US embassy cable - 05HANOI1301

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 001301 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EB/IPE AND EAP/BCLTV 
STATE ALSO PASS USTR MCHALE, BURKY/ALVAREZ AND BRYAN 
STATE ALSO PASS USPTO FOR URBAN 
STATE ALSO PASS LIBRARY OF CONGRESS FOR TEPP 
USDOC FOR 4431/MAC/AP/OPB/VLC/HPPHO 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR, ETRD, ECON, EINV, VM, IPROP, SOE 
SUBJECT: VIETNAM: STOPPING SATELLITE SIGNAL PIRACY BY 
STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES 
 
This message contains sensitive business information. 
Please do not post on internet. 
 
1. (SBU) Summary.  Industry representatives have now 
confirmed the long held suspicion that unauthorized 
television signals from major foreign right holders are 
being distributed in Vietnam and identified several of 
the culprits.  Vietnam Electronic & Informational 
Corporation, apparently a state-owned company, is 
openly selling unauthorized overspill signals from 
other markets. In addition, Vietnam Television 
Corporation (VTC) the state-owned digital terrestrial 
platform with an estimated 200,000 subscribers around 
the country is pirating ESPN Star Sports (ESS), 
Discovery and likely several other channels.  These 
actions appear to violate Vietnam's commitments to 
protect broadcast works as the original work under the 
Berne Convention as well as the Bilateral Trade 
Agreement, which also prohibits selling of unauthorized 
satellite signals.  Once Washington agencies have 
confirmed this interpretation, we intend to write to 
the Government of Vietnam about this issue.  It may 
also be useful to raise during the meetings in 
Washington with Vietnam during the week of June 13. End 
Summary. 
 
Cable TV in Vietnam 
------------------- 
 
2. (SBU) Representatives from Star, Time Warner and 
Discovery, the Motion Picture Association and Cable 
Broadcast Association have now confirmed the long-held 
suspicion that unauthorized television signals from 
major foreign right holders are being distributed in 
Vietnam.  Determining who is a legitimate distributor 
of foreign television signals in Vietnam is difficult 
because each foreign firm sells the rights to its 
signals separately.  Several Vietnam cable entities 
have the licit rights to transmit signals within 
Vietnam through their very limited cable television 
systems.  In addition, foreign channels are sold 
directly to distributors, which resell them to what are 
termed broadcasters.  These broadcasters can be hotels, 
apartment buildings or large firms that distribute the 
authorized signals internally. 
 
3. (SBU) Distribution to the home market is even more 
complex.  While some cable broadcasters have licit 
rights to programming, the cable network is quite 
limited so satellite dishes are used to receive 
scrambled signals, which are then decoded through 
boxes.  One firm has said that only 42 individual homes 
in Vietnam have the rights to licit signals of certain 
of its channels.  Most homes receiving satellite 
signals get a decoder box and a package of channels 
from another market such as Thailand, the Philippines 
or China.  While the decoder and smartcard may be licit 
in the original market, they are not in Vietnam. 
Industry representatives call these unauthorized 
overspill signals.  Were these boxes licit, several 
would be required to access the same group of channels 
since Star and Time Warner do not sell their programs 
as a package for transmission by satellite to 
individual homes. 
 
Satellite Piracy in Vietnam 
--------------------------- 
 
4. (SBU) Right holders for several television and movie 
entities (i.e., Star, Time Warner, and Discovery and 
others) have confirmed to ECON/C that their signals are 
being pirated in Vietnam as follows.   Vietnam 
Electronic & Informational Corporation, a state-owned 
company, is openly selling unauthorized overspill 
signals from other markets. In addition, Vietnam 
Television Corporation (VTC) the state-owned digital 
terrestrial platform with an estimated 200,000 
subscribers around the country is pirating ESPN Star 
Sports (ESS), Discovery and likely several other 
channels.  ESS has sent VTC cease and desist letters in 
the past, which they have ignored.  Vietnam Cable 
Television (VCTV), which is also a state owned company 
but not related to VTC, is authorized by Star and does 
not appear to be pirating signals. 
 
Legal Issues 
------------ 
 
5. (SBU) These forms of piracy appear to violate the 
Berne Convention and the Bilateral Trade Agreement, but 
we would appreciate confirmation from Washington 
experts. As a member of the Berne Convention, Vietnam 
is required to protect "cinematographic works" as "an 
original work."  The World Intellectual Property Rights 
Organization guidance is that cinematographic works 
enjoy the same rights as the authors of (other) 
original works, including broadcasting.  In addition, 
the Bilateral Trade Agreement requires Vietnam to give 
the same protection as the Berne Convention, defines 
encrypted program-carrying satellite signals, and 
includes prohibitions against "willful receipt or 
further distribution of an encrypted program-carrying 
satellite signal that has been decoded without the 
authorization of the lawful distributor of the signal." 
 
Next Steps 
---------- 
 
6. (SBU) Industry representatives are in the process of 
sending a letter to the Ministry of Posts and 
Telematics (MPT), which is responsible for broadcasting 
and satellite signals in Vietnam including for the SOEs 
involved.  We would appreciate Washington experts 
confirming the interpretation in para 5.  We intend to 
draft a letter to MPT and will copy it to the Ministry 
of Trade and the Ministry of Culture.  The upcoming 
discussions with Vietnam in Washington at the Bilateral 
Trade Agreement Joint Committee Senior Meeting or the 
World Trade Organization Bilateral Market Access Talks 
(both scheduled the week of June 13) offer an 
opportunity to raise this issue with the Government of 
Vietnam. 
 
MARINE