Author: Editor VCD

With the rapid development of information technology, the opportunities for works to reach the public are increasing, but along with that are challenges in protecting the rights and honor of the author. Will publishing a work before or after registering copyright bring greater benefits? The following article by VCD will help you.

1.      Meaning of publishing a work.

According to Clause 7, Article 4 of the current Law on Intellectual Property, the concept is given: A work is a creative product in the field of literature, art and science expressed by any means or form. In which, literary, artistic and scientific works include 17 types specifically regulated in Clause 1, Article 14 of this Law.

Publishing a work is the act of making a literary, artistic and scientific work publicly known to everyone. This is meaningful for the author:

• When publishing a work, the author can protect the integrity of his work, not allowing others to edit, cut or distort the work in any way that harms the honor and reputation of the author. Showing respect and recognition of the author’s contribution to the development of society.

• Published works will become a source of information, inspiration and education for everyone, contributing to creating conditions for the exchange, dissemination and development of literary and artistic knowledge.

• Encouraging creativity and improving the quality of works. Publishing will create competition and cooperation between authors as well as feedback and evaluation from the public. This will stimulate authors to continuously research, learn, improve and innovate to create better and more valuable works.
  

2.      Publish a work before or after registering copyright?

According to the provisions of the Law on Intellectual Property, copyright for a work arises from the time the work is created and expressed in a certain material form, regardless of whether it has been published or not. Therefore, the publication of a work before or after registration does not affect the registration of copyright.

In which, a published work is a work that has been released with the consent of the copyright owner to disseminate to the public copies in any form in reasonable quantity. And an unpublished work is a work that has not been released or has been released but is known to only a limited number of people.

According to the provisions of the law, the right to publish a work does not include the performance of a theatrical, cinematic, musical work, the pre-publication of a literary work, the broadcasting of a literary work, the exhibition of visual works, the construction of works from architectural works.

The right to publication is the author’s personal right, which is a right attached to the author’s individuality and belongs exclusively to the author and cannot be transferred to others. Personal rights are closely related to the author’s reputation, honor, dignity, etc.

However, according to Article 19 of the current Law on Intellectual Property as follows:

Personal rights

Personal rights include:

1. Naming the work.

The author has the right to transfer the right to use the right to name the work to the organization or individual receiving the transfer of property rights as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 20 of this Law;

2. Having his real name or pen name on the work; having his real name or pen name mentioned when the work is published or used;

3. Publishing the work or allowing others to publish the work;

4. Protecting the integrity of the work from being distorted by others; not allowing others to modify or cut the work in any way that harms the honor and reputation of the author.

According to the above provisions and according to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 41 of the Law on Intellectual Property, the right to publish a work or to allow others to publish a work is defined as a personal right that can be transferred to others – the owner of the right to publish can exchange and trade this right.

Although considered a personal right, the right to publish a work and to allow others to publish a work is mainly related to the “economic and property” aspects rather than the personal, honor and reputation factors. Organizations or individuals when exploiting and using this right must ask for permission and pay royalties, remuneration and other material benefits to the copyright owner. Therefore, the right to publish a work can be considered the only personal right that is closely related to property.

In conclusion, the publication of a work is very much related to economic benefits and is meaningful to the author and the owner. When to publish a work depends on many different factors. The author or copyright owner can consider choosing the publication time that suits their orientation.

Above is the article “ Publish work before or after copyright registration?” that VCD sends to you. We hope this article is useful to you.

Sincerely,

In an era where creative ideas have become valuable assets, the distinction between the inventor and the writer is attracting considerable attention. Although they both make important contributions to the creative process, the right to copyright may not belong to both. This leads to a big question: Who really has the right to copyright creative works? The following article from VCD will help you.

1.      The concept of the inventor and the writer.

An inventor is someone who has the ability to develop and propose new, unique and valuable ideas. They often have the ability to look at problems from many different angles, combining different elements and information.

The writer in English is called “ghostwriter” and is defined as “a person who writes a book for another person, under whose name it is then published” which means “a person who writes a book for another person and will publish it under the name of the person who hired them to write that book. It can be understood that ghostwriting means being in charge of writing. In fact, most of the works created by ghostwriting will have a ghostwriter. This ghostwriter is responsible for recording someone’s story to create the book.

