Author: Editor VCD

What to do when your work is copyrighted by another entity?

Written by Editor VCD on 12 February, 2025. Posted in Announcement, Copyright Registration.

With the rise of social networking platforms and the increasing number of content that can be broadcast live to millions of users, the dissemination and unauthorized use of copyrighted works such as music, videos, and images is becoming easier and more common. However, there are many cases where the owner is copyrighted on his own work. So, what to do when your own work is copyrighted by another entity? The following article from VCD will help you.

1. The mechanism of “copyright strike” in Vietnam

Copyright strike is a term used to refer to the act of reporting copyright infringement on cyberspace. When a work is used without the owner’s permission, they have the right to request the removal of the infringing content or take other legal measures.

Many countries around the world have enacted copyright strike and copyright strike removal mechanisms, also known as Notice and Takedown Process, typically the Notice and Takedown process associated with the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (US Process). The US Digital Millennium Copyright Act, also known as the “Digital Millennium Copyright Act” (DMCA). This mechanism, commonly known as the “DMCA notice and takedown process,”.

Basically, the copyright infringement handling process in Vietnam will be similar to the process in the US. However, unlike the US process, the Vietnamese process does not follow specific steps but is a dual process, divided into two parts: “72-hour and 10-working-day process” and “24-hour and 10-working-day process,” implemented at the request of the enforcement agency, as prescribed in Articles 113 and 114 of Decree 17/2023/ND-CP.

27-hour and 10-working-day process: The online service provider will rely on the supporting documents submitted by the rights holder, including evidence of the subject’s status, infringing acts, location, and links to the suspected infringing digital content. Within 24 hours, the service provider will temporarily remove or block or prevent access to that digital content and notify both the rights holder and the content owner. After 10 working days from the temporary removal, if no objection notice is received with any supporting evidence, the service provider will officially remove and block access. In case of receiving a response from the party requested to remove within 72 hours, the service provider will restore the removed or blocked digital information and forward the objection document with evidence.

24-hour working process: Online service providers must remove or block access to copyright-infringing content within 24 hours of receiving the request from the enforcement agency. At the same time, they must notify the party whose content was removed and report the implementation results to the enforcement agency within no more than 24 hours. If there is an objection from the party whose content was removed or from the service provider, one of these parties has the right to complain, denounce or initiate a lawsuit according to the law against the decision of the enforcement agency.

2. Current situation

Copyright infringement in Vietnam, especially on social networking platforms, has been occurring in many forms for many years. Therefore, most digital platforms today follow the mechanism prescribed in Decree 17/2023/ND-CP. Digital technology platforms always have tools to support automatic resolution. Social networking platforms are online service providers with their own copyright protection tools and follow a dual process. To use this tool, you must register and be approved for use. After approval, the Owner will add the content that he/she exclusively owns and wants to protect the copyright to the Reference Library. Then, this copyright tool will scan the content posted on the platforms and give results based on the provided database.

A typical example that is currently causing a stir is the incident where a clip about a TV show produced by a company and owning the copyright was arbitrarily re-posted by another media unit and put the video in the category of its copyright, leading to the company’s official channel being copyrighted by a technology platform, attracting public attention. Notably, this unit also declared that the video was copyrighted by it. This action led to the company’s official channel being copyrighted on platforms, affecting its reputation and finances.

As a large, reputable company with a separate team assigned to monitor and scan for copyright violations of the content it produced and broadcast, it was copyrighted by another unit on its own work. Is it because the company has not registered the copyright of the work with the competent State agency? Is it because the staff has not been proactive in monitoring and detecting violations? Or is it because the support tools on the platforms are not tight enough?… These are the reasons why your own work is being attacked by other units.

3. What to do when your own work is copyrighted by another entity?

Registering copyright for the work:

The first and important step is that individuals and organizations should register the copyright of their creation, although this registration is not mandatory, it is the basis and basis to prove the legality of ownership of the work when a dispute arises.

Reverse copyright strike:

From the basis of having registered copyright for the work, the owner has full evidence (Copyright and related rights appraisal results and Copyright Certificate) to directly request the infringing party to immediately stop the unauthorized use of their work and indirectly request digital platforms to request the removal and prevention of copyright infringement.

Submit a request for handling copyright infringement to a competent State agency:

If the infringing party does not stop the copyright infringement, the owner shall submit a request for handling copyright infringement to a competent State agency such as the Copyright Office or the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for consideration and handling.

File a lawsuit in court:

If administrative measures are ineffective, a lawsuit can be filed in court to request compensation for damages and other remedial measures. The court may require the infringing party to stop the infringement, compensate for damages and bear the costs related to handling the infringement.

Above is the article “What to do when the work you created is copyrighted by another entity?” that VCD sent to you. We hope this article is useful to you.

Sincerely,

Is watching pirated movies illegal?

Written by Editor VCD on 5 February, 2025. Posted in Announcement, Cinematographic work, Copyright Registration.

