Currently, Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular in Vietnam. With convenience, variety of topics, and high personalization, podcasts meet the entertainment and learning needs of many people. However, the lack of awareness of copyright laws regarding content and audio in podcasts is causing many copyright violations to occur. Therefore, it is necessary to understand clearly the provisions of copyright law on podcasts and whether it is necessary to register copyright for podcasts. Please follow VCD’s article below.
1. What is a podcast?
Podcast is an English term that uses the combination of the word “IPod” (a line of Apple music players) and the word “broadcast” (meaning transmission). Accordingly, Podcast refers to digital audio content posted on the Internet that users can listen to at any time, or download to personal devices.
In addition, a Podcast can also be understood as a radio program with a specific topic that the creator creates and broadcasts in many episodes, published continuously and periodically… The topics of Podcast channels are very diverse. diverse such as exchanging, and commenting on certain topics, memoirs or news reports, audiobooks, etc.
The podcast is a type of work popular with the public, so it is necessary to ensure that the content provided in the podcast is completely legal and does not violate the Intellectual Property rights of others. Most podcasts today have chat content, in which the podcast author exchanges and discusses a certain issue. Podcasts are creative content, so it is not surprising that intellectual property laws would apply. It is not uncommon for intellectual property rights disputes to occur related to podcasts: using music or creative content in podcasts without the author’s permission or without citing the source of the work…
The content in the podcast is in the field of literature, art or science is creative, and does not copy popular content, the podcast content will also be protected by copyright law. Of course, if podcast content is created by many people, there will be counterfeits. In addition, a podcast is a recording work, so the person making the podcast also has related rights reserved for the recording producer according to the provisions of intellectual property law. In many cases, podcast speakers can also be recognized with performer rights that are reserved for performing artists and actors.
2. Regulations of Copyright Law on Podcasts
According to Clause 1, Article 6 of the Intellectual Property Law, regulations on copyright registration for podcasts are as follows:
Basis for arising and establishing intellectual property rights
1. Copyright arises from the moment the work is created and expressed in a certain material form, regardless of content, quality, form, medium, language, whether published or not. unpublished, registered, or unregistered.
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Accordingly, based on Point b, Clause 1, Article 14 of the 2005 Intellectual Property Law amended by Clause 5, Article 1 of the 2009 Amended Intellectual Property Law, regulations on types of works protected by copyright are as follows:
Types of works protected by copyright
1. Protected literary, artistic, and scientific works include:
a) Literary and scientific works, textbooks, course books, and other works expressed in writing or other characters;
b) Lectures, speeches, and other talks;
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3. Protected works specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article must be directly created by the author using his or her intellectual labor and not copied from the works of others.
4. The Government provides specific guidance on the types of works specified in Clause 1 of this Article.
Types of works protected by copyright
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2. Lectures, speeches, and other talks specified in Point b, Clause 1, Article 14 of the Intellectual Property Law are works expressed in spoken language and must be shaped in a certain material form.
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In addition, based on Article 9 of Decree 17/2023/ND-CP regulations on copyright for podcasts are as follows:
Copyright of lectures, speeches, and other discourses
In cases where the author personally shapes a lecture, speech, or other speech in the form of audio or video recording, the author shall enjoy copyright to the lecture, speech, or speech. and is also the owner of rights to audio and video recordings according to the provisions of Point b, Clause 1, Article 44 of the Intellectual Property Law.
Accordingly, podcasts are a type of work protected by copyright. The person who directly creates the podcast will be the copyright owner of the podcast and will receive the rights according to regulations.
Therefore, podcast copyright will automatically arise from the moment the podcast is created and presented in a certain form such as an audio recording, or video recording,… without needing to register the copyright for the podcast. However, in reality, the law always encourages podcast authors or owners to register the copyright for podcasts to receive a Copyright Registration Certificate to protect the author’s interests best.
The copyright protection period for podcasts is specified in Article 27 of the Intellectual Property Law. Accordingly, a podcast published without knowing who the author is will have a copyright protection period of 75 years from the time the podcast was first published.
When there is a podcast with information about the author, the copyright protection period will be for the entire life of the author and 50 years following the year of the author’s death. In case there is a co-author, the protection period will end on the 50th year after the year the last co-author died.
Note that the copyright protection period as prescribed above will end at 24:00 on December 31 of the year the copyright protection period ends.
In conclusion, VCD finds that podcast copyright plays an extremely important role in protecting the rights of creators and developing the professional podcast community. Respecting copyright not only encourages creativity but also contributes to building a healthy competitive environment, where podcasters can safely invest time and effort in producing quality content.
