Puppetry is a traditional art form with a strong Vietnamese identity, often recorded and shared by audiences on social media. However, not everyone knows that recording a puppet show video and posting it publicly may be related to copyright and performance copyright. Let’s find out more with VCD to avoid accidentally violating the law.
What is a puppet show video?
Puppetry is a traditional theatrical art form in which artists manipulate puppets with strings, sticks or hands to recreate folk tales, ancient stories or educational and entertaining content. In Vietnam, water puppetry is a prominent feature, bearing a strong national cultural imprint and is loved by many domestic and foreign tourists.
A puppet show video is a recording (or live broadcast) of a puppet show performance, which can be filmed by:
- The organizing unit itself, the theater, or the art troupe;
- Or the audience uses phones and cameras to record and share on social networks.
In essence, puppetry videos can contain many creative elements: script content, dialogue, music, setting, props and performance of the performer. Therefore, filming and posting these videos is directly related to the copyright and related rights of many individuals and organizations.
Is filming puppetry videos posted on social networks a copyright violation?
Recording and posting puppetry performances on social networks seems to be just an act of sharing culture, contributing to promoting Vietnamese folk art to a wide audience. However, in reality, this action has many potential legal risks if not permitted by the author, performing artist or organizing unit. Because each puppet show is a stage work protected by copyright, and unauthorized use and distribution may be considered an infringement of copyright and related rights under current law.
2.1. Puppetry is a protected work
According to Article 14 of the 2022 Law on Intellectual Property, the types of works protected by copyright include: “Theatrical works, including plays, cheo, tuong, cai luong, puppetry and other forms of performing arts.”
Thus, puppetry is protected by law as a stage work. Copyright arises from the moment the work is created and expressed in a certain material form (e.g., script, props, staging, music, etc.). That is, even if it has not been registered with the Copyright Office, the puppetry work is still protected by law.
2.2. Rights to puppet works
A video recording of a puppet performance is not only a copy of the work, but also contains the rights of the performer and the recording organization. Specifically:
- Rights of the author / owner of the work: Including the script, dialogue, music, props, stage layout.
- Rights of the performer: Stipulated in Article 29 of the Intellectual Property Law 2022, including personal rights (being named, protecting the performance image) and property rights (permission to record, broadcast).
- Rights of the recording producer: If an organization or individual invests in recording the performance, they also hold the rights related to the video product.
That means that anyone who wants to record a puppet video and post it on social networks must have the consent of the above rights holders. If not, depending on the level of violation, copyright infringement can be handled administratively, civilly or criminally.
- According to Decree 28/2017/ND-CP, copyright violators can be fined up to VND250 million for organizations, and VND125 million for individuals.
- In addition, copyright owners have the right to request: Removal of infringing videos; Public apologies and corrections; Compensation for damages.
- If the act is of a serious commercial nature, criminal liability may be prosecuted under Article 225 of the 2017 Penal Code.
Cases in which it is permitted to film and share puppetry videos
The law allows the use of published works in some exceptional cases without permission or royalties (Article 25 of the 2022 Intellectual Property Law), such as:
- Use for illustration, teaching, research purposes;
- Reasonable quotation for commentary, criticism, introduction purposes;
- Citing sources for non-commercial purposes.
For example: If you film a short clip (10 – 20 seconds) of a puppet show to introduce traditional art, comment or review, and clearly state the source and author, it is not considered a violation. But if you post the entire play or use it to make money from the platform, it is an act of copyright infringement.
Above is VCD’s sharing on the topic Is it a copyright violation to record a puppet show video and post it on social media?”. Hopefully, you have a better understanding of the legal regulations and the meaning of respecting copyright, thereby contributing to preserving and spreading the value of traditional Vietnamese art.
Sincerely,
Yes. Filming and posting a puppet show performance on social media is an act of copying and communicating the work to the public. According to Article 20 of the Intellectual Property Law 2022, this is the exclusive right of the copyright owner. If you film and post it without permission from the copyright or related rights owner, that act may be considered an infringement of copyright according to Article 28 of the Intellectual Property Law 2022. However, the law provides for some exceptions that are allowed to be used without permission, as stated in Articles 25 and 32 of the Intellectual Property Law 2022. For example:
– Recording or filming a small part of the performance for teaching or reporting current events,
– Non-commercial use
– Does not affect the normal exploitation of the work or the legitimate rights of the author. Therefore, if you want to post a puppet performance video, you should ask for permission from the copyright owner or the performance organizer to avoid violating the law.
In the case of only filming a short part of a puppet performance video and posting it on social networks to share personal feelings, not for commercial purposes, it can be considered fair use according to Articles 25 and 32 of the Intellectual Property Law 2022.
However, to be exempt from asking for permission, the poster must ensure the following 3 conditions:
– Only film and post a small, insignificant part of the performance
– Do not affect the normal commercial exploitation of the copyright owner
– Do not distort, edit or cut and paste the content of the work.
If you do not meet the above conditions (For example: Video is too long, has ads, monetization…), you may still be considered to have violated copyright.