Nowadays, technology and the internet are increasingly developing, accessing entertainment content has become easier than ever. At that time, pirated movies appeared as a complex phenomenon, attracting the attention of many people. However, watching pirated movies is not simply an act of entertainment; it also raises many ethical and legal questions. Besides short-term benefits, viewers may face unforeseen risks and consequences. So, is watching pirated movies really illegal? The following article from VCD will help you.

1. What kind of movies are pirated movies?

Pirated movies can be understood as unauthorized copies or copies without copyright ownership of cinematic works. These movies are often copied, distributed and distributed illegally without the consent of copyright owners or authorized units.

Currently, the situation of watching “free” movies online is becoming popular, making illegal copying and distribution of movies a big problem. Pirated movies often come from copying from different sources including foreign websites or even from Vietnamese websites that have purchased copyrights to show movies according to regulations and show them for free on that website.

Pirated movies not only harm the film industry but also pose risks of information security for viewers because accessing pirated websites can lead to fraud or malware infection.

This situation causes many problems for the film industry, not only reducing revenue but also affecting the rights of directors, actors, producers and workers in the industry. Failure to comply with copyright laws also causes unfair competition between legal film production and distribution units.

2. Is watching pirated movies illegal?

Currently, the Intellectual Property Law 2022 and other related laws do not have specific regulations on watching pirated movies. Therefore, watching pirated movies is not considered a violation of the law. Therefore, it is not subject to any legal sanctions.

However, if the pirated movie viewer performs actions such as sharing or distributing copyrighted content, then the pirated movie viewer may be held legally responsible according to the provisions of the law.

Accordingly, Article 17 of Decree 131/2013/ND-CP stipulates the level of penalties for acts of infringement of the right to communicate works to the public as follows:

Acts of infringement of the right to communicate works to the public

1. A fine of VND 15,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for acts of communicating works to the public by wire, wireless, electronic information networks or any technical means without permission from the copyright owner as prescribed.

2. Remedial measures:

Forcing the removal of copies of infringing works for acts specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

Therefore, if a person watching pirated movies shares or disseminates copyrighted content on websites, it is considered an act of infringement of intellectual property rights. Specifically, infringement of the right to communicate works to the public can be subject to an administrative fine of 10 million to 30 million VND depending on the severity of the violation. In addition, remedial measures may also be applied, such as forcing the removal of copies of infringing works.

At the same time, viewers of pirated movies who share or disseminate copyright-infringing content may be prosecuted if there are sufficient elements for criminal prosecution. Pursuant to Article 225 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended by Point a, Clause 52, Article 1 of the Law amending the 2017 Penal Code, which stipulates the crime of infringing copyright and related rights, pirated movie sites that show movies without copyright permission may be subject to a maximum fine of 1,000,000 billion VND to 3,000,000 billion VND or suspension of operations for a period of 06 months to 02 years if they are commercial legal entities.

Commercial legal entities that violate the law may also be fined from VND 100,000,000 to VND 300,000,000, banned from doing business, banned from operating in certain fields or banned from raising capital from 01 year to 03 years.

It can be seen that strict control and handling measures according to the law need to be implemented to prevent the increase of pirated movies on the internet, while protecting the legitimate rights of relevant parties in the film industry. In addition, raising users’ awareness of the risks of watching illegal movies is also an indispensable factor in the process of solving this problem.

Above is the article “Is watching pirated movies illegal?” sent to you by VCD. We hope this article is useful to you.

Sincerely,

Who is the copyright owner of the learning materials?

Written by Editor VCD on 5 February, 2025. Posted in Announcement, Copyright Registration, Lectures, addresses and other speeches, Written works.

In modern education, learning materials play a role as the foundation bricks, building the learning and research careers of students and lecturers. Although learning materials can be produced in many different forms from traditional textbooks to digital documents. However, a question arises “Who owns the copyright to that learning material?”. The following article of VCD will help you.

1. What are learning materials?

Learning materials are understood as all documents serving the purposes of learning, research and teaching. Learning materials include: textbooks, lectures, monographs, scientific research results, newspapers, specialized magazines, theses, dissertations, scientific conference proceedings, internship reports, reality and other specialized documents.

Pursuant to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 2 of Circular 11/2018/TT-BGDDT on criteria for determining specialized goods directly serving education issued by the Ministry of Education and Training, the definition of learning materials is as follows:

Learning materials are physical means that store, carry or reflect learning and research content. Learning materials can be used in traditional forms (pictures, card-shaped photos) and electronic learning materials. Electronic learning materials are learning materials digitized according to a certain format and scenario architecture, stored on electronic devices such as CDs, USBs, computers, computer networks to serve teaching and learning. Digitized forms can be text, data tables, audio, images, videos, computer software and a mixture of the above formats.

