In the practice of creating and exploiting works, there are many cases where an individual directly creates a work, but the right to exploit and use it belongs to an organization. This relationship raises questions about how legal status is recorded on a copyright registration certificate, especially whether individuals and organizations can be listed as co-authors on the same certificate. This VCD article will help you.
Distinguishing between author and copyright owner?
According to Article 13 of the 2005 Intellectual Property Law (amended and supplemented in 2022), an author is an individual who directly creates all or part of a work through their intellectual labor. The element of “direct creation” is the core condition for determining authorship. Therefore, Vietnamese law does not recognize organizations as authors, because organizations cannot perform creative acts of an individual nature.
Meanwhile, the copyright owner is the organization or individual holding the property rights to the work. The owner may also be the author, or another entity whose rights are established through legal grounds such as: assignment of tasks, employment contracts, copyright transfer contracts, inheritance, or according to the provisions of the law. This is clearly stated in Article 39 of the Intellectual Property Law, according to which, for works created under assignment from an organization or under an employment contract, that organization is the copyright owner, unless the parties agree otherwise.
Thus, it can be seen that the author is associated with moral rights, while the owner is associated with property rights, and these two capacities can belong to two different entities.
What is a copyright certificate?
A copyright registration certificate is a document issued by the Copyright Office upon request from the author or copyright owner. According to Articles 49 and 53 of the Intellectual Property Law, the certificate is not a condition for the creation of copyright, but it is important legal evidence to prove ownership in case of disputes.
The certificate contains basic information such as: the title of the work, the type of work, the completion date, the name of the author, the copyright owner, and the basis for establishing ownership. This recording is particularly significant in practice because it clearly identifies who is the creator and who has the right to exploit and use the work, thus providing a basis for the transfer, licensing, or protection of copyright.
Can individuals and organizations be listed as co-owners on a single copyright certificate?
Based on the provisions of the Intellectual Property Law, individuals and organizations can be listed together on a single Copyright Registration Certificate, but the names listed must accurately reflect the legal status of each entity and the basis for establishing rights to the work.
Firstly, in the case of a work created by an individual under assignment or employment contract with an organization:
According to Article 39 of the Intellectual Property Law, for works created under assignment or employment contract, the organization is the owner of the property rights, unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties. In this case, the individual who directly created the work is still recognized as the author, while the organization is recognized as the copyright owner. These two entities will appear together on the Certificate, but with different legal statuses.
Secondly, in the case of an individual creating a work independently and then transferring ownership to another organization:
According to Articles 45 and 46 of the Intellectual Property Law, the author or copyright owner has the right to transfer the property rights to the work to another organization or individual through a transfer contract. After the transfer takes effect, the transferee organization becomes the copyright owner, while the individual creator remains recognized as the author and continues to be protected by non-transferable moral rights (except for the right to publish the work if agreed upon).
In this case, the Copyright Registration Certificate will recognize the individual as the author and the transferee organization as the copyright owner, along with the basis for establishing the right, which is the legally valid transfer contract.
Thirdly, the case where an individual and an organization jointly own the copyright:
The law allows multiple entities to jointly own copyright if there is evidence proving joint investment or a joint agreement to establish property rights over the work. In this case, the Certificate will fully record all copyright owners. However, joint ownership must be clearly stated in writing and agreed upon by all parties from the outset.
Furthermore, the law does not allow organizations to be listed as authors or co-authors, because according to Article 13 of the Intellectual Property Law, the author can only be an individual who directly creates the work. An organization cannot be listed as a co-author with an individual in any form.
Above is the article “ Can individuals and organizations be listed as co-authors on a single copyright certificate?” that VCD has sent to you. We hope this article is helpful to you.
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Answer: A Copyright Registration Certificate simultaneously shows the names of an individual and an organization when the individual is the direct creator of the work, and the organization is the entity holding the property rights to the work according to an agreement, assignment decision, or legally valid transfer contract.
Answer: No. The transfer of ownership only changes the copyright owner; the individual’s authorship status remains preserved and recorded on the Copyright Registration Certificate.