Vietnam Cracks Down on Widespread Intellectual Property Violations

Vietnamese authorities are stepping up the fight against intellectual property theft, a problem that has seen over 2,000 violations detected as of May 30, 2026. The issue is a significant concern nationwide.

In a notable case, police in Hung Yen province have initiated legal proceedings against the "Xoi Lac TV" network, with alleged financial involvement nearing 1 trillion Vietnamese dong (approximately $40 million USD).

To curb these infringements, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung has directed ministries, agencies, and local authorities to launch a new high-intensity campaign. The focus is on a more decisive crackdown against intellectual property violations.

Despite the takedown of the XoilacTV system in Vietnam, its "octopus tentacles" continue to operate online. For instance, the website xoilacztu.tv, which frequently changes its domain extension to evade detection, exemplifies the ongoing, rampant copyright infringement in sports broadcasting. This site illegally streams major football leagues like the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Serie A, and La Liga, as well as national team matches. It "steals" broadcast signals from legitimate domestic and international broadcasters, offering "pirated" streams accessible to users with a simple click. The site also illicitly uses logos and graphics from official leagues and broadcasters without permission, and is heavily laden with advertisements for illegal online gambling and gaming sites.

Similar to the Xoi Lac football piracy network, the phimmoichill website (and its variants) represents one of Vietnam's largest hubs for pirated film and television content. This network systematically uses automated tools to extract high-quality video content from licensed streaming platforms such as Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Go, VieON, and FPT Play. As soon as exclusive films or "blockbuster" theatrical releases become available digitally, the phimmoichill team downloads them, adds their logo, and broadcasts them for free. Investigations suggest this website is part of a larger network that shares a common data repository.