Monday, December 16, 2002		Feature

Despite pact, Vietnam hawks pirated DVDs

EIGHT days after the latest James Bond thriller, Die Another Day, was released in the USA, pirated DVD versions of the movie shot with camcorders were being hawked for a little over $1 in Vietnam’s capital.

Other major Hollywood films, such as Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Road to Perdition and Signs are also up for grabs in a nine-square-metre (97-square-foot) shop next door to Vietnam’s Trade Ministry office.

The room is stacked to the ceiling with cheaply packaged DVDs of 200 films.

A young salesman said he has served a wide range of customers, even diplomats.

"When it comes down to one’s pocket, they are here," the salesman dryly commented.

A year after the communist-run country signed a historic bilateral trade pact with the USA that included a 22-page section on protection of intellectual property, there is much work to be done.

Under the pact, the SE Asian country promised to be compliant on patent and trademarks within 12 months of the December agreement, and on copyright and trademarks within 18 months. The trade pact took effect on December 10, 2001.

US officials have warned that continued neglect in enforcing such rules could hit foreign investment and lead to trade sanctions.

But for this one DVD shop, little has changed.

Assistant US Trade Representative Jon Huntsman visited the store in May and noted the infringements, but said he believed Vietnamese officials recognised the seriousness of the issue.

Authorities have held public demonstrations to destroy pirated music and video products, but they are still cheaply and widely available.

More time

Vietnam is not the only country selling fakes.

Malaysia, China, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia and even squeaky-clean Singapore all offer imitation entertainment products.

China and Russia have been cited as the biggest offenders.

Movie executives estimate that 80 per cent to 90 per cent of all movies sold worldwide on DVD or videocassette are pirated. The Business Software Alliance estimates that piracy cost software makers about $11 billion last year.

Reviewing the two-way pact’s first year, US Ambassador to Vietnam Raymond Burghardt referred to the lax enforcement of intellectual property laws as one area of concern.

Hanoi says it needs more time to resolve the problem.

Authorities in October seized more than 3,000 copies of pirated software in Ho Chi Minh city.

US legal experts on trademark issues have also suggested that Hanoi set up a special court for intellectual property protection, a model now existing in other Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and Singapore.

The piracy has already cost Vietnam lost opportunities. Software giant Microsoft maintains just two representative offices in Vietnam but has no production facilities.

Bruce Lehman, president of the International Intellectual Property Institute said during a recent visit he did not think there would be any foreign direct investment in software until Vietnam brought piracy under control. — Reuters