According to the provisions of the Law on Intellectual Property, learning materials are a specific form of literary and scientific works protected by the State, expressed in the form of textbooks or lectures expressed in written form, speeches, lectures, other speeches in spoken language and shaped in a certain material form.

2. Who owns the copyright to learning materials?

According to Clause 2, Article 4 of the Law on Intellectual Property 2005 (amended and supplemented in 2009, 2019), copyright is the right of organizations and individuals to works they create or own.

In which, the subject of copyright includes literary, artistic, and scientific works; the subject of rights related to copyright includes performances, audio recordings, video recordings, broadcast programs, and satellite signals carrying encrypted programs. Copyright to works includes personal rights and property rights.

Universities often own a variety of learning materials such as textbooks, study materials, internal documents, guidance documents, review documents, lectures, radio lectures, online lectures, LMS lectures, reference books, and multimedia lectures. In addition, recorded online lectures and videos of lecturers are also considered learning materials.

According to the provisions of the Intellectual Property Law, lecturers who compile learning materials will be the authors or owners of the learning materials. However, in cases where lecturers are not the authors and owners, the university may become the owners if the learning materials are created by the school hiring or assigning tasks to lecturers. In this case, the university will hold the copyright. If the university is the author, the board of directors will have the right to name, modify, and supplement the content of the learning materials. If the board appointed by the board of directors to review and revise the learning materials does not include the lecturers, do they have the right to arbitrarily revise the content?

Therefore, consider the provisions on authors, according to which the author holds personal rights such as: the right to name the work, the right to publish, and to protect the integrity of the work. The author is also the owner of the copyright and can transfer the right to publish to others. Thus, the university cannot become the author of the learning materials; the lecturer, the compiler, is the author.

From the above provisions, the university is not the author but can only be the owner if the school assigns the work or receives the transfer of ownership from the lecturer. The Intellectual Property Law classifies owners, including: authors, co-authors, organizations or individuals assigning tasks to the author, heirs, and transferees of copyright. Therefore, the university can be the owner of the learning materials if the university assigns the task or signs a contract with the lecturer.

If the university is the copyright owner, they will hold one or more property rights, such as making derivative learning materials, copying, distributing, and publishing the learning materials. Meanwhile, the lecturer, as the author, will hold the moral rights but is not the owner because he has transferred the ownership of the property to the university.

Above is the article “Who is the copyright owner of learning materials?” that VCD sent to you. We hope this article is useful to you.

Sincerely,

Copyright protection for scientific works at higher education institutions

Written by Editor VCD on 24 January, 2025. Posted in Announcement, Copyright Registration, Lectures, addresses and other speeches.

In the current era of information technology explosion, creating and sharing knowledge has become easier than ever. However, this development also entails many challenges related to intellectual property rights. Especially at higher education institutions, where research and innovation are constantly taking place, the issue of copyright protection for scientific works becomes more urgent. So, how does the law protect copyright for scientific works at higher education institutions? Please follow the article of VCD below.

1. Scientific works at higher education institutions

Copyright protection is an activity to protect the achievements of organizations and individuals who have worked creatively and contributed to social progress. According to Clause 2, Article 4 of the Law on Intellectual Property, copyright is the right of an organization or individual to a work they create or own.

According to Clause 1, Article 3 of the Law on Intellectual Property, “The subject of copyright includes literary, artistic, scientific works,…” and according to Article 14 of this Law, the types of works protected by copyright are listed.

In higher education institutions, there are many types of works that can be protected by copyright, such as products of topics, projects, scientific and technological research tasks, lecture outlines, entrance exams, textbooks, lecture sets, scientific reports, electronic lectures, etc. Determining the owner of scientific research results is important in determining personal and property rights according to the provisions of law.

Clause 1, Article 41 of the Consolidated Law on Science and Technology 2022 stipulates: Organizations and individuals investing finance and technical facilities for the implementation of scientific and technological tasks are the owners of the results of scientific research and technological development, unless the parties have other agreements in the scientific research and technological development contract.

Therefore it can be understood that the owner of copyright for scientific works at higher education institutions is the organization or individual investing finance and technical facilities to create scientific research results. The owner of scientific research results has the right to publish scientific works along with the entire group of property rights stipulated in Article 20 of the Law on Intellectual Property.

Copyright protection for scientific works at higher education institutions

2. Determining acts of copyright infringement in scientific research activities at higher education institutions.

The first is the violation related to the right to copy works:

According to the provisions of Clause 10, Article 4 of the 2022 Intellectual Property Law, copying is the creation of a copy of the whole or part of a work or audio or video recording by any means or form. Accordingly, direct or indirect copying of the whole or part of a work is also considered an act of copying. Acts of copyright infringement at higher education institutions can be through the reproduction of documents (photocopying, printing, copying, …) for use and distribution, recording and taking pictures of lectures of lecturers in class without permission. Article 25 of the Intellectual Property Law stipulates cases of using published works without permission and without paying royalties.

