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Cablegate: Vietnam: Stopping Satellite Signal Piracy By

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

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.

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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

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