A song or a musical work is protected from the moment it is composed and shaped into a certain material form. Each author or owner of that work is protected by Intellectual Property law and recognizes the protection of copyright and related rights. However, musical works are a type of work that can easily be copied and used illegally, so the author or owner must register for copyright protection for their “brainchild”. Therefore, where to register copyright, please follow VCD’s article below.
1. What is song copyright registration?
Music is one of the useful means of entertainment, helping people relieve stress, develop emotions, and connect better. When music is shaped into a certain material form such as images, tapes, discs, recordings, prints of music, and lyrics of musical works… it is often easy to copy and use without permission or even copyright infringement.
According to Clause 2, Article 4 of the current Intellectual Property Law: “Copyright is the right of organizations and individuals to works they create or own.”
Clause 4, Article 6 of Decree 17/2023/ND-CP details several articles and measures to implement the Intellectual Property Law on copyright and related rights: “Musical works specified in point d, clause 1 Article 14 of the Intellectual Property Law means that a work is expressed in the form of notes in music or other musical characters regardless of whether it is performed or not.
Therefore, copyright in a musical work is the author’s right to the work expressed in the form of musical notes in music or other musical characters or shaped on audio or video recordings or without words, regardless of performance or non-performance from the moment the author creates the work. When an author or owner registers a copyright for his or her musical work, music copyright registration is an activity performed by a competent state agency to protect copyright for individuals and organizations whose musical works satisfy the conditions for protection under the provisions of intellectual property law.
2. Why should songs be copyrighted?
According to some current statistics, the number of copyright or copyright infringement cases is on the rise. This situation is quite common nowadays, especially when the music field takes place in many different forms. From regular music videos, applications, and websites to mini-concerts or large live shows. The main violations are usually using the work without permission of the copyright owner, arbitrarily repairing or cropping the work to the detriment of the author, and using the work without agreement or paying remuneration, royalties, and material benefits to owners according to regulations, etc.
According to Clause 1, Article 6 of the current Intellectual Property Law, copyright arises from the moment a work is created and expressed in a certain physical form, regardless of content, quality, or form. , medium, language, published or unpublished, registered or unregistered. Therefore, copyright to songs is automatically protected from the moment the work is born in a certain material form.
Although copyright registration is not mandatory, the benefits it brings cannot be denied:
Firstly, copyright registration for musical works will be protected by the competent State agency and the Copyright Registration Certificate will be the first legal basis for the State agency to protect copyright has the authority to resolve disputes arising over songs and musical works.
Secondly, authors and copyright owners have the right to request individuals and organizations to stop acts of infringing copyright on their works or request competent state agencies to handle copyright infringement and violations according to the provisions of the law.
Thirdly, the Copyright Registration Certificate is a basis for other subjects to know whose musical work or song is whose, from there, they can make accurate decisions about receiving copyright transfer. Use or transfer copyright of songs and musical works by the provisions of law.
3. Order and procedures for song copyright registration
Step 1: The author or copyright owner prepares a registration declaration (form No. 01 issued with Circular 08/2023/TT-BVHTTDL) and 01 set of copyright registration documents (including documents according to Article 39 of Decree 17/2023/ND-CP detailing several articles and measures to implement the Law on Intellectual Property and related rights.
Step 2: The author or copyright owner, after completing the drafting of the dossier, can directly or authorize another organization or individual to submit the copyright registration dossier to the Copyright Office. Author or Representative Office of the Copyright Office (dossier can be sent by post).
Step 3: Within 45 working days (including 01 month of review and 15 days of Certificate issuance), from the date of receipt of a valid application, the state management agency in charge of copyright and related rights is responsible for issuing a Copyright Registration Certificate to the applicant. In case of refusal to issue a Copyright Registration Certificate, the state management agency in charge of copyright and related rights must notify the applicant in writing.
Step 4: Proceed to pay the prescribed fee to receive the Copyright Registration Certificate. After notification that the application has been granted a registration certificate, the application owner needs to pay a fee to receive a certificate of copyright registration for the musical work.
4. Where to register music copyright?
To register a copyright for a song, the author or copyright owner can choose the following ways:
First, apply directly at the Copyright Office at the following address:
• Hanoi City: No. 33 Alley 294/2 Kim Ma, Ba Dinh District
• Ho Chi Minh City: 170 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, District 3
• Da Nang: No. 58 Phan Chu Trinh, Hai Chau District
Second, submit the application by post (express delivery service) to the address of the agency receiving copyright registration applications for musical works.
Third, register a copyright for musical works through the online public service portal of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism with the following link: https://dichvucong.bvhttdl.gov.vn/
Note: After declaring information online, you still need to submit the original documents to the Copyright Office.
Above is the article: “ Where to register musical works copyright?”. Hope this article will help you.