2.      The person with the creative idea and the ghostwriter – Who has the right to register copyright?

The subject of all rights has two objects: natural persons and legal entities. In which, the subject of intellectual property rights can be an individual or a legal entity, however, when it comes to the author, it cannot be a legal entity but only a natural person because the natural person is the one who directly creates the work.

The author is the person who directly creates one or all literary and artistic works. The current Vietnamese Intellectual Property Law stipulates that copyright only arises when a work is created and expressed in a certain material form. This means that if a person comes up with an idea but that idea has not been expressed in a material form such as an article, audio recording, video recording, etc., then the work has not been formed and therefore is not protected by law. In other words, copyright law does not protect a work when it is just a creative idea, but the law only protects it when the creative idea is expressed in a certain form.

The Intellectual Property Law also stipulates cases where the author is also the copyright owner and the author is not at the same time the copyright owner. Accordingly, an individual who uses his/her own time, finance and other material conditions to directly create a work is both the author and the copyright owner.

The Intellectual Property Law does not have any provisions on the concept of the person with the creative idea and the writer. But it can be understood that the person with the creative idea and the writer are the ones who support the real author.

According to Clause 2, Article 12a of the current Intellectual Property Law, the person who supports, gives opinions or provides materials for others to create a work is not the author or co-author.

Thus, from a legal perspective, if the person with the creative idea and the writer only perform the work of supporting the author in creating the work, they will not be considered the author or co-author. More clearly, the writer is only the person who implements the author’s idea to create the work in a certain material form. Therefore, the person with the creative idea and the writer are not the creators of the work and therefore are not considered the authors.

In many cases, the person with the creative idea and the writer do not necessarily have to be the authors of the work, but if there is an agreement between the parties, they can still be named as authors. The law does not prohibit the creative idea and the writer from registering copyright, however, they will not be automatically recognized as authors unless there is a clear agreement or if they are the copyright owner. This means that if the author or copyright owner authorizes the creative idea or the writer to submit the copyright registration application, they can do so as usual. However, the author’s name in the copyright registration application will have to be based on the consensus and terms agreed upon between the parties involved. This emphasizes the importance of legal agreements in determining the rights and obligations of each individual related to the work.

Above is the article ” The innovator and the ghostwriter – Who has the Right to register Copyright?” sent to you by VCD. We hope this article is useful to you.

Sincerely,

In fact, there are many disputes about intellectual property infringement in general and copyright and related rights in particular. Copyright not only ensures the interests of the author but also promotes creativity and the development of culture and art in society. However, copyright infringement, especially appropriation, is taking place in a sophisticated and widespread manner. So, is copyright appropriation a copyright infringement when copyright has not been registered? The following article by VCD will help you.

1.      Concept of copyright appropriation.

Appropriation is the infringement of ownership rights by stealing another person’s property for personal use.

Copyright according to Clause 2, Article 4 of the current Intellectual Property Law is the right of an organization or individual to a work that they have created or owned. In which, copyright subjects include literary, artistic, scientific works; copyright-related rights subjects include performances, sound recordings, video recordings, broadcast programs, and encrypted satellite signals.

Copyright appropriation is understood as the act of using all means such as force, fraud, theft, abuse, and trust to illegally make the copyright of a literary, artistic work, etc. belong to oneself.

2.      Is copyright appropriation a copyright infringement without copyright registration?

The Law amending and supplementing the Law on Intellectual Property in 2022 clearly stipulates acts of copyright infringement and appropriation, in order to protect the rights of authors and copyright owners. Below are those acts:

• Appropriation of copyright for literary, artistic, and scientific works.

• Infringement of personal rights, as prescribed in Article 19 of the Law.

• Infringement of property rights, as prescribed in Article 20 of the Law.

• Failure to perform or incomplete performance of obligations, as prescribed in Articles 25, 25a and 26 of the Law.

• Intentionally cancelling or invalidating effective technological measures implemented by authors or copyright owners to protect copyright.

• Manufacturing, distributing, importing, offering for sale, promoting, advertising, marketing, leasing or storing devices or products for commercial purposes, knowing or having grounds to know that they are used to invalidate technological measures to protect copyright.

