A book is not only a cultural product, but also a valuable intellectual property, protected by copyright. The author has the exclusive right to exploit and use his work, ensuring that he receives recognition and appropriate remuneration for his creative efforts. However, books are easily copied, printed, and published without the author’s permission. So, how to handle administrative violations of illegal book printing? Please follow the article of VCD below.
1. What is illegal book printing
Currently, Vietnamese law has no regulations on the concept of illegal book printing. However, it is possible to rely on the following bases to understand this concept.
The Law on Intellectual Property, Clause 4, Article 213 stipulates as follows:
Article 28: Counterfeit intellectual property goods
Pirated goods are copies produced without the permission of the copyright owner or related rights owner.
In addition, according to the provisions of Point c, Clause 2, Article 10 of the Publishing Law 2012 and Article 9 of Decree 60/2014/ND-CP supplemented by Point c, Clause 2, Article 1 of Decree 72/2022/ND-CP, it can be understood that printing pirated books is an act strictly prohibited by law and carried out in the following forms:
- Printing publications that are not permitted to be circulated in Vietnam.
- Printing publications without a printing license.
- Printing publications without the permission of the copyright owner or copyright holder.
- Taking advantage of publishing, printing, post-printing, photocopying activities to illegally print publications.
2. Administrative violations for illegal book printing
Organizations or individuals who infringe on the copyright of others may be subject to administrative violations depending on the nature and extent of the infringement. Those who print pirated books without the permission of the owner shall be subject to administrative sanctions according to Article 18 of Decree 131.2013/ND-CP and Clause 2, Article 3 of Decree 28/2017/ND-CP:
Acts of infringement of the right to copy works
1. A fine of VND 15,000,000 to VND 35,000,000 shall be imposed for copying works without the permission of the copyright owner.
2. Remedial measures:
Forcing the removal of copies of infringing works in electronic form, on the network and digital environment or forcing the destruction of infringing exhibits for the acts specified in Clause 1 of this Article.
And Clause 2, Article 3 of Decree 28/2017/ND-CP:
Prescribing the fine framework, the authority to impose fines on individuals and organizations
2. The fine framework specified in Chapter II of this Decree is the fine framework applicable to individuals, except for the cases specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4, Article 5; Clause 1 and Point b, Clause 2, Article 7 of this Decree. For the same violation, the fine framework for organizations is twice the fine framework for individuals.
Accordingly, individuals and organizations that illegally print books without the permission of the copyright owner will be subject to a fine of VND 15,000,000 to VND 35,000,000 for individuals, and VND 30,000,000 to VND 70,000,000 for organizations.
In addition to the fine, they must also take remedial measures such as:
- Deleting copies of infringing works in electronic form, on the internet and digital environment.
- Destroying evidence related to the violation.
These are regulations to protect intellectual property rights and prevent copyright infringement in the publishing sector.
3. Statute of limitations for administrative sanctions for illegal printing of books
According to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 3a, Chapter I of Decree 131/2013/ND-CP supplemented by Clause 1, Article 3 of Decree 129/2021/ND-CP:
Statute of limitations for administrative sanctions
1. The statute of limitations for administrative sanctions for violations of copyright and related rights is 02 years.
2. The time for calculating the statute of limitations for administrative sanctions for violations of copyright and related rights is prescribed as follows:
a) For administrative violations in progress as prescribed in Point a, Clause 3 of this Article, the statute of limitations shall be calculated from the time the competent person performing official duties discovers the violation;
b) For administrative violations that have ended as prescribed in Point b, Clause 3 of this Article, the statute of limitations shall be calculated from the time the violation ends;
c) In case of administrative sanctioning of organizations and individuals transferred by the competent person who has made a record of administrative violation, the statute of limitations for sanctioning shall be applied according to the provisions in Clause 1 of this Article, Points a and b of this Clause up to the time of issuing the decision to sanction the administrative violation.
3. Ongoing administrative violations and completed administrative violations of copyright and related rights
a) An ongoing administrative violation of copyright and related rights is an act of a prolonged nature, which has been and is taking place at the time the competent agency or person discovers and handles the violation and that act is still directly infringing upon the order of state management;
b) An administrative violation of copyright and related rights that has been completed is an act that has been committed once or many times and there is basis and information proving that the act was completed before the competent agency or person discovered and handled the administrative violation.
4. Within the time limit specified in Clause 1 of this Article, if an organization or individual commits an administrative violation and intentionally evades or obstructs the sanctioning by a competent authority, the statute of limitations for handling administrative violations shall be recalculated from the time the act of evading or obstructing the sanctioning ends.
Therefore, the statute of limitations for handling administrative violations for the act of printing pirated books without the permission of the copyright owner is 2 years.
Above is the article “Administrative sanctions for the act of printing pirated books” that VCD sends to you. We hope this article is useful to you.
Sincerely,
