Vietnam's IP Office Seeks Closer Enforcement Ties as Piracy Moves Faster and AI Muddies the Picture
Photo: InstagramFOTOGRAFIN / Pixabay
Vietnam's Intellectual Property Office used a working session in Hanoi on 27 October 2026 to describe a problem many enforcement agencies in the region recognise: online infringers now move faster than the tools built to stop them. The meeting brought together the office, the Entertainment Software Association, which represents video game publishers, and the US law and lobbying firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.
The problem as Hanoi sees it
Deputy Director Nguyen Hoang Giang listed the pressures. Infringing services spread their infrastructure across several countries. They switch domain names quickly, use increasingly sophisticated ways to deliver content, and are starting to benefit from artificial intelligence. Each of these, he said, makes violations harder to find and to act on, and none can be handled by a single agency.
The practical lesson discussed at the session was that blocking one domain rarely ends the matter. Pirated content tends to return under a new address or in a new format within days. Participants agreed to share information more systematically, name clear points of contact on each side and keep monitoring after an enforcement action rather than treating it as closed.
The office also put responsibility on rights holders. For complex cases, it said, authorities need good, timely evidence: documents, a clear explanation of what is infringing and, where necessary, technical help. Enforcement had to remain strict but lawful and fair to all sides, which in practice means agencies will not move on thin complaints.
Other topics included joint training and awareness work, and a list of newer problems that Vietnam says need more study before policy can catch up: intermediary platforms, devices preloaded with infringing content, digital accounts, tools that defeat technological protection measures, and AI used to copy or transform content.
The games industry's angle
The ESA framed game piracy as a consumer safety issue as well as a copyright one. Unlicensed game files and sites can carry malware and expose players to data theft, so the association argued that enforcement should go hand in hand with easy access to legitimate, safe products. It added that experience in other markets suggests a mix of technical measures, better data from rights holders and firm handling of representative cases can reduce repeat offending.
AI received particular attention. According to the report of the meeting, AI tools are changing how game content is analysed, converted and rebuilt for other platforms. Some AI-assisted conversion tools do not themselves contain any copyrighted material, which makes it harder to say where infringement happens and who is responsible. That point does not have a settled answer in Vietnam or elsewhere.
The legal backdrop
The session follows a major round of reform. Amendments to Vietnam's IP Law under Law No. 131/2025/QH15, together with Decree 100/2026/ND-CP and Circular 10/2026/TT-BKHCN, took effect on 1 April 2026. At an implementation workshop in Da Nang reported on 17 October, officials discussed how the new rules address AI-generated material, human creative contribution and the use of text and data for AI research and training, alongside trade mark changes such as sound marks and the handling of bad-faith applications.
Taken together, the two events show Vietnam pairing new substantive rules with a push for faster, evidence-led enforcement. Whether the coordination agreed in Hanoi turns into quicker blocking and fewer repeat sites will depend on follow-through by enforcement forces and on how much data rights holders are willing to share.
Indonesian angle. Indonesia faces the same domain hopping problem, and site blocking through Komdigi on DJKI recommendation is often one step behind. Vietnam's emphasis on named contact points, continuous monitoring and better evidence from rights holders is a useful model for Indonesian game studios, film distributors and collecting societies preparing complaints, especially as Indonesia's own copyright bill considers a free channel for reporting pirated sites.
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