In the context of rapidly developing technology, scanning documents has become a popular way to store and share information. However, this action also raises many legal questions, especially related to intellectual property rights. So, is scanning considered copying someone else’s work? Follow the article of VCD below.
1. What is a scan?
Scan is a common English word understood as scanning or converting data on papers, documents, and images on paper into data, files stored on computers, phones through a scanner, printer with scanning function or through a scanning application on the phone.
A scan converts paper documents into digital format, making it easy to store and access information from computers or other electronic devices. Scans can be stored in many different formats such as PDF, JPEG, TIFF or PNG depending on the purpose of use and user requirements.
However, currently the Law on Electronic Transactions 2023 and related legal documents do not have a specific definition of a scan. In fact, a scan is considered an electronic copy of scanned documents and papers. Scans are often used to digitize documents and papers for storage in computer databases.
2. Is scanning considered an act of copying someone else’s work?
Pursuant to Clauses 3 and 4, Article 3 of Decree 17/2023/ND-CP, “shaping” is understood as the expression of a work through writing, characters, lines, shapes, layouts, colors, sounds, images or the reproduction of sounds and images in a material form, from which it can be recognized, copied or communicated. The original of a work is the version that exists in a material form where the creation of the work was first fixed. A copy of a work is a direct or indirect copy of the whole or part of the work by any means or form.
The 2022 amended Law on Intellectual Property also stipulates that published works, sound recordings, and video recordings are works that have been released with the consent of the copyright owner and related rights owners, for dissemination to the public in any form in reasonable quantities. The act of copying is understood as making a copy of the whole or part of a work or sound recording, video recording by any means or form.
Therefore, a copy of a work can be understood as a direct or indirect copy of the whole or part of a work by any means. Scanning a document is essentially creating a copy of the original work. Therefore, this action is considered a violation of the right to copy another person’s work according to the provisions of the law on intellectual property.
3. Does scanning a work require permission from the author?
The author has personal rights and property rights to his work. The right to copy a work is one of the property rights that the author or copyright owner has the right to exercise or allow others to exercise, according to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 20 of the current Law on Intellectual Property. Specifically, these rights include:
- Creating derivative works
- Performing works in public
- Copying works
- Distributing or importing originals or copies of works
- Communicating works to the public via wire, wireless, or electronic information networks
- Leasing originals or copies of cinematographic works or computer programs
All organizations and individuals exploiting or using part or all of the above rights must ask for permission and pay royalties, remuneration and other material benefits to the copyright owner. The act of copying works without the permission of the author or copyright owner is considered a copyright infringement according to Clause 6, Article 28 of the Law on Intellectual Property. However, there are some cases where it is allowed to copy a work without permission or paying royalties, specifically stipulated in Point a, d, Clause 1, Article 25 of the Law on Intellectual Property, including:
- Self-copying a copy for the purpose of scientific research or personal teaching
- Copying a work for storage in a library for research purposes
Note that this provision does not apply to architectural works, plastic works and computer programs. When copying a work, it is necessary to respect the author and copyright; information about the origin and author must be clearly stated.
In conclusion scanning documents is also a form of copying a work. Depending on the purpose of copying, organizations or individuals may or may not need to ask for permission and pay royalties to the author.
The above is the article “Is scanning considered an act of copying someone else’s work?” that VCD sent to you. We hope this article is useful to you.
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