• Intentionally deleting, removing or changing rights management information without the permission of the author or copyright owner, if knowing or having grounds to know that it incites or facilitates acts of copyright infringement.

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

• Not implementing or not fully implementing the provisions to be exempted from legal liability of the enterprise providing intermediary services, as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 198b of the Law.

Therefore, appropriation of copyright is an act of copyright infringement according to the provisions of the Law on Intellectual Property.

According to the provisions of the Law on Intellectual Property, copyright arises automatically when a work is created, regardless of registration. This means that the author has the right to protect his work from the moment it is created, regardless of whether the work is registered or not. Therefore, appropriation of copyright is still considered an act of copyright infringement, even if the work has not been registered for copyright.

However, copyright registration plays an important role in strengthening evidence of ownership and facilitating the protection of the author’s rights in the event of a dispute. If another person or organization appropriates a work without the author’s consent, this action is still an infringement of copyright and a violation of copyright, regardless of whether it is registered or not.

According to Article 200 of the current Intellectual Property Law, the authority to handle copyright infringement in general is as follows: In violation of their duties and powers, the Court, Inspectorate, Market Management, Customs, Police, and People’s Committees at all levels have the authority to handle copyright infringement.

In conclusion, the authority to handle those who appropriate another person’s copyright is the Court, Inspectorate, Market Management, Customs, Police, and People’s Committees at all levels, depending on the nature of the case.

Above is the article “Is copyright appropriation a copyright infringement without registering copyright?” that VCD sends to you. We hope this article is useful to you.

Sincerely,

In the context of globalization and the strong development of creative technology, copyright has become a topic of top concern not only in Vietnam but also around the world. Copyright protection not only ensures the rights of domestic authors but also creates conditions for foreign individuals and organizations to participate in the creative market in Vietnam. This raises an important question: Can foreign individuals register copyright in Vietnam? The following article from VCD will help you.

1.      Principles of copyright protection with foreign elements.

Copyright protection is the methods and measures used by competent entities to create a legal corridor to protect legitimate rights and interests, establish rights to the subject and corresponding copyright against infringement.

According to the principle of copyright protection with foreign elements, there are two cases:

Works protected under the provisions of international treaties on copyright of which Vietnam is a member. Accordingly, in this case, the provisions of the international treaties of which Vietnam is a member will be applied to regulate copyright protection.

Currently, Vietnam is a member of the following international treaties: Bern Convention, Agreement between Vietnam and the United States, etc.

In case there is no international treaty regulating. Copyright protection with foreign elements in Vietnam is carried out in the following cases:

• The work is first published in Vietnam.

• The work is published in Vietnam after 30 days from the date the work is published in other countries.

2.      Can foreign individuals register copyright in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Clauses 1 and 2, Article 38 of Decree 17/2023, the procedures for registering copyright and related rights are as follows:

1. Authors, copyright owners, and related rights owners who are Vietnamese individuals or organizations, foreign individuals permanently residing in Vietnam, or foreign organizations with headquarters, representative offices, or branches in Vietnam shall submit applications for copyright registration or related rights registration directly or through legal representatives in Vietnam.

2. Authors, copyright owners, and related rights owners who are foreign individuals not permanently residing in Vietnam, or foreign organizations without headquarters, representative offices, or branches in Vietnam shall submit applications for copyright registration or related rights registration directly through the Level 4 Online Public Service Portal or through authorization to a copyright and related rights consulting and service organization in Vietnam.

At the same time, pursuant to Article 18 of Decree 17/2023, the provisions on Copyright Owners are as follows:

Copyright owners specified in Article 36 of the Law on Intellectual Property include:

1. Vietnamese organizations and individuals.

2. Foreign organizations and individuals whose works are created and expressed in a certain material form in Vietnam.

3. Foreign organizations and individuals whose works are published for the first time in Vietnam.

4. Foreign organizations and individuals whose works are protected in Vietnam under international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

From the above grounds, foreign individuals are allowed to register copyright in Vietnam. In addition, copyright owners who are foreign individuals permanently residing in Vietnam can submit copyright registration applications directly or through legal representatives in Vietnam.

