Author: Editor VCD

In the field of art, signing a copied painting has become a controversial topic related to the author’s moral rights. Moral rights not only include the right to be recognized as the author of the work but also relate to the protection of the honor and reputation of the creator. When an individual signs a painting that is not their creation, does this act violate the moral rights of the original author? The following article from VCD will help you.

1.      What are the legal regulations for signing a painting?

A painting is one of the types of works created from lines, colors, shapes, and layouts. Therefore, a painting is classified as a work of visual arts or applied arts and is protected by copyright according to the provisions of Point g, Clause 1, Article 14 of the current Law on Intellectual Property. Therefore, the author, the copyright owner has personal rights (Article 19) and property rights (Article 20) as prescribed by this Law.

Clause 2, Article 19, stipulates the following: The real name or pen name is on the work; the real name or pen name is stated when the work is published or used. Accordingly, it can be understood that signing a work is the act of marking the author’s ownership of the work he/she created, not allowing others to edit, cut, or distort the work in any form that harms the honor and reputation of the author.

2.      Does signing a copied painting infringe upon the author’s rights?

According to Clause 2, Article 19, the intellectual property law only stipulates that “the author’s name must be shown on the work”. This shows that the law does not mention the possibility of confusion about the author’s status, nor does it provide for the right to prohibit third parties from recording or signing the work.

Regarding the subject of protection, the law only specifies the real name and pen name of the author but does not mention the signature. Although the signature may be an important sign to verify the author’s status, the failure to mention it may lead to the understanding that the author has no right to intervene when the original and copies of the work do not show his signature. At the same time, this also implies that the author has no right to prohibit third parties from signing his work. Therefore, the lack of provisions regarding signatures and the right to prohibit third parties may create loopholes in the protection of the author’s rights, especially in cases related to signatures and the integrity of the work.

According to the provisions of the Intellectual Property Law, the author has the right to sign his work, but if the author does not sign and then sells the original work, he no longer has the right to require his signature to be displayed on the original sold. Furthermore, when a third party creates a legal copy of the work, the author also has no right to require his signature to be displayed on those copies.

According to Article 6bis of the Berne Convention, the author has the right to request recognition of the authorship of the work. Having his/her name on the work and stating his/her name when the work is used is a form of expression or recognition of the authorship, typically by signing or stamping the work. Furthermore, from the proactive perspective, the Berne Convention stipulates that the author has the right to place any information or sign on the work that allows him/her to be identified as the author, while from the passive perspective, the author has the right to request the removal or correction of misleading information about his/her authorship.

Clause 4, Article 19 of the current Intellectual Property Law, stipulates: Protecting the integrity of the work to prevent others from distorting it; not allowing others to modify or cut the work in any way that harms the honor and reputation of the author and according to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 7 stipulates: The intellectual property right holder may only exercise his/her rights within the scope and period of protection as prescribed by this Law, so it can be seen that “the element causing harm” is a mandatory condition to determine the act of infringing the right to protect the integrity of the work. In addition to infringing on the integrity of the work, the act of signing on the painting or removing the author’s signature must have consequences that can harm the honor and reputation of the author.

In short, the act of signing on the painting or removing the author’s signature can hardly be considered an infringement of the right to protect the integrity of the work as prescribed by the Law on Intellectual Property.

Impersonating an author is less common than copying a painting and creating a fake signature to deceive customers, making them believe that it is the “original” of a famous artist. In addition, signing a copy of another artist’s work is also a relatively rare situation.

Above is the article “Does signing a copied painting violate the author’s rights?” \that VCD sends to you. We hope this article is useful to you.

Sincerely,

Currently, with the development of talent and artistic ability, along with the passion of many young individual for artistic creation, the number of works and galleries is increasing. However, this increase also means a high risk of plagiarism and copying of works of art. Copyright protection is more important than ever to prevent infringements and ensure the rights of creative artists. Therefore, the following article of VCD will help you better understand copyright registration for paintings.

1.      What is copyright for paintings?

According to Clause 2, Article 4 of the Intellectual Property Law, copyright is defined as the exclusive right of organizations and individuals to works they create or own.

Copyright of a painting arises from the moment the painting is created and expressed in a certain material method, regardless of content, quality, form, means, language, whether it is published orregistered.

With its unique characteristics, paintings are classified as works of fine art, applied art and become a type of work protected by copyright according to the provisions of Article 14 of the current Law on Intellectual Property.

Consequently, copyright registration of a painting is understood as the act of a competent state agency recognizing the copyright of the creator of the work and the copyright owner of that painting. By recognizing the author and copyright owner on the Copyright Registration Certificate, the author and owner will have proof of ownership, making it easier to handle infringements.

Copyright registration of a painting is a essential action to protect the rights of the creator. This helps prevent unauthorized use of the work, such as copying, displaying or distributing the painting without the owner’s consent.

