Author: Editor VCD

How to get foreign books published

Written by Editor VCD on 17 December, 2024. Posted in Announcement, Copyright Registration, Written works.

Publishing foreign books in Vietnam is becoming more and more popular, opening up many opportunities for authors, publishers and readers. In order to publish a foreign work, publishers need to understand clearly about copyright purchase, legal requirements and the process of importing publications. Understanding these things not only helps protect the rights of the author but also ensures the quality and legality of the published publications. The following article from VCD will help you.

1. Copyright of foreign books

Books are creative products in the field of literature with many topics from knowledge, life experience, human emotions, narratives, etc. Accordingly, foreign books are works created and presented in a language other than that of the home country.

Copyright, also known as authorship, is the right of an organization or individual to the work they create or own. After purchasing the copyright, the next step is to publish the book.

According to Article 4 of the 2012 Publishing Law, “Publishing is the organization, exploitation of manuscripts, editing into templates for printing and distribution or direct distribution through electronic means”. Also according to Article 26 of this law, “Publishing works and documents of foreign organizations and individuals for business in Vietnam must be carried out by Vietnamese publishers”.

Therefore, when there is a need to sell foreign publications, the first step that publishers must take is to purchase the copyright. This is considered an essential and important step in publishing activities. After completing the copyright purchase, the publisher will proceed with the translation and carry out the next steps in the publishing process.

2. Conditions for importing books from abroad to Vietnam

According to Article 38 of the 2012 Publishing Law, domestic organizations and individuals, as well as foreign organizations and individuals, are allowed to import publications into Vietnam in accordance with the provisions of Vietnamese law and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

However, to conduct the business of importing publications, establishments must have a license issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications. To be granted a license, establishments must meet the following conditions:

Have one of the following types of business registration certificates, enterprise registration certificates, or investment certificates as prescribed by law.

The head of the importing establishment must reside permanently in Vietnam and have a diploma from a specialized training institution or a certificate of professional knowledge training in publishing issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Have a team of qualified staff to appraise the content of books in the case of book import business.

In addition, establishments must also comply with the conditions specifically stipulated in Clause 1, Article 14 of Decree 195/2013/ND-CP.

3. Current status of foreign book publishing in Vietnam

More and more publishers in Vietnam are focusing on purchasing book copyrights, and this has become a race between units to seize opportunities and optimize costs. Normally, publishers have to pay foreign copyright owners from 6% to 8% of the cover price of the total number of copies sold, with a minimum requirement of about 2,000 copies. For the translation of domestic works into foreign languages, the copyright fee also ranges from 4% to 12% of the cover price of the total number of prints.

To meet this demand, many publishers have set up a specialized copyright team, seeking book sources from countries with developed publishing industries. They pay special attention to works that have won prestigious awards such as the Nobel Prize in Literature, the Pulitzer Prize, as well as authors who are prominent on the list of best-sellers worldwide. However, many foreign publications, after being copyrighted, are carelessly translated, mistranslated, or arbitrarily edited, leading to content distortion, causing public outrage. Many publishers, in order to catch up with the popularity of the book, have lacked calculation and preparation, thereby affecting the quality of the work.

Moreover, some good works, although requiring large sums of money to purchase copyrights and organize media events, are translated by unknown, less-known translators to reduce costs. This not only reduces book prices but also affects purchasing power. In particular, books with complex content related to culture, especially local culture and national identity, are often not fluently conveyed from the original language into Vietnamese. This situation poses a great challenge to the quality of publishing and the development of the publishing industry in Vietnam.

Above is the article “How to get foreign books published” that VCD sends to you. We hope this article is useful to you.

Sincerely,

Resolving disputes arising from copyright involving foreign elements in Vietnam

Written by Editor VCD on 17 December, 2024. Posted in Announcement, Copyright Registration.

Resolving copyright disputes involving foreign elements in Vietnam is a crucial aspect of intellectual property law. These disputes not only reflect the relationship between authors, owners of works and users, but also involve complex legal regulations between countries. Resolving copyright disputes involving foreign elements in Vietnam not only ensures the legitimate rights of the parties involved but also contributes to building trust in the creative environment. So, what is resolving copyright disputes involving foreign elements?. Follow the article of VCD below.

