On December 26, 2025, the government of Vietnam promulgated Decree No. 341/2025/ND-CP on administrative sanctions for violations of copyright and related rights (Decree 341), with an effective date of February 15, 2026. The new decree replaces Decree No. 131/2013/ND-CP, as amended, and represents the first comprehensive revision of the administrative enforcement framework in this area in eight years.

Legislative Context and Objectives

Decree 341 reflects Vietnam’s evolving copyright and related-rights framework, particularly in light of the country’s commitments under bilateral, regional, and multilateral treaties governing the digital environment. While the decree retains a number of provisions from the previous regime, it also introduces significant amendments to infringing acts, penalty thresholds, remedial measures, and enforcement procedures.

The primary objectives of the new decree are to (i) enhance the deterrent effect of administrative sanctions; (ii) harmonize sanctions with the 2025 amendments to the Law on Intellectual Property and criminal law principles; and (iii) address enforcement challenges arising from online and cross-border exploitation of copyrighted works.

Expanded Scope of Sanctionable Subjects

Under Decree 341, administrative sanctions apply not only to Vietnamese entities committing infringing acts within Vietnam, but also to Vietnamese and foreign entities that commit acts of infringement on the internet where the protected content is accessed, consumed, or exploited by users in Vietnam.

This expansion reflects the realities of cross-border digital exploitation. However, the decree does not yet provide precise definitions of key terms such as “users” or “consumers” of digital content in Vietnam, which may require further regulatory clarification.

Monetary Penalties and Penalty Structure

The statutory maximum fines remain unchanged, at VND 250 million for individuals and VND 500 million for organizations, but the penalty framework is substantially restructured. Fines are now calibrated based on three core criteria: (i) the amount of illegal profit obtained; (ii) the level of damage caused to the rights holder; or (iii) the value of the infringing goods.

This approach aligns administrative sanctions more closely with criminal law principles and ensures greater proportionality between the infringement and the penalty imposed. However, the monetary fines still appear low compared with the damage suffered by IP holders as a result of copyright infringement.

Substantially Expanded Remedial Measures

One of the most notable developments introduced by Decree 341 is the significant expansion of remedial measures applicable to copyright and related rights infringements, an increase from four to 29.

The introduction of these measures equips authorities with a broader and more flexible toolkit to address both traditional, physical infringements and infringements occurring in the digital environment. Notably, several of these remedies were previously available only through civil litigation.

Key examples include:

• Mandatory public apologies to the affected rights holder.
• Mandatory surrender of copyright certificates, which may effectively function as a de facto revocation of the granted rights.
• Temporary removal or blocking of access to infringing digital content, a mechanism comparable to interim injunctions in civil proceedings.
• Obligations on infringers to disgorge profits obtained from the infringing acts.

Certain aspects of the new regime remain unclear. In particular, while Decree 341 introduces mandatory public apologies and profit disgorgement as sanctions, there is currently no detailed regulatory guidance on how illicit profits should be calculated or whether such profits are to be treated as a form of compensable damage. As a result, there remains uncertainty as to how these remedies will be applied in practice and how consistently enforcement authorities will interpret and implement them.

Further implementing guidance will therefore be critical to ensuring legal certainty and uniform application of these newly introduced measures.

Expansion of Infringing Acts

The scope of sanctionable conduct has been expanded from 31 to 43 categories of violations, including 35 acts of copyright and related-rights infringement and 8 other administrative violations related to copyright and related rights.

This expansion reflects the increasing complexity of infringement in the digital environment and provides enforcement authorities with clearer legal grounds to address emerging forms of misconduct. One important new provision allows the authorities to impose sanctions on internet service providers if they commit violations, such as failing to provide information about infringers or failing to comply with official orders.

Enforcement Authorities

Decree 341 confirms a broad range of competent authorities, including:

• People’s Committees at all levels;
• Inspectors of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam and the Vietnam Maritime and Waterway Administration;
• Leaders of state management agencies in relevant sectors, including departments under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MOCST);
• Directors General of the broadcasting, press, and publishing authorities; and
• Law-enforcement bodies, including the police, border guards, the coast guard, customs, and market surveillance forces.

Notably, the Inspectorate of the MOCST no longer functions as a permanent enforcement body. Instead, the leaders of the MOCST or provincial/city-level Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism can form ad hoc inspection teams, depending on the nature of the violation.

Procedural Reforms

Decree 341 introduces important procedural safeguards that were absent from the previous framework. These include detailed rules on the form and recipients of mandatory apologies; specific methodologies for calculating illegal profits; and formal grounds for refusing or suspending administrative enforcement where there is a dispute over ownership, scope, duration, or subject matter of copyright or related rights.

These provisions enhance legal certainty and reduce the risk of overlapping or premature administrative action where civil disputes remain unresolved.

Conclusion

Decree 341 represents a substantial modernization of Vietnam’s administrative enforcement regime for copyright and related rights. By expanding the scope of infringements, strengthening remedies, and refining enforcement procedures, the decree is expected to improve the effectiveness of rights protection, particularly in the digital environment.

Rights holders operating in or targeting the Vietnamese market should review their enforcement strategies in light of this new framework and prepare to take advantage of the broader range of remedies and enforcement mechanisms available from February 2026 onward.

This article first appeared in Managing Intellectual Property.