The digital revolution in the television industry is currently facing unprecedented challenges in terms of content security and copyright protection. These difficulties necessitate the emergence of new solutions to ensure that content remains unaffected by a variety of copyright infringement-related risks.

On September 26th, under the theme ‘Addressing Copyright Protection Issues in the Music, Film, and Digital Television Industry,’ the Vietnam Digital Communications Association (VDCA) collaborated with Hanoi Multimedia to organize an event aimed at finding innovative solutions to these challenges.

Following the seminar, the online news portal cand.com also published an article:

The issue of protecting content copyrights in the context of digital transformation is facing numerous challenges. Alongside the convenience for users in consuming entertainment content, the digital revolution is also bringing unprecedented challenges in terms of content security and copyright protection, demanding the need for multifaceted solutions to safeguard digital content from a range of copyright infringement risks.

At a discussion on solving the puzzle of content copyright protection in the digital environment, organized by the Vietnam Digital Communications Association and the Digital Content Creativity Alliance in Hanoi on September 26, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Han, General Director of Thudo Multimedia, stated that Vietnam currently has about 50 million OTT users. Despite implementing measures such as domain blocking and deploying Digital Rights Management (DRM) solutions to prevent unauthorized access and distribution, Vietnam still lacks comprehensive measures and requires multifaceted solutions. Particularly, DRM has vulnerabilities that allow exploiting packet forgery to deceive License Servers and bypass authentication for distributing content to untrusted accounts.

Vấn đề vi phạm bản quyền các sản phẩm công nghiệp văn hóa ngày càng nhức nhối. (Ảnh: PV/Vietnam+)

Protecting digital content copyrights: The need for multifaceted solutions
Strong measures are necessary to address content copyright violations in the digital environment. (Illustration)

Furthermore, OTT providers and online content distributors face other risks, such as cross-border violations using VPNs, violations across multiple platforms (mobile, set-top boxes, web), and violations through online re-streaming. Copyright violators are willing to use cameras to directly record content and then redistribute it on different platforms or connect HDMI devices to capture content and distribute it on the internet.

In Vietnam alone, copyright infringements caused losses of $348 million in 2022. Notably, 80% of these infringements occurred on digital platforms, with the most violated content categories being television programs (49.4%), movies (17.1%), music (16%), books (11.2%), and software (6.2%).

According to statistics from the Digital Content Copyright Center, the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information, Ministry of Information and Communications, copyright violations in Vietnam are becoming increasingly complex. Numerous websites violate copyrights by broadcasting soccer matches and movies. According to SimilarWeb data, there are currently about 70 pirate soccer websites with over 1.5 billion views in 2022 and 2023. Additionally, SimilarWeb data also indicates that there are more than 200 pirate movie websites attracting about 120 million views per month, with the top 10 sites receiving over 66 million monthly views. Notably, some pirate websites have recently transitioned to Japanese Anime comics.

Lawyer Pham Thanh Thuy, in charge of anti-copyright infringement at K+ Digital Television, emphasized that copyright infringement of digital content is rampant on the internet. For example, when a match is broadcast on K+ and its partner distributors, it is also broadcast on many pirate websites and apps. Referring to data from Media Partners Asia, Lawyer Pham Thanh Thuy stated that Vietnam ranks third in the region in terms of copyright infringement, with 15.5 million people regularly accessing pirate websites. Copyright violations on digital platforms are currently the predominant form of infringement.

Leveraging Technology Solutions for Protecting Digital Content Copyrights

According to Mr. Pham Hoang Hai, Director of the Digital Content Copyright Center at the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information, Ministry of Information and Communications, applying technical measures, specifically blocking access to copyright-infringing websites, has been effective in changing user habits. However, these blocking measures still face several challenges, such as inconsistency between Internet Service Providers (ISPs) regarding the scope and duration of blocking. Some ISPs block immediately, while others wait for three or more working days. Additionally, the system lacks flexibility to deal with new domain names that emerge after blocking.

Based on the analysis of the difficulties in applying legal measures, including administrative, civil, and criminal procedures, to combat copyright infringement in the digital environment, Lawyer Pham Thanh Thuy proposed that Vietnam consider adopting a proactive blocking model like that of the UK and some other countries. Under this model, pirate websites change their domain names and IP addresses after the initial blocking, and ISPs proactively block new domain names and IP addresses upon receiving notifications from copyright owners or authorized government agencies without the need for repeated administrative procedures.

Furthermore, one of the technology solutions evaluated by experts as a comprehensive “shield” for protecting digital content copyrights is the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This solution is considered a groundbreaking innovation that surpasses the limitations of traditional methods, providing a flexible and proactive defense mechanism for detecting and reporting copyright infringement risks. This solution has already been implemented by major digital content creation companies worldwide, such as YouTube.

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