1. What is resolving copyright disputes involving foreign elements?

Copyright under Vietnamese intellectual property law is the right of organizations or individuals to the works they create or own. This right arises as soon as the work is created and expressed in a certain material form. This does not depend on the content, quality, form, means, language of the work, as well as whether the work has been published or not, or registered or not.

Copyright disputes are disputes over interests between subjects related to copyright. Specifically, according to Clause 1, Section I, Part A of Joint Circular No. 02/2008/TTLT-TANDTC-VKSNDTC-BVHTT&DL-BKH&CN-BTP, including: Between individuals regarding copyright for literary, artistic, scientific works and derivative works; between co-authors on co-authorship rights, between individuals and organizations on ownership of works, between copyright owners and authors on royalties, remuneration, etc.

Resolving copyright disputes with foreign elements is understood as the court resolving disputes on the rights and legitimate interests of subjects related to copyright, in which at least one of the parties is a foreigner, a Vietnamese residing abroad, a foreign agency or organization, or copyright relationships arising between Vietnamese citizens, agencies or organizations but the basis for establishing, changing or terminating such relationships is according to foreign law, arising abroad or related to relationships abroad.

2. Jurisdiction to resolve copyright disputes involving foreign elements

Disputes arising from copyright involving foreign elements are essentially civil disputes with the following basic characteristics: complexity, multinationality, confidentiality, etc. Vietnamese law has early determined the position and role of the people’s court in protecting copyright, thereby setting out the task of developing litigation procedures to protect the legitimate rights and interests of authors and copyright owners.

According to the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, civil disputes related to intellectual property include disputes over intellectual property rights as prescribed in Article 26 and disputes over intellectual property rights for profit purposes as prescribed in Article 30. These disputes are all under the jurisdiction of the Court.

Specifically, disputes with foreign elements as prescribed in Article 35 are under the jurisdiction of the provincial People’s Court. Therefore, copyright disputes involving foreign elements will also be resolved by the Provincial People’s Court.

3. Determining the applicable law to resolve copyright disputes involving foreign elements.

First, if Vietnam and the country where the copyright dispute takes place are both members of an international treaty related to intellectual property rights, or if one party to the dispute has the nationality of that country, the international treaty will be applied to copyright disputes involving foreign elements.

In cases where the international treaty allows the parties to choose the applicable law, the law will be determined based on the choice of the parties involved.

If there is no international treaty, the determination of the applicable law for copyright disputes involving foreign elements is based on Article 679 of the 2015 Civil Code: “Intellectual property rights are determined according to the law of the country where the subject of intellectual property rights is requested to be protected”. This means that the law applicable to the dispute will be the law of the country where the copyright is infringed, and the owner must request protection in that country. In particular, copyright in this country must be registered and granted a certificate of protection so that the owner can request protection of his rights; that is, only when there is legal protection, the law of that country will be applied to resolve the dispute.

Above is the article “Resolving disputes arising from copyright with foreign elements in VietNam” that VCD sent to you. We hope this article is useful to you.

Sincerely,

Limitation of copyright in teaching and scientific research activities

Written by Editor VCD on 17 December, 2024. Posted in Announcement, Copyright Registration, Copyright-related rights, Written works.

In the field of education and scientific research, sharing and using resources is essential to promote knowledge and innovation. However, copyright protection also plays an important role in ensuring the rights of authors and encouraging creativity. Therefore, limiting copyright in teaching and research activities has become a noteworthy issue. So what are the legal regulations on this issue? Please follow the article of VCD below.

1. Concept

Teaching is understood as presenting knowledge, imparting knowledge in detail for others to understand. Scientific research is the activity of exploring, discovering, understanding the nature and laws of things, natural and social phenomena and creative thinking of solutions to apply in practice (Clause 4, Article 3 of the Law on Science and Technology 2013).

A common feature in teaching and scientific research activities is the exploitation and use of published works. This exploitation and use can be in many different forms and plays an important role in teaching and scientific research.

Limitations of copyright in teaching and scientific research activities are understood as the use of works in the process of imparting knowledge, creating, learning, discovering objects, phenomena, and society without the user having to ask for permission from the author, copyright owner, may not have to pay remuneration, must not affect the normal exploitation of the work, and must not harm the legitimate rights and interests of the author, copyright owner.