When a painting is copyrighted, it signifies that the author has legal ownership of the work. If others want to use or copy the work, they must have the owner’s consent. In case of a dispute, the author or owner can prove their ownership through the Copyright Registration Certificate.

2.      Legal provisions on copyright for paintings

• To be protected, works of art must satisfy the following conditions:

• First, works of art are works of artistic nature, expressing the individuality of the creator of the work.

•  Second, Clause 7, Article 6 of Decree 17/2023/ND-CP stipulates a number of types as follows:

• Painting works: Lacquer paintings, oil paintings, gouache, watercolors, red paper and other materials.

• Graphic works: Woodcuts, metal engravings, rubber engravings, plaster engravings, monoprints, lithographs, screen printing, propaganda paintings, graphic designs and other materials.

• Sculptures; statues, monuments, reliefs, pedestals, symbolic blocks.

• Installation works and other forms of contemporary artistic expression.

• Paintings, sculptures, installations and other forms of contemporary art exist as unique copies. Graphic works can be expressed up to the 50th edition numbered with the author’s signature.

•  Third, regarding the way the work is expressed, the works will be expressed in two-dimensional space (such as paintings, drawings, etchings, lithographs…) or two-dimensional space (such as sculptures, architectural works) regardless of content (realism or abstract…) and purpose (purely, artistic, advertising…).

• Application for copyright registration for paintings:

• Application for copyright registration for paintings according to Form No. 05 Appendix 1 issued with Decree 08/2023/TT-BVHTTDL.

• 02 copies of the work registered for copyright for the painting and 02 copies printed on A4 paper of the work signed or sealed by the author or owner.

•  Author’s ID card/Citizen ID card.

• Authorization letter for VCD to carry out copyright registration procedures.

• Documents proving the right to submit.

• Consent letter of co-authors in case the work has co-authors.

•  Consent letter of co-owners in case the copyright of the painting is jointly owned.

• Note: Documents in the application for copyright registration for the painting must be in Vietnamese. In case of foreign documents, they must be translated into Vietnamese and notarized and certified.

In case of loss and damage to the Certificate of copyright registration, the competent state agency will reissue this Certificate. If the re-issuance is rejected, the state copyright management agency must notify the applicant in writing, stating the reasons for the rejection.

Above is the article “Register copyright for paintings” that VCD sent to you. We hope this article is useful to you.

Sincerely,

When referring to industrial property rights in Vietnam, many people often confuse the two main protection mechanisms: applied artworks and industrial designs. So based on the legal regulations on intellectual property, how can we distinguish between applied artworks and industrial designs? Please follow the article of VCD below.

1. Similarities between applied art works and industrial designs

• Both are one of the subjects of intellectual property rights stipulated in the Law on Intellectual Property of Vietnam.

• Both represent the rights of the creative subject or the subject who owns those creations.

• Protect the rights and interests of the subjects with rights and avoid acts of infringement of those protected rights of the subjects.

• Both are aesthetic creative objects.

• Expressed in the form of the external appearance of the work such as shape, lines, color, etc.

2.  Differences between applied artworks and industrial designs

Intellectual property rights include three main groups of rights: copyright and rights related to copyright, industrial property rights, and rights to plant varieties. Applied artworks belong to copyright and rights related to copyright, while industrial designs are the subject of industrial property rights. To distinguish between these two subjects, it is necessary to consider the following criteria:

Concept:

• An applied artwork is a work expressed by lines, colors, shapes, and layouts with useful features, can be attached to a useful object, produced by hand or industrially, including Graphic design (expression of logos, product identification, and packaging; expression of characters); fashion design; aesthetic design associated with product styling; Interior design, interior and exterior decoration with aesthetic nature. Applied artworks are expressed in the form of product shapes with an aesthetic nature, which cannot be easily created by people with average knowledge in the relevant field and does not include the external shape of the product that is required to perform the function of the product. (Clause 8, Article 6, Decree 17/2023-ND-CP).

• Industrial design is the external shape of a product expressed by shape, line, color, or a combination of these elements (Clause 13, Article 4, Law on Intellectual Property).

Basis for establishing rights:

• According to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 6 of the current Law on Intellectual Property, Applied artworks are established based on creative products in a certain material form and do not have to be registered. This means that the applied artwork establishes rights under the automatic protection mechanism regardless of the registration procedure, copyright arises automatically and is established from the moment the work is expressed in an objective form that others can recognize. Registration is encouraged but not mandatory to avoid infringements and to have evidence when disputes arise.

• According to the provisions of Point a, Clause 3, Article 6 of the current Law on Intellectual Property, industrial designs are protected through registration procedures at competent state agencies, and this is a mandatory requirement. Industrial designs are only recognized by law when the state agency issues an official protection certificate. Registration of a protection certificate is not only a legal procedure but also a way to publicly notify property ownership, helping the subject to determine rights and avoid being appropriated by others without basis. However, this registration process is often more time-consuming and costly than registering to protect applied artworks.

