Vietnamese enterprises were fined a total of VND8.6 billion (US$385,600) by competent agencies for using pirated software since the Intellectual Property Law came into force in 2006.

Experts told a seminar held by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Business Software Alliance (BSA) in Hanoi on Wednesday that the rate of software piracy in Vietnam stands at 81%. This will be a challenge for the country to honor its commitments to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact.

Tran Van Minh, deputy chief inspector of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said law enforcement agencies inspected nearly 550 enterprises and checked over 27,600 computers in the 2006-2015 period. The ministry imposed fines totaling a combined VND8.6 billion on nearly 500 infringing businesses.

Minh said these violators stopped using pirated software, compensated owners of the software and bought the copyright. He added firms have spent tens of millions of U.S. dollars buying copyrights a year and that software piracy in Vietnam has declined significantly. 

According to BSA, the rate of software piracy in Vietnam stood at 92% in 2004 and dropped to 81% in 2014. Minh said that as Vietnam signed the TPP agreement on February 4, the nation must enhance the protection of intellectual property rights and enforce regulations on intellectual property rights.    

Despite improvement, software copyright breaches are prevalent in Vietnam. 

Minh noted enterprises should make preparations in terms of finance, human resources and technology to avoid intellectual property lawsuits.

John Hill, economic counselor of the U.S. embassy in Vietnam, said Vietnam will benefit from the TPP but cope with a slew of challenges also. The agreement sets stricter requirements for intellectual property rights than those of the World Trade Organization. If businesses do not observe regulations, they will face strict punishment. 

The 81% rate of software piracy in Vietnam is among the highest in Pacific Rim nations. This is a big challenge as firms might encounter many legal issues.

The number of intellectual property lawsuits is forecast to go up when the TPP takes effect. However, few Vietnamese have paid attention to the intellectual property issue.  

Sharing a warning of the Ministry of Science and Technology, he said local companies might go bust if they do not strictly observe TPP’s rules on intellectual property rights. 

He said the U.S. and the international community are willing to cooperate with and support Vietnam in the intellectual property sector.