According to Clause 3, Article 38 of Decree 17/2023/ND-CP, the regulations on submitting applications for copyright registration and related rights registration are as follows:

Submitting applications for copyright registration and related rights registration

…

3. Legal representatives specified in Clause 1 of this Article include:

a) In case an individual registers copyright or related rights: The legal representative or authorized representative of the individual, the organization providing consulting and services on copyright or related rights as authorized by the individual;

b) In case an organization registers copyright or related rights: The legal representative of the organization or a person belonging to the organization authorized by the legal representative of the organization; the organization providing consulting and services on copyright or related rights as authorized by the organization; the head of the headquarters, representative office or head of the branch in Vietnam if it is a foreign organization.

Therefore, the legal representative of an individual registering copyright is:

• The legal representative of the individual.

• The authorized representative of the individual.

• The organization providing copyright consulting and services authorized by the individual.

• The copyright registration dossier includes:

• The copyright registration application form.

• A copy of the work to be registered.

• A letter of authorization if the applicant is an authorized person.

• Documents proving ownership of the copyright.

• A written consent of co-owners if the copyright is jointly owned.

• A written consent of co-authors if the work has co-authors.

• In case the work uses the personal image of another person, it must have the written consent of that person according to the provisions of law.

Above is the article “Can foreign individuals register copyright in Vietnam?” that VCD sent to you. We hope this article is useful to you.

Sincerely,

The issue of copyright protection is attracting a lot of attention today. Many authors and copyright owners often ask whether they have the right to sue when they have not registered copyright for their work? The following article by VCD will help you.

1.      Subjects initiating civil lawsuits on copyright and related rights

Pursuant to Article 56 of Decree 17/2023/ND-CP and Joint Circular 02/2008/TTLT-TANDTC-VKSNDTC-BVHTT&DL-BKH&CN-BTP regulating the right to initiate civil lawsuits on copyright and related rights. Accordingly, subjects with the right to initiate lawsuits include:

First: Authors; owners of copyright and related rights; legal heirs of authors or owners of copyright and related rights; Individuals and organizations to whom the rights of copyright and related rights are transferred; individuals and organizations using works under contracts; performers; producers of sound and video recordings; broadcasting organizations;

Second: Collective representative organizations of copyright and related rights or other organizations and individuals authorized by copyright and related rights owners.

Third: State agencies and related organizations, within the scope of their duties and powers, have the right to initiate civil lawsuits to protect public interests and State interests in the field of copyright and related rights.

2.      Can a lawsuit be initiated without registering copyright?

According to the Intellectual Property Law on copyright and related rights, copyright arises as soon as a work is created and expressed in a certain material form, regardless of content, quality, form, means, language, whether published or not, registered or not. Therefore, when copyright is infringed, the author or owner has the right to sue when the copyright of the work has not been registered. However, proving that he is the owner will be difficult.

Because when the plaintiff initiates a lawsuit over copyright disputes, the plaintiff/plaintiff must first prove that he is the owner of the work. If he cannot prove it or the evidence is not accepted by the Court, it is considered that the plaintiff has failed in the case of protecting copyright and related rights.

According to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 203 of the current Law on Intellectual Property, the evidence for the plaintiff to prove that he/she is the owner of copyright includes:

• A copy of the certificate of registration of copyright and related rights.

• Evidence necessary to prove the basis for the arising of copyright and related rights in cases where there is no certificate of registration of copyright.

• A copy of the contract for using the intellectual property object in cases where the right to use is transferred under a contract.

In addition, according to the provisions of Clause 3, Article 49 of the Law on Intellectual Property, organizations and individuals that have been granted a certificate of registration of copyright and related rights are not obliged to prove that the copyright and related rights belong to them unless there is a dispute, except in cases where there is evidence to the contrary.

Furthermore, according to the provisions of Point b, Clause 1, Article 92 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, the circumstances and events identified in the Certificate of registration of copyright and related rights are circumstances and events that do not need to be proven as information about the owner of the work, the author of the work, etc.

In case there is no Certificate of registration of copyright or Certificate of registration of related rights, according to the provisions of Clauses 1 and 2, Article 6, Article 12a, Article 13, Article 37, Article 38, Article 39, Article 40, Article 41, Article 42, Article 198a of the current Law on Intellectual Property; Article 59, Clause 3, Article 65 of Decree 17/2023, the necessary evidence to prove the basis for the arising of copyright and related rights may be:

• Original or copy of the work with the name of the right holder.

