In today’s social life, copyright registration is increasingly important, especially when the situation of copyright infringement becomes more and more complicated. Therefore, it is very important to firmly grasp the process and necessary documents when registering copyright. Details will be shown in the article below.
1. What is copyright registration?
Copyright is the right of organizations and individuals to works they create or own (Clause 2, Article 4 of the Intellectual Property Law). Therefore, copyright (or copyright) is a type of intellectual property right granted to the author or copyright owner to control the copying, use, distribution, and presentation of their work. to protect the work from unauthorized copying or use.
Therefore, it can be understood that copyright registration is the act of the author or copyright owner submitting documents to a competent state agency (Copyright Department) to record information about the author, work, or copyright owner.
2. Basis for arising copyright and copyright registration conditions for the registered subject
According to Clause 1, Article 6 of the Intellectual Property Law, copyright arises when a work is created and expressed in a certain physical form, regardless of content, quality, form, or medium. , language, published or unpublished, registered or unregistered. Vietnamese law only protects works when they are formed in a certain material form such as writing paper, etc., and must ensure that the work is the creative effort of the author, not copied or imitated by other works.
According to the provisions from Article 37 to Article 42 of the Intellectual Property Law, copyright protection includes the person directly creating the work and the copyright owner:
- Author, co-authors,
- Organizations – individuals assign tasks to authors or enter into contracts with authors,
- Heirs, transferees, State.
Authors and copyright owners include Vietnamese organizations and individuals; Foreign organizations and individuals whose works are published for the first time in Vietnam but have not been published in any other country or are published simultaneously in Vietnam within thirty days from the date of the work that is published for the first time in another country; Foreign organizations and individuals whose works are protected in Vietnam under international copyright treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.
3. Copyright registration process
3.1. Determine the type of work to be registered
According to Clause 1, Article 14 of the Intellectual Property Law, there are regulations on types of works protected by copyright, including Literary and scientific works, textbooks, course books, and other works that appear in writing or other characters; Sermons, speeches and other talks; Journalistic works; Musical works; Theater works; Cinematographic works and works created by similar methods (hereinafter collectively referred to as cinematographic works); Works of fine arts and applied arts; Photographic works; Architectural works; Maps, diagrams, maps, drawings related to topography, architecture, scientific works; Literary and folk art works; Computer programs, data collection.
Article 14 also stipulates that derivative works (Derivative works are works translated from one language to another, works of adaptation, transformation, compilation, annotation, selection) can only be protected under the provisions of point a if it does not prejudice the copyright of works used to make derivative works.
In addition, literary, and scientific works, textbooks, course books, and other works expressed in the form of writing or other characters, and lectures, speeches, and other talks must be directly composed by the author. Create with your intellectual labor without copying from the works of others.
3.2. Prepare documents
To register the copyright owner of a work, the author needs to prepare the following documents and records:
- Copyright registration declaration (according to the corresponding form in Circular 08/2023/TT-BVHTTDL dated June 2, 2023, Circular stipulating forms for copyright and related rights registration activities). The declaration must be made in Vietnamese and signed by the author, copyright owner, related rights owner, or person authorized to apply. The declaration must contain complete information about the applicant, author, copyright owner, or related rights owner. The declaration must contain a summary of the content of the work, performance, audio recording, video recording, or broadcast; author’s name, work used as a derivative work if the work is registered as a derivative work; time, place, and form of announcement; Commitment to responsibility for the information stated in the application.
- Two copies of the copyrighted work:
01 copy is kept at the Copyright Office and 01 copy is stamped with the Registration Certificate number and returned to the subject to whom the Registration Certificate was issued.
For works with unique characteristics such as paintings, statues, monuments, reliefs, and monumental paintings associated with architectural works; works that are too large and bulky, copies of registered works are replaced by three-dimensional photographs.
- For written works: 02 volumes on A4 paper with page numbers and author’s signature on each page or company seal;
- For computer programs: 02 printed copies of source code + software interface on A4 paper + 02 CDs with source code content and interface on them;
- For works of applied art: 02 copies printed on A4 paper of the work with the signature or stamp of the author or owner of the work;
- For musical works: 02 printed copies of music + lyrics or audio recording (recording) in case of recording;
- For architectural works: 02 drawings on A3 paper
- Power of attorney or authorization contract, in case the authorizing party is an individual, the authorization document must be authenticated according to the provisions of law.
- Documents proving the right to apply;
- Written consent of the co-authors, if the work has co-authors;
- Written consent of the co-owners, if the copyright is jointly owned.
- Identity card or citizen identification card of the author or owner of the work;
- Copy of the company’s Business Registration Certificate (if the owner is a company).
All documents submitted with the copyright registration application must be made in Vietnamese; if made in a foreign language, they must be translated into Vietnamese and notarized or authenticated.
3.3. Submit
Currently, there are three ways to submit applications, including direct submission, submission by mail, and online submission, specifically as follows:
- When submitting documents directly, the author or owner can submit them to the following addresses:
- Copyright Office: No. 33 Alley 294/2 Kim Ma, Ba Dinh, Hanoi, City. Hanoi.
- Representative office in the City. Ho Chi Minh: No. 170 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Ward 6, District 3, City. Ho Chi Minh.
- Representative office in the City. Da Nang: No. 58 Phan Chu Trinh, Hai Chau District, Da Nang city.
- When submitting by mail, the author or owner can submit to the address: Copyright Office: No. 33 Alley 294/2 Kim Ma, Ba Dinh, Hanoi, City. Hanoi.
- When submitting online, the author or owner can submit via the online service portal: http://dichvucong.gov.vn/
3.4. Follow the Copyright Office’s response
To submit an accurate and complete dossier to register the copyright owner of a work will often take quite a lot of time, requiring the author and owner to be careful in preparing the dossier. Dossiers during the submission process and after successful submission will be carefully appraised and reviewed by experts. In case the dossier is invalid, Copyright Office specialists will guide corrections via email or phone; If the application is valid, the author and owner will receive a receipt of the application.
3.5. Get results
After the dossier is evaluated and confirmed to be valid and complete, the Copyright Office will issue a registration certificate to the owner to record ownership rights for the owner. The time will usually last 02 months from the date of application submission, including 01 months to classify and review the validity of the application, in case the application is valid according to regulations, within 15 working days ( excluding Saturdays and Sundays), the competent State is responsible for issuing Copyright Registration Certificates and Related Rights Registration Certificates.
4. Conclusion
Depending on the type and relationships surrounding the work, the documents in the copyright registration application are different, for example, the work was created in Vietnam but the owner is a legal entity abroad. Therefore, to prepare a valid dossier, the author and owner must have knowledge and expertise, otherwise, they must authorize another organization or individual with experience to prepare and monitor the process and submit documents at the Copyright Office.
Above is the article “Copyright registration process in Vietnam”. I hope this article will help you.