Protection conditions:

• A work of applied art only needs to be expressed in a certain material form and be original by the author. It does not require novelty, nor does it impose any conditions on the work’s content, quality, or effectiveness.

• On the contrary, industrial designs have higher requirements. According to Article 63 of the Law on Intellectual Property, to be protected, an industrial design must satisfy the following conditions: be novel (compared to designs in the world), be creative (not identical or similar to registered industrial designs), and be capable of industrial application.

Protection period:

• The protection period for a work of applied art is stipulated in Point a, Clause 2, Article 27 of the Law on Intellectual Property. Specifically, the protection period is 75 years from the date the work is first published. For works that have not been published within 25 years from the date of their formation, the protection period will be extended to 100 years from the date of their formation.

• The protection period for industrial designs is stipulated in Clause 4, Article 93 of the Law on Intellectual Property. Accordingly, an industrial design patent is effective from the date of issuance and lasts for 5 years from the date of application. This period can be extended consecutively, each time for 5 years, with a maximum protection period of 15 years.

Meaning of protection:

• Works of applied art are only protected in form, to prevent copying or using the form of the original work. However, the owner cannot prevent others from creating or using identical or similar designs, resulting in a weaker protection mechanism for works of applied art than for industrial designs.

• On the contrary, industrial designs are protected exclusively in terms of content and creative ideas. This allows the owner to have the exclusive right to exploit and use the industrial design, and at the same time have the right to prohibit others from using that design. Therefore, the protection mechanism of industrial designs is stronger than that of applied artworks.

Above is the article “Distinguishing Applied Artworks and Industrial Designs” that VCD sent

to you. We hope this article is useful to you.

Sincerely,

The current situation of copyright infringement of fashion designs is becoming a serious problem, with many brands and individuals copying or imitating designs without permission. The lack of understanding of copyright rights, along with the development of digital technology, has facilitated the copying and dissemination of designs. Therefore, copyright registration for fashion designs is necessary. The following article from VCD will help you.

1.      How to register the copyright for fashion designs

Fashion design is a unique art field in the beauty industry, where the subtle combination of costumes, accessories, and jewelry creates impressive creative works. Each design not only demonstrates ingenuity but also reflects the designer’s journey to find newness and uniqueness, to bring exclusive aesthetic experiences to consumers.

Fashion design copyright registration is a legal process to protect the intellectual property rights of designers for their creative works. This not only confirms copyright and provides legal evidence in case of disputes, but also prevents copyright infringement and increases brand value.

Currently, two forms of design copyright registration are being applied to protect the rights of fashion designers. The first form is to register fashion design copyright in the form of copyright of applied fine arts and the second is to register fashion design copyright in the form of industrial designs.

In terms of copyright, VCD’s article only approaches and clarifies the first form of copyright of applied fine arts. It allows designers to protect their unique designs and prevent unauthorized copying. This form helps ensure that their artistic creations are recognized and protected under the law.

In Vietnam, the issue of plagiarism in design copyrights is becoming a serious challenge. The act of copying or imitating designs without permission not only causes unfair competition but also threatens the sustainable development of the fashion industry. Genuine designers are suffering from this situation, reducing their creative motivation and preventing them from receiving the recognition they deserve for their efforts. This not only reduces the value of the design profession but also hinders the advancement of the entire applied arts industry.

2.      Fashion design copyright registration process

• Copyright registration conditions

• The subject here is drawings or images of diverse fashion designs including clothing, shoes, accessories, jewelry, wedding dresses, ao dai, and many other types of designs. These designs must demonstrate unique artistic creativity and must not be copied or plagiarized from any source of inspiration or design work of any subject.

• The person who has the right to register a copyright is determined to be the author who directly creates and implements the fashion design. In this case, the author is the person behind the design process, from the idea, and actual design to the creation of the work. In addition, the owner can also be the person who directly or indirectly owns the work through other forms of purchase, order, gift, or inheritance.

• The copyright registration dossier includes:

• A declaration of copyright registration for applied artworks according to form No. 02 issued with Circular 08/2023/TT-BVHTTDL.

• A copy of the author’s ID card, citizen identification card, or passport.

• Current address information, phone number, or email address to contact the author.

• Design rental contract (if any).

• Donation contract (if any).

• Will (if any).

• Sale contract related to copyright (if any).

• Documents proving the right to apply the author or owner of the work.

• Authorization contract (if any).

• Author’s guarantee or declaration for the work.

• Introduction to the work.

It is very important to prepare complete and accurate information and documents to ensure that the copyright registration process for fashion design works goes smoothly and effectively. This not only helps to avoid errors that can delay the registration process but also increases the possibility of approval, protecting the designer’s rights in the best way.

VCD believes that copyright registration for fashion designs is necessary to protect the designer’s rights, confirm intellectual property rights, and prevent unauthorized copying. Copyright certificates provide legal evidence in case of disputes while enhancing brand value and building trust with customers. Furthermore, copyright protection encourages creativity and sustainable development in the fashion industry.