Second, violations related to quoting works:

Quoting works is the exact reproduction of a text without any corrections, distinguished from the surrounding text by quotation marks or formatting elements. According to the Intellectual Property Law, quoting without distorting the author’s meaning to comment or illustrate in one’s own work, quoting works without distorting the author’s meaning to write articles, use in periodicals, documentaries, not for commercial purposes, does not require permission from the author and does not require payment of royalties.

3. Solutions to improve the effectiveness of copyright protection for scientific works.

Higher education institutions and management agencies need to issue internal guidelines in accordance with the current Intellectual Property Law, including the process of evaluating and publishing research results on the rights of each author.

Raising awareness of copyright: strengthening education and propaganda for students about copyright and their responsibilities in the research process and copyright protection.

Strengthening supervision and inspection of copyright protection in the scientific research process. If violations are detected, disciplinary measures and strict handling must be taken to create educational awareness for students.

In addition to ensuring copyright, it is necessary to strengthen training and support for students in scientific writing skills to help them avoid copyright-related violations.

Above is the article “Copyright protection for scientific works at higher education institutions” that VCD sends to you. We hope this article is useful to you.

Sincerely,

Copyright protection in the digital environment

Written by Editor VCD on 24 January, 2025. Posted in Announcement, Copyright Registration.

Currently, the digital environment not only opens up opportunities for creativity but also creates loopholes in protecting the rights of authors. From music, literature to works of art, everything can be digitized and spread in the blink of an eye. However, this ease makes determining ownership and protecting works more complicated than ever. The article “Copyright protection in the digital environment” by VCD below will help you.

1. Overview of the digital environment

Digital technology is understood as the process related to the representation, processing, storage and transmission of information using numbers or similar symbols. Computers, mobile phones and electronic devices all use a system called binary to process information.

The digital environment is an integrated media environment where digital devices communicate, manage content and operate. Currently, the digital environment has become popular and pervasive in all areas of human life from economics, politics, culture, society, etc.

In the digital environment, copyright is still considered for protection along with its original characteristics. Although expressed in the form of digital coding, copyright still only protects the form, not the content, and the right to protection is established as soon as the work is formed. Unlike media works that can be easily recognized based on common senses, when a work is put into the digital environment, it will only include a set of strings of 0s and 1s and there is no distinction in the type of work until it is decoded properly.

2. Characteristics of copyright protection in the digital environment

First, copyright protection is protection for the author. The basis for copyright protection must initially come from the author’s own element, or in other words, the law stipulates and protects specific legal rights for the work so that the author can truly enjoy the material and spiritual benefits obtained from the work, thereby protecting copyright.

Second, copyright protection is automatic. Only after works in the digital environment are formed in a certain distinguishable form, will the author, the copyright owner, naturally enjoy the copyright rights for that work, and at the same time, these rights are recognized and protected by law.

Third, copyright protection is territorial. The development of the digital environment has made it difficult to determine the national territorial boundaries, so most countries have considered the nature of the infringement no longer based on the place where the infringement occurs but on the object to which the infringement is directed. The considered act is also considered to occur in the home country if the act occurs in the telecommunications environment and the internet where consumers or exploiters and users of digital information content are in that country.

Fourthly, the protected objects in the digital environment are specific works that are encoded or directly created based on digital devices. These types of digital works help authors to distribute to users in large quantities, at low cost, … Digital works can reach users quickly and easily because they have characteristics such as being compact, easy to reproduce, stored and exchanged through digital devices.

3. Subjects of copyright protection in the digital environment

The emergence of the digital environment allows authors to express, store, and transmit their works in certain material forms such as books, newspapers, paintings, photos, etc., or through the form of digitizing the work.

Subjects of copyright protection in the digital environment are understood as works, but those works are expressed in digital data with some forms of transmitting the work and specific protection methods. Therefore, subjects of copyright protection in the digital environment can be considered based on three areas: literary, artistic and scientific works.

The current Vietnamese Intellectual Property Law has also included computer programs and data sets in the protected subjects similar to the provisions of Articles 4 and 5 of the WCT Treaty. However, it can be seen that the provisions of Vietnamese law only list the general types of existence of works without any specific provisions for cases where works exist in the form of digital data.

However, it can be understood that the subject of copyright protection in the digital environment is works that are digitized or exist in the form of electronic data and are used to express through electronic devices such as computers, phones, projectors, etc. Accordingly, literary works, scientific works, textbooks, teaching materials, entertainment works, musical works can be digitized works or for theatrical and cinematic works that need to be recorded, recorded to be able to be used in the digital environment.

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

Distinguish between copyright and copyright-related rights

Written by Editor VCD on 17 January, 2025. Posted in Announcement, Copyright Registration, Copyright-related rights.

In the context of an increasingly developing knowledge-based economy, distinguishing between copyright and copyright-related rights becomes necessary. Although both protect the rights of authors, performers and producers, etc., they have distinct characteristics. Understanding the different aspects of these two types of rights will help subjects exercise their rights more effectively. The following article “Distinguish between copyright and copyright-related rights from VCD will help you.