Limitations on copyright in teaching and scientific research activities

2. Regulations on copyright limitations for teaching and scientific research activities

The law on copyright recognizes the contributions to literature, art and scientific research of authors and copyright owners by granting them exclusive rights to exploit and use their creative and investment achievements. In order to harmonize the interests of copyright owners and public interests, intellectual property law stipulates exceptions to the exclusive rights, also known as copyright limitations, for certain acts of using and exploiting copyright.

The limitation is reflected in the fact that in certain cases, other individuals and organizations have the right to use published works without permission, without having to pay royalties to the author or copyright owner, or use published works without permission but must pay royalties and remuneration (Articles 25 and 26 of the current Intellectual Property Law). The subjects of application in this case are published works.

Cases of using a work without permission, without paying royalties or remuneration:

Regarding the regulation on self-copying one copy for the purpose of scientific research and teaching by an individual: According to the provisions of Point a, Clause 1, Article 25 of the current Law on Intellectual Property, in addition to complying with the general principle in using a work that does not affect the normal exploitation of the work and does not harm the legitimate rights of the author or copyright owner, copying a work without permission, without paying royalties can only be carried out when meeting the following conditions: self-copying; and only one copy can be copied and only for the purpose of scientific research and teaching by an individual.

Regarding the regulation on copying a work for storage in a library for research purposes. Library activities are always associated with copyright protection, because they originate from the functions and tasks of the library as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 4 of the 2019 Library Law.

According to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 29 of Decree 17/2023/ND-CP: Copying a work stored in a library as stipulated in Point e, Clause 1, Article 25 of the Law on Intellectual Property is the act of copying no more than three copies for preservation, provided that these copies must be marked as archived copies and limited to the subject of access according to the provisions of the law on libraries and archives. According to the above provisions, copying a work for storage in a library is also limited to three copies and must be marked as archived copies and limited to the purpose of non-commercial purposes.

In cases where permission is not required to use a work but royalties and remuneration must be paid:

The law allows other entities to use the work in certain cases without having to ask for permission from the copyright owner but must pay remuneration for the use. Article 26 of the current Intellectual Property Law stipulates this case. This is an exception specifically for broadcasting organizations, the act of broadcasting is considered as communicating the work to the public. Therefore, the intellectual property law stipulates that when an individual or organization broadcasts, they must pay a sum of money to the author or copyright owner. Broadcasting organizations, when using published works for broadcasting, whether sponsored, advertised, or collected money or not, must pay royalties and remuneration to the copyright owner from the time of use. The difference is shown in the level of royalties and remuneration.

Above is the article “Limitations on copyright in teaching and scientific research activities” that VCD sends to you. We hope you find this article useful.

Sincerely,

Is scanning considered copying someone else’s work?

Written by Editor VCD on 10 December, 2024. Posted in Announcement, Copyright Registration, Written works.

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.

Sincerely,

What documents are required to register a comic book copyright?

Written by Editor VCD on 10 December, 2024. Posted in Announcement, Copyright Registration, Fine art work and applied art work, Musical work.

Registering a comic book copyright is not only an important step in protecting the author’s rights but also helps establish legal ownership of the work. For the registration process to go smoothly, authors and owners need to prepare some necessary papers and documents. The following article from VCD will help you.

1. What is a comic book copyright?

Comics are a type of story familiar to all ages in life, a form of story told in the form of images or a series of continuous images combined with text or other images that convey information to readers.

Comics are a form of conveying the creator’s message to readers in the most vivid way, combined with many different images in succession to represent narrative dialogue, sound effects or other information.

Comics are a type of work protected by intellectual property law. Currently, comic works are classified as written works. In particular, for comic works with little or no dialogue, the author can use a part of the work to print and decorate personal items such as T-shirts, cups, postcards, etc. In this case, these works can be registered for protection as applied art.

Copyright, also known as author’s rights, is a legal term used to describe the rights that authors have to their literary and artistic works.

Comic copyright is the affirmation of copyright to the comic work that they create or are the owner of that work.

2. Conditions for copyright protection of comic works

Organizations and individuals whose comic works are protected by copyright include the person who directly creates the work and the copyright owner according to the provisions from Article 37 to Article 42 of the Law on Intellectual Property.

Authors and copyright owners may be Vietnamese organizations or individuals; or foreign organizations or individuals whose works are first published in Vietnam and have not been published in any other country, or are simultaneously published in Vietnam within 30 days of first publication in another country. In addition, foreign organizations and individuals whose works are protected in Vietnam under international copyright treaties of which Vietnam is a member are also protected.

