This reality necessitates an urgent shift from a reactive approach to a proactive one focused on prevention, rights management, and the development of a comprehensive framework combining legal measures, technology, and public awareness.
Numerous violations in the digital environment
Driven by the rapid development of electronic publishing and the shift towards the digital environment, copyright infringement in cyberspace has significantly escalated sharply.
In the past, copyright infringement mainly took the form of illegal printing, commercial photocopying, or unauthorised reprints. Today, however, such violations have largely transitioned online and have become far more sophisticated. Within a short time after publication, electronic publications can be scanned, converted into PDF, EPUB, or audiobook formats, and distributed through social media, illegal websites, free reading applications, cloud storage services, or private groups on Telegram, Facebook, and Google Drive.
Many businesses warn that this situation is developing at an alarming pace. Notably, artificial intelligence (AI) technology is also being misused to "re-read" book content in the form of videos or livestreams, or to create derivative works from copyrighted data without the permission of rights holders. According to industry reports, copyright infringement in Viet Nam's digital content sector causes losses of around 7 trillion VND each year.
One of the current greatest challenges is identifying and addressing violations in the online environment. Infringers often use cross-border platforms, servers located overseas, anonymous accounts, or constantly change domain names to evade detection.
Another issue is the wide gap between detecting infringements and obtaining sufficient legal evidence for enforcement. Many suspicious links are reported, but there is insufficient verified evidence to take action because data are scattered, rights contracts are stored separately, there is no centralised retrieval mechanism, and no common data standards exist.
Given this reality, many organisations believe that effective digital copyright protection cannot rely solely on reactive measures. Instead, a comprehensive rights management mechanism should be established from the outset, combining technology, data, and legal measures.
Strengthening the technological shield
In response to increasingly complex copyright violations, Official Dispatch No. 38/CD-TTg by the Prime Minister requires a strong shift from a mindset of "dealing with violations after they occur" to one of "proactive prevention," with technology and inter-sector coordination serving as the pillars of intellectual property protection in the digital environment.
According to the Copyright Office of Viet Nam, three groups of key solutions are being implemented, including requiring intermediary platforms to remove infringing content within 24 to 72 hours; building copyright protection mechanisms for the AI environment to prevent the unlawful use of data for training models; and strengthening strict administrative or criminal action against organised copyright infringement.
From a business perspective, many companies believe that improving the legal framework is an urgent requirement. A representative of Alpha Books Joint Stock Company said it is necessary to clarify the responsibilities of intermediary platforms, digital service providers, and data storage operators; introduce mechanisms to deal with the illegal distribution of electronic publications; improve regulations on electronic evidence; and study a management mechanism for the use of copyrighted data in AI training. Many businesses have proposed establishing a "notice and takedown" mechanism that shortens processing time, increases the responsibility of digital platforms to cooperate, and allows temporary blocking measures against websites committing serious violations.
BOOKAS Joint Stock Company has proposed that the Viet Nam Publishing Association study the establishment of a Copyright Centre for the publishing sector to support rights verification, standardise copyright data, trace the origin of publications, and coordinate enforcement against infringements involving both printed books and electronic publications. According to the company, creating a centralised rights database would improve transparency in rights exploitation, clearly identify rights holders, the scope of exploitation, and the validity period of each publication, while enabling publishers, distributors, and digital platforms to connect through a shared data infrastructure.
In addition, studies should be conducted on assigning identification codes or origin-tracing mechanisms to each publication to support verification and data comparison when violations are detected. This is considered an appropriate approach in line with the requirements of digital transformation and data governance in the publishing sector in the long term. Accordingly, stronger cooperation is needed between management agencies and cross-border platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Telegram, and Google Play to shorten the time needed to remove infringing content. At the same time, a dedicated legal framework for electronic publications for children should also be explored.
From a technical perspective, digital publishing companies are gradually investing in a wide range of technological solutions to strengthen their ability to protect themselves. Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology is being deployed to encrypt content, control access rights, limit the number of devices that can be used, and prevent unauthorised downloads. Many units have adopted identifying watermarks to trace the source of unauthorised distribution, established login session management mechanisms, and used AI and Big Data to scan and detect infringing content on social media, websites, and data storage platforms.
Based on practical experience, many businesses believe that investing in technology is no longer optional. However, high costs and demanding technical requirements remain major challenges for many publishers, particularly smaller ones. Experts believe that, as digital transformation accelerates, copyright data, rights management technology, and inter-sector coordination mechanisms will become the three fundamental pillars for building a more transparent and sustainable digital publishing market.
At the same time, raising public awareness of intellectual property rights is also regarded as a long-term solution. Developing the habit of using legitimate publications, respecting authors' rights, and fostering a healthy digital consumption culture will help create a sustainable development environment for the publishing industry in the future.
