According to Vietnam’s Intellectual Property Law, businesses providing intermediary services are required by law to prevent access or remove digital information that infringes copyright and related rights. Therefore, how is the process of removing and preventing access to information regulated by law, and how does it take place?
1. Process to remove or prevent access to the digital information content of enterprises providing intermediary services when receiving requests from competent state agencies
According to Article 113 of Decree 17/2023/ND-CP, intermediary service providers must remove or prevent access to digital information content that infringes copyright and related rights with the following step as follows:
- Must be handled within 24 hours of receiving a written request from an agency competent to handle acts of copyright and related rights infringement, including Courts, Inspectors, Market Management, Customs, Police, People’s Committees at all levels, or the Copyright Office;
- Responsible for notifying the party whose digital information content is removed or access is prevented; and
- Implementation results must be reported to the agency that sent the request no later than 24 hours after processing the request.
Notification and reporting specified in this Clause are carried out in the form of sending documents, sending emails, or other similar forms.
2. Procedures for removing or preventing access to digital information content of intermediary service providers when receiving requests from copyright or related rights holders
According to Article 114 of Decree 17/2023/ND-CP, the handling process when the digital information content is requested to be removed or blocked is a process that revolves around three parties, including businesses providing “storage services for digital information content upon request”, the copyright or related rights holder requests to remove or prevent access to the information (hereinafter referred to as the “requesting party”), and the party with the digital information content requested to be removed or blocked (hereinafter referred to as the “requested party”).
When an intermediary enterprise receives a request from the copyright or related rights holder (hereinafter referred to as the “requesting party”) with documents and evidence to prove it through the tool to receive the request to remove or prevent access to digital information content that violates the copyright and related rights of that enterprise, the intermediary enterprise must perform the following tasks:
Step 1: Within 72 hours of receiving the request, the enterprise providing the intermediary service temporarily removes or blocks access to the digital information content requested to be removed or blocked and must notify. to the requesting party and the party whose digital information content is requested to be removed or blocked (hereinafter referred to as the “requested party”) for temporarily removing or preventing access to the digital information content It is accompanied by documents and evidence provided by the requesting party.
Step 2: Within 10 working days from the date of temporary removal or blocking of access to digital information content notify the requesting party, the requested party, and the enterprise providing intermediary services:
- Case 1: Must remove or prevent access to that digital information content if no notice requesting opposition to the temporary removal or blocking of access to the digital information content attached to the document is received. , supporting evidence provided by the requested party;
- Case 2: If you receive a notice requesting to object to the temporary removal or blocking of access to digital information content accompanied by documents and evidence provided by the requested party, within 72 hours, the enterprise providing intermediary services restores digital information content that has been removed or blocked, and at the same time forwards to the requesting party a written protest request with documents and evidence proving that it has been submitted by the requesting party to provide.
Step 3: When case 2 above occurs, after forwarding documents and evidence to the requesting party, the requesting party or the requested party does not initiate a civil lawsuit or request a state agency to take action authority to handle acts of infringement or the Court or competent state agency does not decide to accept the application according to the provisions of law, the enterprise providing intermediary services will maintain and restore the digital information content that has been deleted removed or prevented. In case the Court or competent state agency decides to accept the application of the requesting party or the requested party, the enterprise providing intermediary services shall comply with the decision of the Court or competent state agency. rights according to the provisions of law.
In addition, for digital information content that is broadcast live in real-time, in cases where copyright and related rights holders proactively provide documents and evidence to the central service provider. At least 24 hours before the live broadcast to prevent and prevent acts of infringement of copyright and related rights on the telecommunications network and Internet environment, intermediary service providers shall do the following:
- Immediately temporarily remove or prevent access to digital information content upon receiving a request to remove or prevent access to digital information content that is requested to be removed or prevented and must notify the requesting party and the requested party have temporarily removed or prevented access to that digital information content, accompanied by documents and evidence provided by the requesting party;
- Continue to comply with the legal provisions stated in Step 2 and Step 3 above.
While removing and blocking digital information according to the above process, notification, sending, and forwarding of evidence and proof documents of the intermediary service provider, the requesting party, and the receiving party must be carried out. The request is made by email or other similar form.
Above is the article “The process of removing or preventing access to information of an intermediary service provider at the request of another party“. Hope this article is useful to readers.