Comic works belong to the types of copyright protection prescribed in Article 14 of the Law on Intellectual Property. Derivative works are only protected if they do not infringe upon the copyright of the original work. To be protected, comic works must be directly created by the author through his or her own intellectual labor without copying from other works. Works that are not within the scope of copyright protection will not be protected.

3. Comic book copyright registration application

To register copyright, the following documents must be prepared:

Copyright registration application form: The application form must be in Vietnamese and must be signed by the author, copyright owner, or authorized person. At the same time, the application form must include full information about the applicant, author, copyright owner; summary of the work; original work name if it is a derivative work; time, place and form of publication; commitment to responsibility for the information in the application.

Two copies of the work: Provide two copies of the work for copyright registration.

Power of attorney: If the applicant is not the author but an authorized person, a power of attorney is required.

Documents proving the right to submit an application: If the applicant enjoys rights from another person (by inheritance, transfer, succession), documents proving this right are required.

Written consent of co-authors: If the work has multiple co-authors, written consent of all co-authors is required.

Written consent of co-owners: If the copyright is jointly owned, written consent of all co-owners is required.

4. Benefits of comic book copyright registration

Proof of legal rights: Registration helps authors and owners prove their legal rights in the event of a dispute with another party. This creates a basis for competent authorities to apply civil, administrative or criminal measures against copyright infringement.

Exploitation of rights: Registration also helps authors and owners easily exploit personal and property rights recognized by law. This includes the right to use, transfer and license their works.

International protection: Registering copyright protection for comics in Vietnam also helps authors and owners to be protected under international treaties of which Vietnam is a member. This means that their copyright is not only protected in Vietnam but also in other countries.

Above is the article “What documents are required to register copyright of comics?” that VCD sent to you. We hope this article is useful to you.

Sincerely,

Measures to ensure enforcement of copyright for computer programs

Written by Editor VCD on 10 December, 2024. Posted in Announcement, Computer program and data compilation, Copyright Registration.

In the digital age, computer programs are not only supporting tools but also creative products of human intelligence. However, copyright protection for these products is facing many challenges due to the ease of copying and distribution. To ensure the rights of developers and promote innovation, copyright enforcement measures are more urgent than ever. The following article from VCD will help you.

1. General overview

Measures to ensure enforcement of intellectual property rights are not only measures to prevent intellectual property infringements from occurring in reality, but also to handle and resolve when there are infringements in order to end the infringement and compensate for damages.

According to Clause 1, Article 22 of the current Intellectual Property Law, the concept is as follows: A computer program is a set of instructions expressed in the form of commands, codes, diagrams or other forms, which, when attached to a device or device operated by a computer programming language, is capable of making the computer or device perform work or achieve specific results. A computer program is protected as a literary work, whether expressed in the form of source code or machine code.

From the above concepts, it can be seen that a computer program is protected as a literary work, but in the process of creation and operation, it is a scientific and technical product. This creates challenges regarding the effectiveness of rights owners in taking actions against acts of copyright infringement against computer programs.

2. Measures to ensure the enforcement of copyright against computer programs.

Measures to apply technology to protect yourself:

Applying technological measures to protect yourself with the aim of minimizing copyright infringement by controlling the way computer programs are used by technical means is considered effective:

Applying technological measures to detect illegal computer program installation. To detect illegal computer program installation, computer programs are set up according to the data of software enterprises with a system to monitor the activities of computer programs by connecting the computer program to the server system, each time a computer program is used illegally, the server will be notified immediately.

Applying technological measures to prevent copyright infringement of computer programs. Copyrighted computer programs are often set up with copyright checking functions such as requiring users to enter a series of numbers (called keys) to authenticate that they are legitimate users when first installed. Users of computer programs must pay the copyright owner of the computer program to obtain these keys.

Civil measures:

The awareness of activities related to copyright of computer programs by users such as end users or businesses is still low. Vietnamese consumers still prefer to use free computer programs downloaded from the internet or find ways to disable technical measures applied by copyright owners of computer programs. Practice shows that many subjects are afraid to file a lawsuit to request the termination of infringement because of the costs involved in collecting evidence to prove the infringement. If the court wins the lawsuit, they will only be refunded the court fees, while in many cases the damage cannot be determined. Therefore, there should be regulations on minimum compensation for damages in cases of copyright infringement where the damage cannot be determined to encourage the right holders to initiate legal proceedings and at the same time serve as a warning to the holders who are intending to infringe copyright.

