VZCZCXRO5493
RR RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #2602 2841009
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 111009Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3661
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 1955
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1133

UNCLAS HANOI 002602 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR E, EAP/MLS AND EB/CIP RICH O'BRIEN 
DEPT PASS TO USTR DAVID BISBEE AND JONATHAN MCHALE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ETRD ECPS KPRV WTRO VM
SUBJECT: MISS WORLD EXPOSES SIGNAL PIRACY IN VIETNAM 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. DO NOT POST ON THE INTERNET. 
 
REF: A) Hanoi 2477 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Vietnamese press has widely reported on 
accusations by national television broadcaster Vietnam Television 
(VTV) that its competitor Vietnam Television Technology Investment 
and Development Company (VTC) violated VTV's copyright as the sole 
authorized broadcaster of the Miss World Pageant.  According to the 
reports, VTV has accused VTC of broadcasting the pageant on October 
1 without a proper license.  Government of Vietnam (GVN) officials 
and VTV representatives have informed the Embassy that they are now 
determining the proper response, though indications are that the GVN 
may let another opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to 
protecting IPR slip by.  Resolving the issue of cable and signal 
piracy is a major objective of this Mission.  This story is the most 
public evidence to date of the extent of the problem in Vietnam. 
End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Newspapers and national television stations have widely 
reported in the past week on national television broadcaster VTV's 
accusations that its competitor VTC committed a serious copyright 
violation when it broadcast the Miss World Pageant on October 1 
without a proper license.  TV Plus, the joint-stock company 
exclusively licensed by the pageant's copyright owner Zeal TV (Great 
Britain) to distribute the Miss World Pageant in Vietnam, planned 
together with VTV to air the broadcast on the evening of October 1. 
Using an illegally-obtained satellite signal from a foreign content 
provider, however, VTC broadcast the program on its digital cable 
network eight hours before VTV had scheduled the broadcast.  After 
discovering what VTC had done, VTV and TV Plus called on VTC to 
cease its unauthorized broadcast, but their requests were ignored. 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) An Embassy contact at TV Plus described VTC's violation as 
"very serious" noting the likely adverse effects on the program's 
sponsors, advertisers, and Vietnam's credibility as a guarantor of 
fair competition and copyright protection.  Our contact also 
informed the Embassy that TV Plus has contacted Zeal Television and 
the Star Group, whose signal VTC used to illicitly broadcast the 
pageant.  Zeal and Star Group both confirmed that VTC did not have 
authorization for its broadcast.  The representative of Zeal 
Television made clear that it is ready to join its Vietnamese 
partners' efforts in prosecuting VTC.  For its part, VTV has voiced 
on its own website that it is now time to resolve the issue of 
television copyright in Vietnam and called for public support. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Contacts at the Ministry of Posts and Telematics (MPT) 
explained that the Ministry has not yet taken any action in response 
to VTV's accusations.  It intends to meet with VTC to ascertain the 
facts of the case before deciding how to respond.  The contact noted 
that MPT will publicly comment on the findings of its inquiry, 
though it is unclear whether it will take any official action.  The 
Copyright Office of Vietnam (COV), under the Ministry of Culture and 
Information (MOCI), pointed to the recently passed IPR Law as 
grounds upon which copyright violations could be handled, though our 
contact said that COV would not take action unless a formal 
complaint is filed by TV Plus and VTV. 
 
¶5. (SBU) VTV revealed to Econ Assistant that it may choose to settle 
the issue through negotiations with VTC rather than pursue legal or 
official resolution.  The contact noted that VTV was pleased that 
this issue has been brought to the public's attention, but is wary 
of jeopardizing its relations with VTC by pursuing legal recourse. 
Note: VTC was formerly a subsidiary of VTV.  End Note. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment:  Copyright violations are a particularly common 
occurrence in the cable TV sector in Vietnam.  The Embassy has 
repeatedly urged the industry regulators, MPT and MOCI, to force VTC 
to discontinue its illicit activities (reftel).  Because MPT owns 
and operates VTC, it is in the best position to take decisive action 
to halt VTC's illicit activities.  MPT's actions to date, however, 
have been insufficient.  As this case demonstrates, VTC continues to 
broadcast unauthorized content unabated.  The Embassy will closely 
monitor any measures taken by the GVN to address the Miss World 
Pageant piracy case.  This is an opportunity for the GVN to 
demonstrate its commitment to protecting IPR in an instance where it 
can assert direct control, though comments from VTV, MPT and MOCI 
officials hint that the GVN may let yet another opportunity slip by. 
 End Comment. 
 
ALOISI