Official Dispatch No. 38/CĐ-TTg: Prime Minister Orders at Least 20% Increase in the Number of IP Cases Handled
On May 5, 2026, the Prime Minister issued Official Dispatch No. 38/CĐ-TTg ordering an immediate nationwide campaign, to be conducted from May 7 to May 31, 2026, to combat widespread infringement of intellectual property (“IP”) rights in Vietnam.
Specifically, the Ministry of Public Security was assigned to take the lead in investigating and prosecuting several serious IP infringement cases and to focus on “dismantling websites and organizations operating online copyright-infringing platforms with high traffic volumes, especially websites storing or providing pirated films, music, mobile video games, and television programs in Vietnamese and foreign languages, particularly English.”
Relevant ministries and provincial and municipal People’s Committees, within the scope of their respective functions, duties, and powers, will direct IP enforcement bodies such as inspectorates, market surveillance authorities, and customs authorities to strengthen inspections, monitoring, supervision, and the strict handling of IP infringement cases, ensuring that the number of cases handled increases by at least 20% compared with May 2025.
IP enforcement authorities are also required to submit daily reports to the Ministry of Science and Technology on the detection, seizure and handling of serious and complex cases, so that the Ministry may consolidate and report to the Prime Minister on a weekly basis or upon request. On May 31, 2026, the Government will prepare a final report on the campaign results and, together with the relevant authorities, review and assess the situation and formulate plans to continue strengthening and improving the effectiveness of IP rights enforcement in a regular, continuous and systematic manner.
Official Dispatch No. 38/CĐ-TTg was issued only one week after the United States Trade Representative (“USTR”) published its “Special 301 Report” on the protection and enforcement of IP rights in the trading partners of the United States, in which Vietnam was designated as a “Priority Foreign Country” (“PFC”), the highest warning category under the Special 301 mechanism. This marks the first time in 13 years that the United States has imposed this highest-level designation on a trading partner.
According to the report, Vietnam’s designation as a PFC is based on five principal concerns: ineffective enforcement against online copyright infringement; insufficient enforcement against counterfeit and trademark-infringing goods; limitations in border enforcement mechanisms; lack of significant enforcement actions against the use of unlicensed software in businesses; and the absence of comprehensive criminal provisions regarding the unauthorized appropriation of cable television signals and encrypted satellite program-carrying signals.
As a consequence of Vietnam’s designation as a PFC, the USTR will decide within 30 days whether to initiate an investigation based on the concerns identified in the report. If such an investigation is initiated, the USTR will request consultations with Vietnam and seek to resolve the issues that led to Vietnam’s designation as a PFC.
Official Dispatch No. 38/CĐ-TTg was addressed to the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court, the Procurator General of the Supreme People’s Procuracy, ministers and heads of ministerial-level agencies, secretaries of provincial and municipal Party Committees, chairpersons of provincial and municipal People’s Committees, and the Chief of the Standing Office of the National Steering Committee against Smuggling, Commercial Fraud and Counterfeit Goods. The dispatch is expected to have a significant and immediate impact on IP rights enforcement in Vietnam.