Criminal measures:

In fact, not only in Vietnam but also in the world, there are very few cases of copyright infringement of computer programs that are criminally prosecuted. Vietnam has not yet handled copyright infringement of computer programs by criminal measures, however, that does not mean that there are no acts that satisfy the criminal elements of copyright infringement of computer programs. Although the nature of the relationship is civil, the economic harm of copyright infringements on computer programs is very large for the owner, so the 2015 Civil Code, revised in 2017, is limited to two groups of acts: copying computer programs and distributing copies of computer programs to the public.

Administrative measures:

Upon discovering an act of infringement, the copyright owner of a computer program will make a recommendation and work directly with the subject suspected of infringement to request that the infringement be terminated. According to Clause 1, Article 211 of the current Law on Intellectual Property, acts of intellectual property infringement are subject to administrative sanctions when organizations and individuals commit one of the following acts of copyright infringement on computer programs: acts causing damage to authors, owners, consumers or society; production, import, transportation, and trading of counterfeit goods on computer programs. The main forms of punishment are warnings and fines. In addition, additional measures are applied to remove copies of computer programs on the means in use and in the network environment.

Above is the article “Measures to ensure enforcement of copyright on computer programs” sent to you by VCD. We hope this article is useful to you.

Sincerely,

Copyright for derivative works

Written by Editor VCD on 3 December, 2024. Posted in Announcement, Copyright Registration.

Copyright for derivative works is an essential aspect of intellectual property law, reflecting the relationship between the original work and the work developed from it. Protecting the rights of authors not only ensures fairness but also encourages creativity and innovation in art. So, what is copyright for derivative works? Follow the article of VCD below.

1. Concept of copyright for derivative works

Clause 2, Article 14 of the current Intellectual Property Law stipulates: derivative works are only protected if they do not harm the copyright for the work used to make the derivative work. Accordingly, like the copyright for the original work, the owner of the copyright for derivative works also enjoys property rights and personal rights, but depending on the level and scope. However, copyright for derivative works also has its own characteristics when placed in relation to the original work, that is, copyright for derivative works will be completely independent from copyright for the original work from the moment the derivative work is formed in a certain material form. Derivative works are protected by copyright as an original work but must not harm the copyright of the original work.

Like the original work, copyright for derivative works is an automatic derivative right immediately after being created, protected by law without registration.

2. Copyright subject for derivative works

According to Article 4 of the current Law on Intellectual Property, copyright is the right of an organization or individual to the work they create or own. Thus, the copyright subject can be the author (co-author) or the copyright owner. In addition, there are also some individuals who own works that are not their own creations but are transferred or inherited from other individuals. The copyright owner is the organization or individual who assigns tasks to the author or enters into a contract with the author. In addition, the copyright owner is the State for works belonging to the public.

3. Copyright infringement of derivative works

When a derivative work is legally created and meets all the conditions prescribed by law, the derivative work itself will be protected as an independent work. Copyright infringement in general, including copyright infringement of derivative works in particular, is specifically listed in Article 28 of the current Law on Intellectual Property. Including the following four groups of acts:

Group of acts infringing the author’s personal rights:

Infringement of the right to name a work: changing the name of a work without the permission of the author or co-author, except in cases where the work is translated or other laws provide. When creating a derivative work, the name of the original work must be stated and the name of the original work must not be changed arbitrarily.

Infringement of the right to name or name a derivative work: impersonating the author, forging the author’s name or signature, not stating or intentionally misrepresenting the author’s name and origin when exploiting or using it.

Infringement of the right to publish a derivative work: publishing without the consent of the copyright owner or co-owner of the copyright, appropriating the copyright.

Infringement of the right to protect the integrity of a work, causing harm to the honor and reputation of the author: distorting, modifying, or cutting the work.

Group of acts infringing the property rights of copyright owners:

Infringement of the right to make derivative works: existing works are used as derivative works without the consent of the copyright owner or co-owners.

Infringement of the right to perform works in public: performing, reading, displaying, exhibiting, showing, performing in public places or places selling tickets, collecting money without the consent of the copyright owner.

Infringement of the right to copy works: duplicating, creating copies of works without permission.

