AJR 33: Intellectual property enforcement: Priority Foreign Countries.

WHEREAS, Vietnam is the only foreign nation in 13 years to be designated as a Priority Foreign Country by the Office of the United States Trade Representative due to serious concerns regarding intellectual property rights enforcement; and

WHEREAS, These persistent violations have forced United States media companies to undertake costly federal litigation to defend and preserve their lawfully owned copyrights; and

WHEREAS, Vietnam-based media companies have exploited media platforms, such as YouTube, by manipulating automated content identification systems and asserting false ownership claims over creative works they do not own; and

WHEREAS, In Lang Van v. Bihaco Communication Trading and Services Corporation et al. (United States District Court, Case No. 8:26-cv-00921), the California-based plaintiff alleges 5,252 willful acts of copyright infringement; and

WHEREAS, California is the cultural and economic heart of the largest diaspora of Americans of Vietnamese heritage in communities across the state including Orange County, San Jose, San Diego, Sacramento, Oakland, and San Francisco; and

WHEREAS, California families, artists, entrepreneurs, and small businesses have seen the fruits of their labor exploited, their intellectual property misappropriated, and revenue diverted through fraudulent copyright claims; and

WHEREAS, The protection of American creators and upholding media platform integrity is not only good public policy, but is essential for enabling innovation, creativity, and new job opportunities; now, therefore, be it,

Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature urges the President of the United States and the Congress of the United States to take immediate action to protect American creators and businesses by initiating a temporary moratorium on the enforcement of copyright claims, content identification matches, or monetization actions originating from any claimants or multichannel networks based in a nation deemed to be a Priority Foreign Country by the Office of the United States Trade Representative; and be it further

Resolved, That this moratorium be maintained until such a nation establishes sufficient intellectual property protections that would remove the country from the Priority Foreign Country list as assigned by the Office of the United States Trade Representative; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the Senate, each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, the Governor, the Attorney General, and the author for appropriate distribution.