document.

The country is considered a "place of origin" for problematic websites and services such as Fmovies, AniWave, 123movies, 2embed, BestBuyIPTV and Y2mate, which can have millions of monthly users worldwide. Rights holders have repeatedly reported these issues to the competent authorities in the country, apparently to little effect.

Not long ago, when the operator of "BestBuyIPTV" was given a suspended sentence by a local court, it seemed like a breakthrough. However, the popular Internet television (IPTV) service remains online, and while rights-holders are celebrating, it is uncertain whether the relatively mild sentence will have any deterrent effect.

The main source of online piracy

What is clear, however, is that Vietnam is a priority country for anti-piracy efforts. While this has not translated into a "priority watch list" label, the USTR's Special 301 list for Vietnam is becoming more specific.

The US Trade Representative was the first to acknowledge that Vietnam has taken steps to improve its copyright laws. Other positive signs include an increase in raids and seizures of counterfeit goods and increased enforcement efforts. However, piracy remains a problem.

"Vietnam has increasingly become a major source of online piracy, including through online piracy services that take advantage of the widespread use of illegal streaming devices and apps," the USTR wrote in the report.

"Vietnam currently hosts some of the most popular piracy websites and services in the world, with a global target audience," the Special 301 report added.

In addition, the language in the report is stronger than last year, when there was no mention of Vietnam's leading role in online piracy. This is not the only change. Complaints about the lack of enforcement are particularly acute.

Vietnam has failed to stop online piracy

In recent years, Hollywood studios have made a series of criminal referrals backed by their own investigations, but the response from the country's authorities has been less than satisfactory.

"Although Vietnam's criminal code provides for heavy fines and years in prison for copyright and trademark violations, there are few criminal investigations or prosecutions in Vietnam," the USTR also wrote.

"The stakeholders noted that Vietnam has yet to criminalize a single copyright offence, as the criminal investigation against the operators of Phimmoi.net has stalled and other criminal complaints filed by stakeholders have not been addressed by the competent authorities in Vietnam."

USTR's opinions on enforcement issues are already somewhat out of date, as they were written before the recent conviction of the operator of "BestBuyIPTV." That said, after four years of legal proceedings, a suspended sentence seems unlikely to change anything.

Vietnam relies on major administrative enforcement actions, but these actions have failed to stop the operation of large piracy websites and services. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPA) and the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) privately took action against piracy sites 2Embed and Zoro.to with limited success, but "successors" to both platforms remain active to this day.

According to USTR, these private actions are not a substitute for full criminal prosecution.

"The few successful efforts by stakeholders to negotiate directly with the operators of piracy sites to shut them down are not a substitute for enforcement actions and criminal prosecutions by competent government agencies," the agency also wrote in the report.

Reading between the lines of the report, the US wants Vietnam to significantly step up its anti-piracy efforts. While things have been slowly moving in that direction lately, the criticism is likely to continue, at least until some "big fish" are caught. (Compiled from www.torrentfreak.com)

Translated by Wang Dan Proofread by Liu Peng