1. Similarities between copyright and copyright-related rights.

Scope of regulation: Both are subject to the 2005 Intellectual Property Law and related legal documents.

Subjects of intellectual property rights: Both copyright and related rights are subjects of intellectual property rights.

Management: The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is responsible for managing both types of rights.

State recognition and protection: Both rights are recognized and protected by the State according to the provisions of law.

Financial support: The State has a policy of financial support for the creation, transfer and exploitation of copyright and related rights to serve the public interest.

Self-protection measures: Organizations and individuals have the right to apply legal measures to protect their rights in both of these areas.

2. Differences between copyright and rights related to copyright

Criteria	Copyright	Related Rights
Basis for the occurrence and establishment of rights	Arising when 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. (Based on Clause 1, Article 6 of the Law on Intellectual Property 2022)	Arising when a performance, sound recording, video recording, broadcast program, or encrypted program-carrying satellite signal is fixed or performed without prejudice to copyright. (Based on Clause 2, Article 6 of the Law on Intellectual Property 2022)
Protected objects	Types of works protected by copyright include: (1) Protected literary, artistic and scientific works include: – Literary, scientific works, textbooks, teaching materials and other works expressed in writing or other characters; – Lectures, speeches and other speeches; – Journalistic works; – Musical works; – Dramatic works; -Cinematographic works and works created by similar methods; – Works of fine arts and applied arts; – Photographic works; – Architectural works; – Diagrams, plans, maps, drawings related to topography, architecture, scientific works; – Folk literature and art works; – Computer programs, data collections. (2) Derivative works are only protected if they do not harm the copyright of the work used to create the derivative work. (Based on Article 14 of the Intellectual Property Law 2022)	– Performance performed by Vietnamese citizens in Vietnam or abroad; – Performance performed by foreigners in Vietnam; – Performance fixed on a protected sound recording or video recording; – Performance not yet fixed on a sound recording or video recording but broadcasted under protection; – Performance protected under an international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member. – Sound recording or video recording of a sound recording or video recording producer with Vietnamese nationality; – Sound recording or video recording of a sound recording or video recording producer protected under an international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member. – Broadcasting programs, satellite signals carrying encrypted programs of broadcasting organizations with Vietnamese nationality; – Broadcasting programs, satellite signals carrying encrypted programs of broadcasting organizations protected under international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member. (Based on Article 17 of the Intellectual Property Law 2022)
Protected subjects	Organizations and individuals whose works are protected by copyright include the person who directly created the work and the copyright owner. (Based on Article 13 of the Intellectual Property Law 2022)	Organizations and individuals whose related rights are protected include: – Actors, singers, musicians, dancers and others who perform literary and artistic works; – Organizations and individuals who are owners of related rights. – Organizations and individuals who first fix the sound and images of the performance or other sounds and images. – Organizations that initiate and carry out the broadcasting. (Based on Article 16 of the Intellectual Property Law 2022)
Protection contents	Personal rights and property rights.	Mainly property rights, only performers have personal rights.
Protection conditions	Be original; be shaped in a certain material form; in the field of literature, art, science; not subject to the subjects not subject to protection.	Must be original, must have the creative mark of the relevant subject and must not prejudice the copyright.
Protection period	Personal rights: indefinite protection except for the right to publish the work; – Property rights: The protection period is as follows: – Cinematographic, photographic, theatrical, applied art, anonymous works: The protection period is 75 years from the date of first publication of the work. – Remaining works: The protection period is the lifetime of the author and 50 years following the year of the author’s death; in the case of a work with co-authors, the protection period ends in the fiftieth year after the year of the death of the last co-author. (Based on Article 27 of the Intellectual Property Law 2022)	– Performer’s rights: fifty years from the year following the year of performance fixation . – Producer’s rights: fifty years from the year following the year of publication or fifty years from the year following the year of fixation of the recording if the recording has not been published. – Broadcasting organization’s rights: fifty years from the year following the year of broadcast. (Based on Article 27 of the Law on Intellectual Property 2022)

Above is the article “Distinguish copyright and rights related to copyright” that VCD sends to you. We hope this article is useful to you.

Sincerely,

Cases where the author and copyright owner are independent of each other

Written by Editor VCD on 16 January, 2025. Posted in Announcement, Copyright Registration.

Copyright is an important aspect in the creative field, protecting the efforts and efforts of those who create works. Copyright not only protects those efforts but also determines who has the right to control and exploit the works. However, a common question is: Who owns the copyright? Is it the author who directly performs the creation or the company? The following article “Cases where the author and copyright owner are independent of each other” from VCD will help you.

1. Determine the relationship between the author and the copyright owner?

A work is the crystallization of the author’s creative labor, so the author’s rights to the work are recognized and protected by law. Copyright in a work is considered a property right and is within the scope of the types of property stipulated in the 2015 Civil Code of Vietnam.

