Vietnam has two online markets and two phyiscal markets entering the honor list of “2022 Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy,” by the Office of the US Trade Representative.
Excerpt from the report:
ONLINE MARKETS
BESTBUYIPTV (page 24)
Nominated as bestbuyIPTV.store. Related sites include biptv.best. Utilizes reverse proxy services to mask the
location of its hosting servers.
An increasingly popular form of online piracy is IPTV services that provide pirated audiovisual content, including movies and television series, through subscription services. BestBuyIPTV offers illicit IPTV channels from broadcasters globally, and it is compatible with most platforms and operating systems. BestBuyIPTV reportedly offers over 10,000 unauthorized channels from 38 countries, and also provides reseller and re-streamer services, with over 900,000 users, 12,000 resellers, and 2,000 re-streamers globally. Several right holders have connected the site to Vietnam, but the site uses reverse proxy services to mask the location of its hosting servers.
SHOPEE (page 33)
Nominated as shopee.com. Also available as a mobile app. Headquartered in Singapore.
Shopee is an online and mobile e-commerce market based in Singapore with individual country-focused platforms primarily serving Southeast Asia, Europe, and Brazil. Right holders report overall high volumes of counterfeits across some of Shopee’s platforms, with complaints about cumbersome and duplicative processes among the individual country-focused platforms, differing requirements for takedown requests, and slow response times. Shopee’s Taiwan and Vietnam platforms appear to be positive examples of better engagement with right holders and improved anticounterfeiting efforts, but some right holders indicate counterfeits are also present on those country platforms. In 2022, Shopee launched a pilot program for its new brand protection portal and, with a newly hired global brand protection director, increased its engagement with right holders. Right holders urge Shopee to improve its procedures for vetting sellers, enhance deterrence against counterfeit goods through increased penalties, and cooperate with right holders in investigations of the supply chain for counterfeit goods purchased on the platform.
PHYSICAL MARKETS
Tan Thanh Market, Lang Son Province (page 51)
Tan Thanh Market, located in Lang Son province on the border with China, is a wellknown venue for the sale and distribution of Chinese-made counterfeit consumer goods,including clothing, toys, and electronics. Right holders note their appreciation for enforcement efforts by Vietnam, but also report that the widespread sale of counterfeits appears to have continued in this market.
Saigon Square Shopping Mall, Ho Chi Minh City (page 52)
Saigon Square Shopping Mall, located in Ho Chi Minh City, was nominated by right holders as a reported venue for the sale of a large volume and variety of counterfeit luxury products, including handbags, wallets, jewelry, and watches. Right holders again acknowledge the regular and repeated enforcement efforts by Vietnam, but note that the fine for violations is low and has little deterrent effect.