Distributing, importing for distribution to the public the original, tangible copies of works without the consent of the copyright owner.

Communicating, broadcasting to the public via telecommunications networks and the internet.

Leasing the original or copies of cinematographic works, computer programs.

Group of acts infringing upon the right to self-protection of copyright owners:

Intentionally removing or disabling effective technological measures.

Producing, distributing, importing, offering for sale, promoting, advertising, storing for commercial purposes.

Intentionally deleting, removing or changing rights management information without the permission of the author or copyright owner.

Intentionally distributing, importing for distribution, broadcasting, communicating to the public copies of works when knowing or having grounds to know that rights management information has been deleted, removed, or changed without the permission of the author or copyright owner.

Group of acts infringing upon copyright due to failure to fulfill obligations prescribed by law: to create a creative product requires the author or copyright owner to spend a lot of time, effort, and money, so of course those who want to use those products must pay them a reasonable amount, especially in the case of making derivative works.

Above is the article “Copyright for derivative works” that VCD sends to you. We hope this article is useful to you.

Sincerely,

Copyright protection in the field of e-commerce

Written by Editor VCD on 3 December, 2024. Posted in Announcement, Copyright Registration.

In the era of e-commerce, copyright protection is more urgent than ever. The rapid development of digital content makes copying and sharing easy, while posing many challenges for authors and businesses. So how to protect copyright in the field of e-commerce?. Follow the article of VCD below.

1. Overview of e-commerce

E-commerce in a broad sense is all commercial transactions conducted by electronic means. Specifically, it refers to activities facilitated by communication networks, computer networks and the Internet.

Vietnamese law stipulates in Clause 1, Article 3 of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP, amended and supplemented by Decree 85/2021/ND-CP, as follows: E-commerce activities are the conduct of part or all of the process of commercial activities by electronic means connected to the Internet, mobile telecommunications networks or other open networks.

Characteristics of e-commerce:

E-commerce uses electronic methods to conduct commercial transactions: the use of electronic methods allows parties to carry out activities of buying, selling, transferring, exchanging information about products, goods, services, etc.

E-commerce is cross-border: electronic means create a space with a global network that clearly demonstrates the ability to erase the barriers of territorial borders and geographical distances that have always existed in traditional commerce.

E-commerce is interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary: the process in e-commerce is standardized, not only existing in buying and selling activities, providing services but also combining intermediary services, activities occurring simultaneously and supporting each other.

E-commerce has diversified the participating subjects and the objects of transactions: in addition to traditional commercial subjects, e-commerce requires the participation of third parties as intermediaries such as internet service providers, logistics services, etc.

2. Regulations on determining copyright infringement in the field of e-commerce

Article 28 of the current Intellectual Property Law divides copyright infringement into 4 main groups:

Group 1: Acts infringing on personal rights.

Group 2: Acts infringing on property rights.

Group 3: Acts infringing on technical measures.

Group 4: infringement acts related to the digital environment: intentionally distributing, displaying or communicating works to the public through communication networks and unauthorized digital means. Legal responsibility of intermediary service providers (ISPs) when failing to implement or not fully implementing the provisions to be exempted from legal liability as prescribed in Article 198b of the Law on Intellectual Property.

When an act of copyright infringement occurs on the environment of an e-commerce website platform, intermediary service providers will be legally responsible for the acts created by their users, except in cases of exemption under Clause 3, Article 198b of the Law on Intellectual Property. Intermediary service providers are obliged to deploy technical measures and coordinate with competent state agencies to enforce measures to protect copyright in the e-commerce environment.

In addition, Decree 17/2023/ND-CP also stipulates a separate section 7 of Chapter VI on enterprises providing intermediary services. Accordingly, these enterprises with the function of “storing digital information content upon request” will have to remove or prevent access to digital information content upon request of competent state agencies under Article 113 or requests of copyright and related rights holders under Article 114.

3. Measures to protect copyright in e-commerce

Self-protection measures: This is a measure that is encouraged and prioritized to be applied to proactively protect copyright from the rights holder, minimizing disputes. In addition to exercising this right themselves, copyright holders can authorize other organizations and individuals to apply measures to protect rights.