According to the provisions of the Law on Intellectual Property 2022, copyright includes personal rights and property rights in a work arising from the time the work is created in a certain form and material. The author is the person who directly creates the work, while the copyright owner is an individual or organization that holds one, some or all of the property rights stipulated in Clause 3, Article 19 and Clause 1, Article 20 of the Law on Intellectual Property.

According to the provisions of the Law on Intellectual Property, a subject that proves that he or she has property rights under copyright will be the owner of the copyright. A general principle is that the creator of a work is the owner of the work unless otherwise agreed.

The Berne Convention provides for the law of each member country to decide who is the author and who is the copyright owner of a work. According to Article 15 of this Convention, an individual or an organization whose name is traditionally recorded on the work is considered the author unless there is evidence to the contrary, in which case the author and the owner are one and the same. However, there are certain exceptions so that the author and the copyright owner are two separate and independent entities.

2. Cases where the author and the owner are separate and independent from each other?

Some cases in which the copyright owner is not at the same time the author:

The work is created according to an assigned task:

First of all, there is a relationship between the author and the copyright owner through a signed Labor Contract. According to the current provisions of Vietnamese law on copyright, the law recognizes the general principle that the copyright owner is the creator of the work, that is, the worker who directly created the work, except in cases where they create according to an assigned task. The assignment of the task of creating a work must be expressed in a specific document. Thus, a work created according to an assigned task, the creator of that work is still recognized as the author, but the copyright owner is the individual, agency, or organization that assigns the creative task to the author.

Work created through a creative lease contract:

Unlike the above case, the author who creates the work is a member of an agency or organization between which a labor relationship is formed, here there is only a creative lease contract signed between the parties. Therefore, according to the creative lease contract, the author will create the work according to the request of the other party and will receive a remuneration according to the level agreed by the parties. The Vietnamese legal system recognizes the principle that the creator of a work in a creative lease contract is recognized as the author, and the property rights belong to the creative lessee or the assignor unless otherwise agreed.

Transfer of copyright:

One of the rights of the copyright owner to a work is to exploit the work in different ways. The transfer of copyright by the copyright owner is often carried out in the form of copyright assignment and copyright usage assignment. A copyright assignment contract is a contract to transfer all or part of the copyright from one entity to another. Copyright assignment contracts, as prescribed by most legal systems, must be in the form of a document with full signatures of the parties. According to Article 48 of the Vietnamese Intellectual Property Law, assignment contracts must be made in writing. In which, property rights and personal rights such as the right to publish or allow others to publish are transferable subjects.

Above is the article “Cases where the author and copyright owner are independent of each other” that VCD sent to you. We hope this article is useful to you.

Sincerely,

Does Vietnamese law protect copyright for works created by artificial intelligence?

Written by Editor VCD on 9 January, 2025. Posted in Copyright Registration.

In the context of increasingly developing technology, artificial intelligence (AI) has become a powerful tool in creating works of art, music and literature. The explosion of AI has raised many questions about intellectual property rights, especially copyright for works created by it. So, does Vietnamese law protect copyright for works created by artificial intelligence? The following article from VCD will help you.

1. Overview of Artificial Intelligence

According to John McCarrthy of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the term artificial intelligence is explained as follows: “It is the science and engineering of creating intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs. It involves tasks similar to using computers to understand human intelligence”.

In the simplest terms, artificial intelligence is the “intelligence” of computers programmed by humans to help computers simulate human intelligence and mimic their activities. This term can also be applied to any machine that exhibits characteristics related to the human mind such as learning, decision making or problem solving. To perform these mental simulation activities, artificial intelligence combines computer science and powerful data sets.

Artificial intelligence is divided into 3 types:

Narrow AI: is a type of artificial intelligence designed to perform a specific task or a narrow set of tasks.

Strong AI: is a type of artificial intelligence that is capable of understanding and performing a range of tasks similar to humans, especially the ability to think, self-learn and apply knowledge to new situations.

Superintelligence: This is a form of artificial intelligence that far surpasses human intelligence. It represents an artificial intelligence system that is absolutely intelligent and superior to human capabilities in all aspects.

2. Conditions for copyright protection

According to the Berne Convention and the provisions of Clause 7, Article 4 of the Vietnamese Intellectual Property Law, the concept of “work” is defined as “a creative product in the field of literature, art, or science expressed in any means or form.” At the same time, Clause 3, Article 14 stipulates that a protected work “must be directly created by the author through his or her intellectual labor without copying from another person’s work.”

Expressed in a certain form:

The law recognizes that Copyright is only established when a work is created and expressed in a certain material form such as audio recording, video recording, rewriting, reading, etc. Therefore, if the creative result only stops at the idea in the author’s mind, and has not been expressed in a material form, it cannot be considered a copyrighted work.

