The issue of content copyright protection, especially in the current digital transformation context, is facing numerous challenges. Meanwhile, handling copyright infringements has certain shortcomings, and preventive measures are not consistent. On September 26, 2023, in Hanoi, the Vietnam Digital Content Creation Alliance (DCCA), in collaboration with Thudo Multimedia, organized a seminar titled “Solving the Copyright Protection Challenge for the Music, Film, and Digital Television Industry.”

According to information posted by viettimes.vn:

Information presented at the seminar “Solving the Copyright Protection Challenge for the Music, Film, and Digital Television Industry,” organized by the Vietnam Digital Content Creation Alliance (DCCA), aims to share the current situation of copyright infringement in the digital content industry in general, including music, film, and digital television in particular. It also discusses the difficulties in applying prevention and protection solutions against copyright infringement.

In the context of the rapid development of digital content distribution, the proliferation of Over-The-Top (OTT) television platforms, and online film distributors have ushered users into an entirely new era of entertainment content consumption. The convenience of accessing movies, TV shows, and live music events on various devices has transformed the way audiences interact with content.

However, this digital revolution also brings unprecedented challenges in terms of content security and copyright protection. New solutions are needed to mitigate the risks associated with copyright infringement.

OTT television service providers like TV360 and FPT Play, along with online film distributors like Netflix, Hulu, and Hotstar, have become key players in the Internet entertainment ecosystem by meeting the demand for unlimited content. Therefore, ensuring the integrity and exclusivity of distributed content has become crucial and is a challenge that content owners and distributors take seriously.

While domain-blocking measures have started to be implemented in Vietnam, digital rights management (DRM) solutions such as Widevine, FairPlay, and PlayReady have been deployed to prevent unauthorized access and distribution. However, current copyright protection solutions are not sufficient and require a multifaceted approach to address existing risks.

In particular, one of the challenges that content providers face with DRM is the exploitation of packet spoofing to deceive license servers and bypass authorization processes for untrusted accounts.

To discuss the difficulties in applying prevention and protection solutions against copyright infringement, various topics were explored during the seminar. Alongside DRM vulnerabilities, OTT television providers and online distributors must contend with a range of other risks that demand comprehensive copyright protection solutions. These include screen recording and the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to circumvent geographical restrictions, allowing access to content that is illicitly distributed in one country from another.

Mr. Đinh Tiến Dũng, Deputy Director of the Department of Information and Communication of the Ministry of Information and Communications, stated that state agencies have taken numerous measures to fulfill their responsibilities in protecting copyrights, cultural industry products, and complying with international commitments and conventions in which Vietnam participates. Government agencies are also making efforts to amend legal documents and add relevant regulations.

However, the management of online content is currently divided among three government agencies: the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. As a result, dealing with copyright infringements and copyright-violating channels takes a considerable amount of administrative time.

Mr. Dũng also emphasized the need to accelerate the speed of blocking and removing infringing content. If the content is handled within 10-15 minutes when it has only a few dozen views, then the management efforts are effective. However, if copyright-violating channels have already received millions of views, the intervention becomes less effective.

The highest administrative fine for copyright violations to date is 150 million VND (approximately 6,600 USD), while a pirate website broadcasting football matches and organizing online gambling can earn billions of VND. Mr. Dũng suggested that government agencies should share data to coordinate more effectively and that sanctions and penalties need to be stricter.

Mr. Phạm Hoàng Hải, Director of the Center for Digital Content Copyright, Broadcasting, and Electronic Information, Ministry of Information and Communications, believes that the measures to block access to copyright-infringing websites have been effective and have contributed to changing user habits. He mentioned that “23% of Internet users in Vietnam said they would not or would less frequently access pirate websites due to the impact of access restrictions,” citing a recent survey.

Representatives of the Center for Digital Content Copyright Protection also proposed effective measures to prevent and combat copyright infringement on the Internet. These measures include establishing collaboration between copyright owners, government agencies, and Internet service providers (ISPs); implementing flexible blocking mechanisms to address new domain names that emerge after previous ones have been blocked; and using various technical methods to block access (DNS, IP, CDN). Additionally, there is a need to develop automated blocking tools for all parties involved, reducing time and labor.

According to statistics, from August 2022 to August 2023, the Department of Broadcasting, Television, and Electronic Information worked in coordination with the Department of Information Security and copyright holders to block nearly 1,000 pirate football streaming websites, including sites like xoilac.1tiengruoi.link, xoivo4.com, coichua.net, tammao.tv, 90link.com, xoilac.live, and xemtructiep.xyz.

Mr. Vũ Kiêm Văn, Vice President and Secretary-General of the Vietnam Digital Communication Association (VDCA), mentioned that many social organizations and businesses engaged in content exploitation and copyright protection have emerged. They focus on areas such as film, music, and games, forming a growing community that collaborates to protect digital copyrights. After a period of communication and sharing of experience and knowledge, the awareness of copyright protection among Vietnamese businesses has increased.

Several entities have started paying more attention to copyright protection, investing in its development, and providing technology solutions to support these activities.

In response to the copyright infringement issue, Mr. Nguyễn Ngọc Hân, CEO of Thudo Multimedia, shared the Sigma Multi-DRM solution, which integrates Artificial Intelligence (AI) for copyright protection. The solution is commercially known as Sigma Active Observer (SAO). It enables content owners and online content distribution platforms to protect their content on the Internet.

SAO is not just a layer of security for Sigma Multi-DRM but also observes monitoring activities at all stages of content distribution and online streaming. By using advanced AI algorithms, SAO goes further in detecting and screening any data exchange activities during content distribution on the Internet.

According to Mr. Nguyễn Ngọc Hân, SAO uses AI-driven algorithms to identify abnormal signs and potential threats at every step. This includes detecting cross-border distribution violations, identifying VPN usage, and thwarting attempts to access content from different regions. This proactive approach eliminates geographical limitations and reduces unauthorized access to content across borders.

SAO is also capable of countering misinformation attempts by recognizing fake information signs and preventing deceptive activities aimed at license server authentication.

In addition to ensuring real-time information collection and response, enabling operators to promptly address threats, SAO delves into user behavior patterns, identifies suspicious activities, and prevents interference. For instance, if access requests have conflicting information—for example, if a request claims to be from Hanoi but the user information suggests they are in another province—these access attempts will be scrutinized further.

You can read more details at: [Link to the original article](Illegal online soccer betting websites earned billions of dong and were only subject to a maximum administrative fine of 150 million)