Civil measures: measures to protect copyright applied by the Court against the subject of infringement at the request of the right holder as prescribed in Article 202 of the Law on Intellectual Property. Compensation for damages is the most important sanction and the main purpose of the owner when using civil measures as prescribed in Article 205 of the Law on Intellectual Property. The statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit for copyright infringement with a request for compensation for damages is 3 years (Article 588) from the date the recipient of the request knows or should know that his/her legitimate rights and interests have been infringed; this statute of limitations does not apply to requests for protection of personal rights.

Administrative measures: applied by competent authorities to acts of infringement of rights to works, including administrative sanctions and measures remedy the consequences and handle infringing goods. Depending on the nature and severity of the violation, the maximum fine for individuals is 250 million VND and for organizations is 500 million VND (according to the provisions of Article 2 of Decree 131/2013/ND-CP).

Criminal measures: criminal measures are applied to acts of copyright infringement at a dangerous level with signs of constituting a crime committed by individuals or commercial legal entities as prescribed in Article 212 of the Law on Intellectual Property. Depending on the nature and severity of the violation, individuals can be fined up to 1 billion VND or imprisoned for up to 3 years. As for commercial legal entities committing crimes, they can be fined up to 3 billion VND or suspended for a period of up to 2 years. In addition, they must also be subject to other additional penalties.

Above is the article “Copyright protection in the field of e-commerce” that VCD sends to you. We hope you find this article useful.

Sincerely,

Copyright in digitizing documents

Written by Editor VCD on 3 December, 2024. Posted in Announcement, Copyright Registration, Lectures, addresses and other speeches.

In the current digital era, preserving and accessing documents has become easier than ever. However, the rapid development of technology also poses many challenges to copyright. Copyright not only protects the rights of authors but also ensures that documents are digitized and shared legally. Please follow the article of VCD below.

1. What is a digital library?

According to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 3 of the 2019 Library Law as follows: A digital library is a library or part of a library with information resources processed and stored in digital form that library users access and exploit through electronic devices and cyberspace.

Therefore, a digital library or electronic library is a type of library that has computerized all or some library services, where users can come to look up and use services that are usually done in a traditional library but have been computerized.

Currently, the development of digital libraries is being promoted in Vietnam to modernize libraries, meet the needs of library users and build digital databases.

2. Authors’ rights in digitizing documents

The 2019 Library Law has provided important regulations on the development of digital libraries, especially in protecting copyright and managing digital information resources. Article 31 of this Law clearly states the basic principles in building and managing digital information resources, including:

Building digital information resources: Libraries need to systematically collect and digitize documents, ensuring that these resources are preserved and accessed effectively.

Resource handling and preservation: The storage and preservation of digital information resources must comply with technical and professional library standards, to ensure the safety and integrity of documents.

Use advanced software: To manage digital libraries, modern technologies need to be applied, from designing smart user interfaces to ensuring openness and connectivity between data systems. This not only makes searching and exploiting documents easier but also supports granting access to users.

Providing access: The law also stipulates that libraries must ensure access to digital information resources, enabling users to make the most of these resources.

Digital library operations can infringe copyright by digitizing documents and allowing users to download or upload digitized documents without the author’s permission. The 2009 Intellectual Property Law has been amended and supplemented by the 2022 Intellectual Property Law, which has new regulations on digital library activities related to intellectual property rights. Specifically, according to the provisions of Article 25 as follows:

Exceptions that do not infringe copyright

1. Cases of using published works without permission or paying royalties but must provide information about the author’s name and origin of the work include:

…

e) Using works in library activities for non-commercial purposes, including copying works stored in libraries for preservation, provided that this copy must be marked as an archived copy and limited to the target audience according to the provisions of law on libraries and archives; reasonably copying a part of a work using a copying device for others to serve research and study; Copy or transmit a work stored for inter-library use through a computer network, provided that the number of readers at the same time does not exceed the number of copies of the work held by the above libraries, except in cases where the copyright owner permits and does not apply in cases where the work has been provided on the market in digital form;

Based on this regulation, libraries can now use published works without permission or paying royalties, but must record information about the author’s name and the origin and source of the work in the following cases:

Copy for storage (with a backup copy marked and limited access).

Copy or transmit the author via computer (provided that the number of readers at the same time does not exceed the number of copies of the work). This regulation does not apply in cases where the work has been provided on the market in digital form.

Copying a part of the work using a copying device for research and study purposes.