As a result of creative spiritual activities:

To be protected by copyright, a work must be based on the process of thinking, learning, creating, reflecting the thoughts and feelings of the creator. In other words, the work must be a creative product with content and spiritual value of the author.

The work must be original:

“Originality” requires that the work must be independently and directly created by the author without copying from another subject. Originality does not require the work to have high content value or unique artistic quality, but it must create the author’s own mark through the content or form of expression of the work.

3. Does Vietnamese law protect copyright for works created by artificial intelligence?

AI, in essence, is an intellectual product created by humans, developed through the form of robots or other tangible machines, to reduce human labor. AI applications, such as floor-sweeping robots or chess-playing robots, perform work in a stereotypical manner according to human settings.

Pursuant to Clauses 1, 2 and 6, Article 4 of the Law on Intellectual Property, it is stipulated that:

Interpretation of terms

In this Law, the following terms are construed as follows:

1. Intellectual property rights are the rights of organizations and individuals to intellectual property, including copyright and rights related to copyright, industrial property rights and rights to plant varieties.

2. Copyright is the right of organizations and individuals to works they create or own.

6. The subject of intellectual property rights is the owner of intellectual property rights or the organization or individual to whom the owner transfers intellectual property rights.

In addition, Article 13 of the current Law on Intellectual Property stipulates that copyright subjects include: Vietnamese organizations and individuals; foreign organizations and individuals whose works are first published in Vietnam but have not been published in any other country or are simultaneously published in Vietnam within thirty days from the date the work is first published in another country; foreign organizations and individuals whose works are protected in Vietnam under international treaties on copyright to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

Based on the above provisions, it can be seen that Vietnamese law only identifies copyright subjects as individuals and organizations, but does not recognize artificial intelligence (AI) as a subject of copyright.

Therefore, works created by artificial intelligence in Vietnam are not protected by copyright. This means that creative products created by AI are not recognized as intellectual property rights.

Above is the article “Does Vietnamese law protect copyright for works created by artificial intelligence?” that VCD sent to you. We hope this article is useful to you.

Register the copyright for the paper calendar

Written by Editor VCD on 9 January, 2025. Posted in Copyright Registration.

Paper calendars, with their diverse and eye-catching designs, are products that reflect the personal mark of the creator. However, the illegal copying of calendar designs is becoming more and more popular, causing serious damage to the rights of designers. In that context, understanding the copyright of paper calendars and the importance of copyright registration is very necessary. The following article from VCD will help you.

1. Are paper calendars copyrighted works?

A paper calendar is a printed product that not only helps keep track of time and dates of the year but also acts as an attractive and effective decorative item for advertising. When printed with a company logo, a paper calendar can convey a strong brand image. This product is often designed in the form of separate or continuous calendar sheets, printed on paper and comes in many different forms, such as desk calendars, block calendars, and wall calendars.

Copyright, or authorship, is an important legal concept that protects the rights of creators to the intellectual works they produce. In other words, when you create a work such as a song, poem, painting, photograph, video, software, etc., you register the copyright and will be protected by law for the ownership of that work.

According to the Law on Intellectual Property, calendars can be classified into the group of “Works of fine art, applied art” as prescribed in Article 14.1 of the Law on Intellectual Property and Article 6 of Decree 17/2023/ND-CP for the following reasons:

Useful features: Desk calendars are expressed by lines, colors, shapes and layouts, serving the purpose of viewing and tracking time.

Attached to useful objects: Desk calendars can be combined with products such as calendars, desk memos and can be produced by hand or mass-produced.

Graphic and artistic design: Desk calendars may include graphic design (such as logos, identities, packaging) or interior design, which is highly artistic.

Aesthetic elements: Desk calendars are expressed in the form of aesthetic product shapes that are not easily reproduced by people with average knowledge in the field. Note that the external shape element is not protected if it is an essential requirement for the product to perform its function.

Contains copyrighted images: Desk calendars may include copyrighted images, which add value to the work.

However, it should be noted that copyright only protects the form of the work, that is, the arrangement, layout and shape of the desk calendar, and not the content. Therefore, if someone else uses the date information to create their own desk calendar, this will not affect the copyright of the other desk calendar owner.

2. Paper calendar copyright registration dossier

According to Article 49.2 of the Law on Intellectual Property, submitting an application for a Certificate of Copyright Registration is not a mandatory procedure for enjoying copyright. This means that copyright for desk calendar works still arises without registration. However, copyright registration for desk calendars is carried out with the aim of preventing acts of infringement of desk calendar works such as: theft, copying, abuse, illegal display and distribution of desk calendars. Recording the names of authors on the copyright registration certificate is also an important legal basis to prove the author’s rights to desk calendar works, protecting the interests of creators when there are disputes over copyright or violations occur.

The application for copyright registration for a desk calendar includes the following documents:

Copyright registration form: Filled out according to the prescribed form, must have the signature or seal of the author, copyright owner, or related rights owner.