• Documents proving that you are the direct creator of the work.

• Documents from a computer database recording the process of creating the work.

• Documents assigning work to the author or contracts hiring the author.

• Contracts of assignment, donation, or documents related to the publication and distribution of the work.

However, according to the provisions of Articles 94 and 108 of the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, the above documents are only considered sources of evidence and must be assessed by the Court for the legality, relevance, and evidentiary value of each of these documents when resolving disputes; and therefore, these documents can be accepted as evidence to prove that the plaintiff is the subject of copyright and related rights in the dispute.

Based on the above, it can be seen that the Copyright Certificate is not a mandatory document for filing a lawsuit. However, the author and copyright owner should register the copyright to protect the copyright, especially in proving the copyright when a dispute occurs.

Above is the article “ Can a copyright lawsuit be filed without registering copyright?” that VCD sent to you. We hope this article is useful to you.

Sincerely,

Nowadays, copyright has become an essential issue in protecting intellectual property. A Certificate of Copyright Registration is not only a legal document but also a tool to help authors assert ownership of their works. However, the process of applying for this Certificate is not always smooth, many applications for the Certificate have been rejected. The following VCD article will help you understand “Why is the application for a Certificate of Copyright Registration rejected?”.

1.       What is a Certificate of Copyright Registration?

Copyright, also known as copyright, is the exclusive right of the author to their own work. According to Clause 2, 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.

Copyright arises from the moment the work is created and expressed in a certain material form, regardless of content, quality, form, means, language, and regardless of whether the work has been published or not, registered or not.

Copyright is the confirmation of the competent authority for intellectual products created by people with their brains and skills. This confirmation ensures that the creator of the product has full rights to use his work for economic purposes and anyone who wants to use the work for commercial purposes must have their permission. If there is no consent and the use of a work not created by the author will be considered an act of copyright infringement.

Therefore, the Copyright Certificate is understood as a document issued by a competent State agency to the author, copyright owner to record information about the author, work, and copyright owner. The Copyright Certificate will include the following contents:

• Name of the work.

• Type of work.

• Name, address, nationality, identity card number or citizen identification number of the author, copyright owner (Business registration number if the owner is an organization).

• Book and date of issuance of the Copyright Registration Certificate.

2.       Cases in which the Copyright Registration Certificate is refused.

Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 39 of Decree 17/2023/ND-CP, the competent state agency shall refuse to issue the Copyright Registration Certificate in the following cases:

Case 1: Failure to meet the conditions specified in Clause 4, Article 38 of this Decree on the subject and object of registration.

Case 2: Invalid registration dossier

Within 01 month from the date of receiving the dossier, the Copyright Office will review the form of the application and will notify in writing through the contact information of the applicant if there are any errors in the dossier:

• Not registered to get the dossier code on the national public service portal.

• The dossier is not in the correct form, has spelling errors, erasures, etc.

• Attached documents are missing or inappropriate.

• The application does not describe the work, lacks information, does not clearly state the registration subject, etc.

Case 3: Detecting a work whose form and content violate the provisions of the Constitution, Law, and oppose the Party and the State.

Case 4: Detecting a work that is in dispute, complaint, denunciation and has not yet had a legally effective decision from a competent state agency.

Case 5: After the prescribed time limit, the competent state agency has not received a valid dossier or the submitted dossier is still invalid. Therefore, according to the provisions of Point c, Clause 5, Article 38 of this Decree, within a maximum period of 01 month from the date of receipt of the notice, organizations and individuals must amend and supplement, except in cases of force majeure or objective obstacles as prescribed by law, they must fully supplement the dossier.

Therefore, when submitting dossiers for registration of copyright and related rights, organizations and individuals need to pay attention to the necessary conditions for being granted a Certificate. At the same time, they must also comply with the regulations on the time limit for supplementing dossiers to avoid being denied a Certificate of copyright registration or a Certificate of registration of related rights.

3.      Consulting services related to dossiers and procedures for registration of copyright of VCD.

Vietnam Copyright Development Joint Stock Company (VCD) advises on issues related to copyright and related rights as follows:

• Consulting on documents, procedures, drafting documents and papers to send to competent state agencies.

