Lang Van, Inc. (Vietnamese: Làng Văn), a Vietnamese-American record label established in 1985, has filed a federal copyright infringement lawsuit in the United States against Bihaco Communication Trading & Service Corporation (doing business as BH Media), a digital content company based in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (Case No. 8:26-cv-00921). The lawsuit alleges willful infringement involving approximately 5,252 copyrighted Vietnamese sound recordings and documents at least 8,068 separate instances of alleged infringement during the three-year statutory period.
According to the filed complaint, BH Media allegedly removed Lang Van’s International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) metadata from the sound recordings and substituted its own registered codes. The lawsuit alleges this practice was utilized to divert digital royalty payments from distribution platforms, including YouTube, Spotify, Meta, and Apple Music. The complaint further alleges that BH Media utilized a music label named "SOXO" to assign duplicate ISRC codes to the recordings and used Multi-Channel Networks to bypass automated copyright identification systems.
The litigation follows two recent international regulatory and legal developments. On April 30, 2026, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) designated Vietnam as a "Priority Foreign Country" due to intellectual property enforcement concerns under U.S. trade law. Subsequently, on May 15, 2026, authorities in Vietnam initiated criminal proceedings against BH Media Chief Executive Officer Nguyễn Hải Bình under Prime Ministerial Telegram 38/CĐ-TTg, which directed a national campaign regarding intellectual property compliance.
According to statements from Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security, Vietnamese authorities charged Nguyễn Hải Bình and other entertainment executives with alleged copyright violations related to the unauthorized recording, editing, and digital distribution of music. Public documentation from investigators in Vietnam initially estimated the revenue tied to the alleged domestic activity at approximately VND 6 billion ($235,000).
Lang Van's management stated that the U.S. federal litigation represents an independent effort to protect master recordings associated with several diaspora-era labels, including Nguoi Dep Binh Duong, Thuy Anh, Kim Ngan, Cao Dao, New Castle, Bien Tien, and Lang Van. The company noted that because these master recordings were created outside of Vietnam after 1975, they remain distinct from the domestic composition rights currently being scrutinized under Vietnamese criminal jurisdiction.
Court records indicate that the defendant has been subject to prior copyright litigation in the same federal jurisdiction, including a lawsuit filed in 2021 by another rights holder, as well as an active 2024 mass-infringement lawsuit filed by LTN Media and Thuy Nga.
In the current U.S. federal matter, Lang Van is seeking permanent injunctive relief and statutory financial damages under 17 U.S.C. § 504(c). The plaintiff is represented by the law firm witkow | baskin.
Media Contact
Mimi Nguyen
mimi@langvan.com
