Prime Minister orders nationwide crackdown on intellectual property infringement

This requirement is set out in official telegram No. 38/CD-TTg, signed by Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung on May 5.

Under the document, the Prime Minister instructs ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, chairpersons of provincial and municipal People’s Committees, and secretaries of provincial and municipal Party committees to implement robust measures to enforce relevant legal provisions, including Government Resolution No. 397/NQ-CP and Prime Ministerial Directive No. 02/CT-TTg on strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights.

The directive emphasises the need to carry out tasks on schedule, ensure feasibility and deliver clear, tangible benefits for businesses and the public.

The Ministry of Public Security is tasked with taking the lead, coordinating with relevant ministries and agencies to verify, investigate and prosecute serious cases of copyright, related rights, trademark and geographical indication infringement in accordance with the law.

Police will particularly target the dismantling of websites and organisations operating large-scale online copyright infringement, especially platforms storing and distributing films, music, mobile video games and unauthorised television programmes in Vietnamese and foreign languages, notably English.

The Ministry of Defence is required to direct border guard forces, the coastguard and other relevant units to work closely with the Ministry of Public Security, ministries, sectors and localities to conduct decisive operations against intellectual property violations.

The Supreme People’s Procuracy and the Supreme People’s Court are urged to strengthen prosecution oversight and trials of intellectual property cases, ensuring strict rulings with a deterrent effect, while prioritising the resolution of several exemplary cases.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism must immediately organise inspections to verify compliance with software copyright regulations at enterprises, as well as copyright on films, music, television programmes and online video games. The directive calls for prompt handling of serious violations and requires the number of cases dealt with to increase by at least 20% compared with May 2025.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade and provincial and municipal People’s Committees are instructed to direct market management forces to coordinate with competent agencies to intensify inspections, monitoring and strict handling of intellectual property infringement cases, particularly those involving industrial property rights and counterfeit trademarks, with the same target of increasing resolved cases by at least 20% compared with May of the previous year.

The Ministry of Finance is asked to direct customs authorities to work closely with competent agencies to step up inspections of goods crossing the border, proactively suspending customs procedures where there is clear evidence of intellectual property infringement. The target is likewise to increase by at least 20% the number of cases in which customs clearance is suspended and handled, compared with May 2025.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is tasked with coordinating with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and other relevant ministries and agencies to promptly provide partners with full information and results on Viet Nam’s efforts to enforce intellectual property rights, thereby consolidating the country’s image and reputation in international forums and trade agreements.

The Prime Minister has also instructed the National Steering Committee for Anti-Smuggling, Counterfeit Goods and Trade Fraud to focus on directing and coordinating inter-sectoral cooperation, intensifying inspections and urging ministries, sectors and localities to act, resolving difficulties and bottlenecks promptly, and guiding strict handling of key, complex intellectual property infringement cases. Where cases exceed its authority, the committee must report to the competent authority for consideration and resolution.

The directive requires chairpersons of provincial and municipal People’s Committees to promptly establish local inter-sectoral working groups, with the chairperson of the People’s Committee as group head, to direct relevant functional forces to coordinate closely and carry out their assigned tasks effectively.