• Consulting on resolving copyright disputes.

• Consulting on transferring copyright and related rights.

• Representing in litigation on copyright issues.

• Cooperating in exploiting copyright and related rights.

Vietnam Copyright with the mission of protecting copyright, bringing positive impacts to the business environment in the field of copyright, becoming a leading model enterprise in Vietnam in digital transformation and applying information technology in protecting copyright in Vietnam.

Above is the article “Why is the application for a Certificate of Copyright Registration rejected?” that VCD sends to you. We hope you find this article useful.

Sincerely,

The strong development of the creative industry has highlighted the importance of copyright protection. Works made for hire is a fairly familiar concept in the field of copyright registration. However, this raises many questions about how to register copyright for these works? The following article from VCD will help you.

1.      The “work made for hire” doctrine.

The “work made for hire” doctrine was formed from the copyright law of the United States, “work made for hire” is translated into Vietnamese as “work made for hire”, meaning that the copyright does not belong to the author.

Copyright is basically understood as the exclusive right to make copies and control the original of literary and artistic works (such as writings, journalism, cinema, architecture, applied arts, etc.) protected by copyright law for a certain period of time (usually 50 years after the author’s death). The letter C in a circle © symbol often appears on publications as a warning sign of a copyrighted work. However, the law does not require the © symbol on the work for copyright to be protected.

According to Cornell Law School, copyright is the right to make copies, publish, sell or distribute the subject matter of copyright protection. Meanwhile, according to Harvard University, copyright is a legal right granted to authors, artists, composers, or other creators that allows them to control the use of their work by others, so that copyrighted works generally cannot be copied, distributed, or appropriated by others without their permission.

“Works made for hire” originated in the 1989 Supreme Court decision in Community for Creative Non-Violencev. Reid.

Section 101 of the 1976 Copyright Act divides “works made for hire” into two categories:

• Works made by an employee in the course of performing work within the scope of the employee’s contractual duties.

• Works made for hire or commission are used to mean:

• A contribution or article to a collective work or collection.

• A part of a cinematographic work or other audiovisual work.

• Translation.

• Supplementary work (introduction, foreword, illustration, commentary, illustrations, etc.).

• Compiled work.

• Instructional text.

•  Test paper.

• Answer sheet for test paper.

• Map work.

If the parties agree in writing signed by themselves that the work must be considered a “work for hire”.

2.      How to register copyright for a “work made for hire” in Vietnam?

According to the current Vietnamese Intellectual Property Law, Clause 2, Article 4 stipulates that copyright is the right of the organization or individual who creates the work or owns the work. In which, the subject of copyright includes literary, artistic, scientific works; the subject of rights related to copyright includes performances, sound recordings, video recordings, broadcast programs, and encrypted satellite signals.

In Vietnamese law, there is no legal concept of “work made for hire” or “work made for hire”. The so-called “work made for hire” is in the form of an organization or individual entering into a contract with an author to create a work or in the form of an organization or individual assigning a task to an author belonging to their organization to create. However, these forms are not “work made for hire” as defined in Article 101 of the US Copyright Law mentioned above and because Vietnam does not accept the transfer of personal rights except the right to publish and allow others to publish, and does not recognize the author as an organization or legal entity. Therefore, the author of the work must be the person hired or assigned the task, and the copyright owner is the person who hires or assigns the task to the author, unless otherwise agreed.

The application for copyright registration for this work includes:

• Copyright registration form.

• Copy of the work.

• Author’s commitment.

• Creative/design rental contract (if any).

• Decision on assignment/task assignment (if any).

• Agreement between co-authors (if any).

• Consent of co-copyright owners (if any).

• Power of attorney if the applicant is an authorized person.

• Author’s citizen identification card.

• Business registration of the company if the owner is an organization.

Accordingly, for copyright registration, you can submit your application at the following locations:

• The Copyright Office in Hanoi.

• Representative Office of the Copyright Office in Ho Chi Minh City.

• Representative Office of the Copyright Office in Da Nang City.

The above is the article “How are “works made for hire” copyrighted?” that VCD sent to you. We hope this article is useful to you.