Copy of work: Submit 02 copies of the registered work, including electronic copies. Each copy must be printed on A4 paper and have the signature or seal of the author or owner.

Power of attorney: A power of attorney is required for VCD to carry out the registration procedure.

Legal documents: Provide 01 copy of CCCD/ID card/Business registration certificate, Establishment license or Establishment decision.

Documents proving the right to submit an application: Including:

Assignment of tasks.

Creative contract (original or notarized, certified copy).

Inheritance document (notarized, certified).

Author’s commitment: If the author is not the copyright owner, there must be a written commitment to self-creation and to be legally responsible for this content.

Consent of co-authors: If the work has multiple authors, there must be written consent of all co-authors.

Consent of co-owners: If the copyright is jointly owned, there must be written consent of co-owners.

Consent of the person with the image: If the work uses another person’s image, there must be written consent of that person according to the provisions of law.

The above is the article “ Register the copyright for the paper calendar” that VCD sends to you. We hope this article is useful to you.

Sincerely,

Are the author’s moral rights transferred?

Written by Editor VCD on 3 January, 2025. Posted in Announcement, Copyright Registration.

The author is not only the creator of the work, but also the person who is deeply attached to the values that the work represents. The author’s moral rights, including the right to be recognized and to protect the integrity of the work, play an important role in protecting the honor and reputation of the creator. However, the question is whether this right can be transferred or not? The following article by VCD will help you.

1. What are moral rights?

From a legal perspective, personal rights are one of the civil rights associated with each individual. Personal rights are formed, arise, change and terminate through decisions of competent state agencies. Typical examples include birth, marriage, death, nationality determination, as well as relationships such as father and child, husband and wife, full name, hometown and ethnicity.

Personal rights are a familiar concept, commonly applied in many areas of social life. The law also clearly stipulates this right. Specifically, according to Clause 1, Article 25 of the 2015 Civil Code, personal rights are civil rights attached to each individual and cannot be transferred to others, unless otherwise provided in relevant laws.

Moral rights are expressed through the following basic characteristics:

Part of civil rights: Personal rights are part of civil rights and belong to individuals.

Spiritual values: Personal rights always aim at spiritual values that cannot be valued.

Non-transferable: Personal rights cannot be transferred to others.

Are the author's moral rights transferred?

2. Can the author’s moral rights be transferred?

The 2022 Intellectual Property Law, Article 19, stipulates the author’s personal rights, including:

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. To have his/her real name or pen name on the work; to have his/her real name or pen name mentioned when the work is published or used; 3. To publish the work or allow others to publish the work; 4. To protect the integrity of the work, not allowing others to distort it; not allowing others to modify or cut the work in any form that harms the honor and reputation of the author.

Transfer, also known as copyright assignment, is understood as the copyright owner’s agreement to transfer the right to publish the work and property rights to another organization or individual through a contract or in accordance with relevant laws (Clause 1, Article 45 of the Law on Intellectual Property). In addition, Clause 2, Article 45 of the Law on Intellectual Property stipulates that: “Authors are not allowed to transfer the personal rights specified in Article 19, except for the right to publish works; performers are not allowed to transfer the personal rights specified in Clause 2, Article 29 of this Law”.

Therefore, among the personal rights of copyright, only the right to publish works can be transferred. Other personal rights remain the rights of the author and cannot be transferred.

According to this provision, performers will also not be allowed to transfer the personal rights specified in Clause 2, Article 29 of this Law, which are:

Being introduced by name when performing, when releasing audio recordings, video recordings, or broadcasting the performance;

Protecting the integrity of the performance image, not allowing others to edit, cut or distort in any form that harms the honor and reputation of the performer.

3. How long are moral rights protected?

Pursuant to Article 27 of the 2005 Intellectual Property Law, amended by Clause 8, Article 1 of the 2009 Intellectual Property Law, the term of protection of the author’s personal rights is stipulated as follows:

Moral rights are protected indefinitely:

The right to name the work;

To have one’s real name or pen name on the work; to have one’s real name or pen name mentioned when the work is published or used;

To protect the integrity of the work.

Moral rights are protected for a term of time:

Cinematographic works, photographic works, applied fine arts works, anonymous works have a term of protection of seventy-five years from the date of first publication of the work; for cinematographic works, photographic works, applied fine arts works that have not been published within twenty-five years from the date of fixation of the work, the term of protection is one hundred years from the date of fixation of the work; for anonymous works.

Except for works not falling under the category specified above, the term of protection shall be the lifetime of the author and fifty years following the year of the author’s death; in the case of works with co-authors, the term of protection shall end in the fiftieth year following the year of the death of the last co-author;

The term of protection for the above works shall end at 24:00 on December 31 of the year in which the copyright protection term ends.

Above is the article “ Are the author’s moral rights transferred?” that VCD sends toyou. We hope this article is useful to you.

Sincerely,