Let me put it this way: when I asked, a friend gave me directions to a neighborhood (an intersection, actually) where I could buy software to bring home to friends. When I found a shop and asked for not just one copy but for two, I got a quizzical look. But the woman did sell the two copies to me. Later I learned why: once you slide the software disk into the laptop, the first thing you needed to do was click "Crack". And then you could not only use what you bought but also make as many copies of it as you wanted.
These days DVDs of Slumdog Millionaire or Platoon or Mamma Mia! or pretty much any current movie are for sale in Ho Chi Minh City for a dollar each. The DVD may play well, may play for five minutes, or may not play at all.
A book I was given for my Vietnamese class was a faint copy of a copy of a copy, nearly 300 pages all stapled together. Some pages were crooked, some pages had darker print than others, and some pages were missing. Nobody seemed to worry.
With Vietnam's entry into the World Trade Organization, examples of copyright violation are lessening, but, tellingly, when Vietnamese visitors came to the US, they often chose to buy vitamins and upscale cosmetics to take home, in part to be sure of the quality and the brand.
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