Sincerely,

In the booming digital age, digital copyright has become a decisive factor in protecting the intellectual property of authors and creators. With the development of the internet, the way of creating, distributing and consuming works has changed dramatically. Works are no longer limited to physical forms but can be shared and accessed easily through online platforms. So how has digital copyright changed in the digital environment? Follow the article of VCD below.

1.       What is digital copyright?

Copyright is considered a form of intellectual property. It is not a trademark nor a patent. Copyright is understood as the legal right of the author, owner of the work created or owned by him/her, individuals and organizations are not allowed to infringe upon the rights of the author, copyright owner regarding the management, use, and exploitation of the value of the work without their consent.

Vietnamese law does not have a definition of copyright, but in the legal language of copyright, which is the author’s right, according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 4 of the Intellectual Property Law 2022: copyright is the right of an organization or individual to the work they create or own.

According to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 14 of the Intellectual Property Law, there are 12 types of protected works. From there, it can be understood that copyright is the rights that the author enjoys for his/her literary, artistic, and scientific works. Without a work, there will be no copyright.

Therefore, digital copyright is the enrichment and expansion of the rights of authors when their works are reproduced and released in digital form. Works are backed up and reproduced on many types of publishing media such as hard disks, CDs and other digital storage devices, for wide distribution. The dissemination and release of works can be done through means such as CDs, hard disks, storage drives, or through the internet and wireless networks.

2.      Changes in digital content in the digital environment

The subject of rights changes:

The subject of copyright protection is the works specified in Clause 1, Article 14 of the Law on Intellectual Property, commonly referred to as literary, artistic and scientific works. Normally, the forms of works specified in the law can be used to generalize them such as literary, artistic, photographic, audio and visual works. However, the development of digital technology has allowed all types of works to be expressed and disseminated in the form of information and encoded.

The trend of linking different types of works is becoming clearer. For example, online games integrate many different works such as music, art, graphic works and animation works. The connection between works and publishing media is gradually limited. Traditional works, regardless of whether they are being disseminated or used, require the use of a certain publishing medium to turn the work into a tangible work. The application of digital communication technology allows all types of works to be recorded in binary code, using only two characters 0 and 1, from which they can be freely disseminated and circulated. With just a computer and a network connection, users can easily download the works they want from anywhere. Therefore, works do not necessarily have to exist in physical form on publishing media but can still be disseminated and used. The Internet and digital media have opened up a new direction for the dissemination of works.

The subject of rights has changed:

Digital works are often a collection of many types of works, so the subject of rights has also become more complicated. Different types of works constitute a new work. In addition, this new work can be divided or combined into other works.

In the digital environment, the rights related to digital copyright have also changed. The change in communication methods has led to changes in the rights related to copyright, creating new beneficiaries such as internet intermediary service providers. Acting as the unit that disseminates works, they have the ability to disseminate works globally. Therefore, determining the legal status and position of the parties involved in the dissemination process is very important in protecting copyright for works. It can be seen that the relationship between online content providers and authors must be balanced. The scope of digital copyright protection is not only limited to protecting the rights of the author as in traditional publishing, but also needs to consider the interests of content providers and internet services. Only then can the relationship between the author, the disseminator and the user of the work be truly balanced.

Content of the right to change:

• Right to change name

According to the provisions of intellectual property law, the author has the right to change the name of the work or not, and can use his real name or a pseudonym. In traditional copyright protection, the right to change the name and the status of the author are easy to distinguish. However, in the internet environment, anonymity complicates the determination of the author’s status and the right to change the name. This requires the author to prove ownership of the work. In addition, digital communication technology allows editing the work without leaving a trace, increasing the difficulty in determining the real author and assessing the authenticity of the work, thereby posing a challenge to copyright protection.

• Right to copy works

The right to copy in traditional copyright protection only includes the right to reproduce the work into multiple copies through methods such as printing, copying, recording, filming and scanning. These methods do not include copying works in the internet environment. The right to copy for digital works has undergone important changes, with two issues to consider: Is “digitizing” a work considered an act of copying? And are temporary copies formed during the process of disseminating a work on the internet subject to the right to copy?

Above is the article “Digital copyright in the digital environment” that VCD sent to you. We hope this article is useful to you.

Sincerely,