When copyright disputes arise, the most important question is no longer whether the work is protected, but who is the true author and legal owner. While the law stipulates that copyright arises automatically upon the creation of a work, proving that right before the competent authority requires very specific grounds and evidence. So how can you prove copyright in disputes? This article from VCD will help you understand.
What is copyright?
Copyright is the right of an organization or individual to a work they directly create or legally own. This is one of the important intellectual property rights, protecting the fruits of intellectual labor in the fields of literature, art, and science.
According to Clause 2, Article 4 of the 2022 Intellectual Property Law, copyright includes moral rights and property rights arising from the work. In summary:
- Moral rights are linked to the author’s honor and reputation, such as the right to name the work, to have one’s name on the work, to publish the work, and to protect the integrity of the work.
- Property rights allow the author or owner to exploit the economic value of the work, such as copying, distributing, communicating to the public, renting, creating derivative works, etc.
A special feature of Vietnamese law is that copyright does not arise from the registration procedure, but arises at the moment the work is created.
According to Clause 1, Article 6 of the Intellectual Property Law: “Copyright arises from the moment the work is created and expressed in a certain physical form, regardless of content, quality, form, medium, language, whether it has been published or not, whether it has been registered or not.”
This regulation affirms a very important principle: simply by creating a work and expressing it externally (writing, drawing, designing, recording, filming, etc.), you automatically acquire copyright. No permission, registration, or publication is required.
However, precisely because copyright arises “automatically,” when disputes arise, the most important question is no longer whether the work is protected, but rather: Who actually created the work? Who is the legal owner? At this point, legal regulations only serve as a foundation. The decisive factor lies in the factual evidence proving the creation process, the time of creation, and the relationship between the author and the work.
In other words, copyright law protected copyright very early on, but to protect that right in case of a dispute, you must prove your rights with specific, clear, and legal evidence.
How can I prove copyright ownership in case of a dispute?
When a copyright dispute arises, the competent authority (Court, Inspectorate, Copyright Office, etc.) will rely on evidence to determine:
- Who directly created the work?
- Who is the legal owner?
- When the work was created?
- Whether there was any copying or infringement?
Depending on whether copyright has been registered or not, the method of proof will vary.
Case 1: Having a copyright certificate
This is the easiest case to prove copyright in a copyright dispute.
According to Clause 3, Article 49 of the Intellectual Property Law: “A copyright registration certificate or a related rights registration certificate is evidence proving that the copyright or related rights belong to the person granted the certificate, except in cases where there is evidence to the contrary.”
This means:
- The holder of the certificate is automatically recognized as the author/owner.
- The other party, if they wish to deny ownership, must provide very strong counter-evidence.
- Courts and authorities prioritize relying on this certificate.
In practice, in disputes, the certificate of copyright is almost an extremely important “legal shield.”
In addition to the certificate, you can provide the following documents in case of a copyright dispute:
- Original manuscript
- Design files, draft files with creation history
- Emails exchanged, creative work contracts
- Invoices, receipts showing the process of creating the work
These documents are not only supplementary but also play a strong role in strengthening the evidentiary value in the case file when a copyright dispute occurs. In fact, the competent authority does not rely on a single document, but will evaluate the entire system of evidence to determine who actually created the work and when.
Case 2: No copyright certificate available
Many people believe that if a work is not registered for copyright, it will not be protected by law. This is an inaccurate understanding.
According to Clause 1, Article 6 of the 2022 Intellectual Property Law, copyright arises from the moment a work is created and expressed in a certain physical form, regardless of whether it has been registered or not. This means that even if you haven’t completed the registration procedure, your copyright is still recognized and protected by law.
However, in the event of a dispute, you will have to provide specific evidence to prove that you are the author or legal owner of the work, instead of being automatically recognized as in the case of having a copyright certificate.
Important types of evidence include:
Manuscripts and original copies of the work
Manuscripts and original files are among the most valuable pieces of evidence when proving copyright.
- Word, PSD, AI, CAD files, handwritten documents…
- Files with edit history
- Versions saved on Google Drive, Email, Dropbox with storage dates
These documents are highly valuable evidence, because simulating an entire editing, storage, and exchange process over a long period is almost impossible to do reasonably and convincingly.
Timestamps of the work
Besides the original draft or file, data showing the time of creation and editing of the work also has high evidentiary value in copyright disputes.
- File save date
- Edit history
- Emails sending drafts
- Messages exchanged about the work’s content
These timestamps help prove that you were the first to create the work. This is an important basis for the competent authority to determine the sequence of creation of the work and your actual role in the creative process.
Witnesses
In many cases, testimony from individuals directly involved in the creation of the work is also an important source of evidence. Witnesses may include:
- Colleagues
- Individuals to whom you sent a draft for review
- Participants in the creative process
When necessary, witnesses may be summoned by the competent authority to clarify the creation process and confirm your role in the creative process.
Contracts, assignments, and work exchanges
If the work was created on commission or under contract, you can provide:
- Creative work contract
- Work agreement
- Emails or messages assigning content
According to Article 39 of the 2022 Intellectual Property Law, the copyright owner can be an organization or individual holding one, several, or all of the rights to the work. This regulation establishes an important principle: The person who directly creates a work is not necessarily the owner of the intellectual property rights to that work.
Examples:
- A designer creating a logo for a company
- A content writer writing articles for assigned tasks
- A designer creating a brand identity under an outsourced contract
- A photographer taking product photos under a service contract
Therefore, while they are the direct creators of the work, the intellectual property rights belong to the organization or individual who assigned the work, unless otherwise agreed upon. In case of disputes, documents such as contracts, work assignments, emails, or work-related messages will be crucial evidence to clarify the legal relationship between the parties and determine who is the legitimate owner of the work.
Previous publication of the work
Having previously published the work to the public before the dispute arose is also valuable evidence in proving copyright ownership. Publication methods can be very diverse, such as:
- Posting articles, images, and designs on websites, fan pages, and social media platforms.
- Publishing works in the form of books, magazines, and printed publications.
- Posting on digital platforms that record the time of publication and store data.
These methods help establish the initial public release date of the work. When the publication date coincides with the creation date of the work, this becomes crucial evidence to prove that you owned and controlled the work from a very early stage, before the other party engaged in any use or copying.
The above is an article titled “How can I prove copyright ownership in case of a dispute?“. Hopefully, the detailed analysis in this article has helped you understand the legal basis and how to gather the necessary evidence to protect your rights when copyright disputes arise.
Sincerely,
FAQ
No. According to Clause 1, Article 6 of the Intellectual Property Law, copyright arises immediately upon the creation and expression of a work in a certain physical form, regardless of whether it has been registered or not. However, copyright registration makes it easier to prove rights in case of disputes.
You can use evidence such as original manuscripts, files with editing history, data stored on email or cloud platforms, content exchange messages, witnesses, contracts, etc., to prove the creation process and time of creation of the work.