Therefore, libraries may be related to digitized documents according to the additional regulations, accordingly, to ensure compliance with intellectual property rights and avoid copyright infringement, libraries need to strictly control and monitor the activities of users in digital libraries. At the same time, there needs to be cooperation and responsibility from both authors and users to maintain a balance between the interests of the parties involved.

Above is the article “ Copyright in digitizing documents ” that VCD sends to you. We hope this article is useful to you.

Sincerely,

Basis for determining copyright infringement

Written by Editor VCD on 26 November, 2024. Posted in Announcement, Copyright Registration.

In the context of an increasingly developing knowledge economy, copyright has become one of the important issues in the field of intellectual property. Copyright infringement not only affects the interests of authors and creative organizations, but also causes negative consequences for the whole society. To protect the legitimate rights of authors, it is extremely necessary to clearly identify the bases and criteria for identifying infringement. The following article from VCD will help you.

1. What is copyright infringement?

Copyright includes personal rights and property rights of authors and copyright owners as prescribed in Articles 19 and 20 of the current Law on Intellectual Property.

Copyright infringement is usually an act in the form of an action that affects the integrity of the work, infringes on the personal values, prestige, and reputation of the author, or illegally exploits and uses the work.

The nature of copyright infringement is illegal exploitation, that is, using the exclusive rights of the author or copyright owner without permission and without respecting the rights of that owner. These copyright infringements are actually very diverse and the infringing subjects are also different.

2. Basis for determining copyright infringement

According to Article 64 of Decree 17/2023/ND-CP detailing a number of articles and measures for implementing the Law on Intellectual Property on copyright and related rights, the basis for determining copyright infringement is based on the following grounds:

First, the subject under consideration falls within the scope of subjects currently protected by copyright as prescribed in Article 14 of the current Law on Intellectual Property. These subjects must satisfy the conditions on the basis for establishing rights as specifically prescribed in Clause 1, Article 6 of the Law on Intellectual Property.

Second, there is an infringing element in the subject under consideration. Common infringing elements in copyright infringement are the modification or cutting of a work that affects its originality, illegal copying of a work, or use of a work without permission or payment to the author or copyright owner.

Third, the person performing the considered act is not the subject of copyright or related rights. In case there are many co-authors or co-owners of copyright, the act of infringement may occur between the co-authors or co-owners when one of them performs the act without the consent of the other parties. The acts of infringement will be considered as violations if the person performing the act is not permitted by law or competent authority, according to the provisions of Clause 3, Article 20, Clause 5, Article 29, Clause 3, Article 30, Clause 3, Article 31 and Articles 25, 25a, 26, 32 and 33 of the Law on Intellectual Property. Fourth, the act under consideration occurred in Vietnam. Violations occurring within the territory of Vietnam will be subject to the provisions of Vietnamese law. If the infringement occurs via telecommunications networks or the Internet, it is also considered to have occurred in Vietnam when: the consumer or user of digital information content is a person in Vietnam and the infringing content is accessed or exploited from Vietnam.

3. Some measures to overcome copyright infringement

Registering copyright for a work: is an important step, helping the author obtain legal evidence of ownership. This not only protects the author’s rights but also creates more favorable conditions for resolving disputes if they occur. Thanks to that, the author can effectively prevent acts of infringement of his rights.

Raising people’s awareness of respecting copyright and the right holders’ awareness of self-protection: awareness of respecting copyright is one of the most important conditions affecting the enforcement and protection of copyright in a country. If people have a good awareness of protecting copyright, infringement can be prevented and stopped. In addition, the state needs to strengthen education on copyright and related rights in schools and other educational institutions.

Enhance the role of collective copyright representative organizations: Collective copyright representative organizations act as intermediaries between authors, copyright owners and organizations and individuals who need to exploit and use works, especially in the issue of copyright fees. Therefore, promoting the role of collective representative organizations, in addition to helping authors, also contributes to stabilizing and limiting current copyright infringements, supporting state management activities.

Apply some technological measures: technological measures can be applied such as using copyright protection software (DRM, watermarking), applying blockchain to authenticate ownership, deploying online monitoring systems and applying artificial intelligence to detect violations. In addition, developing a platform for sharing legal content, building a system for reporting violations, and organizing online courses on copyright are also effective solutions.

Above is the article “Basis for determining copyright infringement” that VCD sends to you. We hope this article is useful to you.

Sincerely,