Vietnam has adopted Decree 341/2025/ND-CP, replacing the long-standing Decree 131/2013/ND-CP on administrative sanctions for copyright and related-rights infringement.
Effective from 15 February 2026, Decree 341 marks a substantive shift in how copyright enforcement – particularly in relation to online and cross-border infringement – is structured and applied in practice.
Cross-border online infringement is now explicitly within administrative enforcement reach. Enforcement outcomes are also increasingly content-focused and remedial, rather than purely unitive, while online platforms face clear, sanction-backed notice-and-takedown obligations.
However, penalty levels depend heavily on evidence of economic impact, making evidence collection and collaboration with authorities critical.
Below are the key developments that copyright holders should be aware of in further detail.
Decree 341 expressly expands its territorial reach to cover foreign organisations and individuals whose infringing conduct takes place in the online environment and targets or affects users or consumers in Vietnam.
This marks a significant step forward for cross-border enforcement, confirming that foreign websites, streaming services and overseas platforms serving Vietnamese users are no longer beyond the scope of Vietnamese administrative authorities.
From a policy perspective, this expansion responds to long-standing concerns about online piracy in Vietnam, which have been frequently highlighted in international reports (eg, the Office of the US Trade Representative’s 2025 Special 301 Report).
In practice, it strengthens the jurisdictional basis for administrative enforcement in cross-border cases and enhances the ability of copyright holders to initiate action against foreign-based operators that target the Vietnamese market.
Decree 341 significantly strengthens the remedial toolkit available to enforcement authorities, expanding the number of corrective measures available from just four to 29 distinct remedies.
Newly introduced measures include:
The expanded remedial measures enable the authorities to tailor enforcement outcomes to the nature, scale and impact of the infringement, with a focus on preventing ongoing harm and re-availability.
For copyright holders, this development has the potential to enhance the speed, precision and effectiveness of administrative enforcement, particularly against infringers operating in digital and platform-based markets.
Although the statutory caps on administrative fines remain unchanged, Decree 341 restructures how fines are determined.
Individuals can be fined up to VND250 million (approximately US$9,600) for infringement, while organisations can be fined up to VND500 million (approximately US$19,200).
Rather than relying on a range of fixed fines based on the type of infringement, Decree 341 states that penalties are now calibrated according to economic impact, which is assessed based on:
This value-based approach is intended to strengthen deterrence, ensuring that larger-scale or higher-impact infringements attract proportionately higher penalties.
However, it is worth noting that monetary fines remain comparatively low, suggesting that copyright holders should seek applicable administrative remedial measures and civil or criminal liabilities to strengthen deterrence further .
Decree 341 plays a key role in operationalising recent legislative reforms, particularly the amended IP Law and Decree 17.
Most notably, it introduces a detailed and enforceable liability regime for ISPs, giving practical effect to Vietnam’s notice-and-takedown framework.
Under the new decree, ISPs may now face administrative fines of up to VND150 million (approximately US$5,800) for, among other things:
For platforms, Decree 341 underscores the urgent need to review and update internal notice-and-takedown procedures to ensure full compliance with new regulatory requirements.
For copyright holders, this creates a more predictable and effective administrative pathway to secure timely takedown and enforcement against online infringement.
Decree 341 further escalates administrative sanctions for acts that infringe the application of technological measures used to protect copyright and related rights, including:
Under the new regime, violations include not only the acts of TPM circumvention and RMI removal or alteration themselves, but also the acts of producing, distributing, advertising or commercial dealing in devices or services designed to bypass TPM and RMI measures.
Organisations engaging in TPM-related violations may face graduated administrative fines of up to VND500 million (approximately US$19,200). The highest penalty tier applies to the intentional receipt and distribution of encrypted satellite programme signals following unauthorised decoding. This reflects a clear policy focus on combatting satellite signal piracy.
In parallel, Decree 341 introduces sanctions of up to VND200 million (approximately US$7,700) for organisations infringing the application of RMI to protect copyright and related rights. This includes intentionally distributing or broadcasting copies of works knowing that the RMI has been unlawfully removed, altered or otherwise tampered with.
Together, these provisions are expected to enhance protection for digital access controls and copyright metadata, providing copyright holders with clearer administrative tools to combat:
Decree 341 confirms a broad spectrum of competent authorities, including:
Recent government restructuring led to several changes, most notably the dissolution of district-level local governments and the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MOCST), with effect from 1 July 2025.
The allocation of sanctioning powers has been adjusted accordingly. The sanctioning powers of commune-level police have been expanded, while leaders of the MOCST and provincial/city-level DOCST are now empowered to establish ad hoc inspection teams, tailored to the specifics of each violation.
These adjustments aim to fill the gaps in enforcement task forces after the restructuring.
Decree 341 represents a structural upgrade to Vietnam’s copyright enforcement framework, with clear implications for rights holders operating in digital and cross-border markets.
To fully benefit from this framework, copyright holders should adapt their enforcement strategies by:
This article was first published by WTR in Feb 2026.
Authors: Khanh Nguyen, Huy Nguyen, Nguyet Nguyen, Vinh Khang Nguyen
