In the context of globalization and the strong development of technology, copyright has become an increasingly concerned issue. A notable point is that copyright does not necessarily need to be registered to be effective. So, why does copyright not need to be registered but is still protected? The following article by VCD will help you.
1. Why does copyright not need to be registered but is still protected?
According to Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 6 of the current Intellectual Property Law, the basis and time of arising of copyright for works are as follows:
- Copyright arises as soon as a work is created and expressed in a specific material form, regardless of the content, quality, form, means or language of the work. This right still exists whether the work has been published or not, or has been registered or not.
- Meanwhile, related rights are formed from activities such as performing, recording, filming, broadcasting or transmitting satellite signals carrying encrypted programs. However, related rights must be exercised without infringing upon copyright.
In addition, according to Clause 2, Article 49 of the Law on Intellectual Property, submitting an application for a Certificate of Copyright Registration or a Certificate of Related Rights Registration is not a mandatory procedure to enjoy copyright and related rights under the provisions of this Law.
It can be seen that signing a copyright is not a mandatory requirement. Copyright arises as soon as a work is created and expressed in a specific material form, regardless of content, quality, form, medium or language, and does not depend on whether the work has been published or registered. Therefore, immediately after completing the work, copyright will be automatically formed, even if the copyright registration procedure has not been carried out.
This is the difference compared to the protection of industrial property objects, such as trademarks, inventions, industrial designs, ownership of these objects only arises when the state grants a protection certificate.
2. What are the risks of not registering copyright for a work?
Legally, copyright and works are protected regardless of copyright registration. However, not registering copyright can lead to certain legal risks for the author.
First of all, without copyright registration, the work is easily copied or abused by others for profit. This causes the author to lose the legitimate rights in exploiting his work.
Second, not registering can also lead to disputes. If a work is copied and someone else registers the copyright first, the author will have to prove that he is the creator to protect his rights. However, this proof is not always easy, and many authors have encountered difficulties, even “lost” their work.
Finally, not registering copyright will make it difficult to exploit copyright. According to regulations, the author can transfer some of his rights to another party to receive benefits. However, the transferee often requires a certificate of copyright registration, a basic document to verify legal rights. Therefore, not registering will make other parties hesitant to accept the transfer of copyright.
3. Copyright registration dossier
According to Article 39 of Decree 17/2023/ND-CP, the copyright registration dossier includes the following documents:
- Copyright registration declaration: This declaration must be signed or fingerprinted by the author, copyright owner or related rights owner, except in cases where signing is not possible due to physical reasons.
- Copy of work: 02 copies of the work (including electronic copies) or 02 copies of the fixed version of the performance, audio recording, video recording, or broadcast program must be submitted.
- Authorization document: If the applicant is not the author or copyright owner, a written authorization from that person is required.
- Documents proving ownership: Documents proving ownership must be provided, which can be originals or notarized or certified copies. This document may include a contract, inheritance, or assignment of rights.
- Affidavit of Creativity: In case the author is not the copyright owner, a written pledge of self-creation and creativity according to the assignment decision is required, along with the contract or certificate of participation in the contest. The author is legally responsible for the content of the pledge.
- Consent of co-authors: If the work has multiple co-authors, written consent of all co-authors is required.
- Consent of co-owners: In case the copyright or related rights are jointly owned, written consent of all co-owners is required.
- Consent of personal image: If the work uses another person’s image, written consent of that person is required according to the law.
Above is the article “Why is copyright protected without registration?” that VCD sent to you. We hope this article is useful to you.
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