Copyright Law Firm in Vietnam

Copyright is violated on a regular basis in the music, publishing and software industries. We are a copyright consultant in Vietnam with lawyers with qualification and experience to assist client from application, protection, and dispute handling process.

 

Copyright in Vietnam

ANT Lawyers IP practice offers client in protecting and enforcing copyrights and similar intellectual property rights as following:

-Advise legal matters of copyright and related rights in Vietnam and abroad;

-Conduct searches and provide information on copyright and related rights, advice measures to protect copyright and related rights in Vietnam and abroad;

-Complete the applications and file to register copyright and related rights;

-Enforce the copyright and related rights, including investigation, supervision, negotiation, mediation, lawsuit initiation to handle infringement in Vietnam and oversea.

With highly professional staff and great experience in Copyright and Related right aspect in Vietnam and other countries in the world, ANT Lawyers - Copyright Law Firm in Vietnam would like to support and represent the clients in protecting copyright and related right.

 

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Registering Copyright Services in Vietnam

Under Law on Intellectual Property of Vietnam, copyright means rights of an organization or individual to Work which such organization or individual created or owns. In addition, the subject matter of copyright shall comprise literary, artistic and scientific works; the subject matter of copyright related rights shall comprise performances, audio and visual fixation, broadcasts and satellite signals carrying coded programs.

 

Copyright Consultant in Vietnam

However, in fact, it is challenging to prove the owner’s copyright if there is no prior prepared evidence. A registration of copyright is the most important proof if violation or dispute happens. The copyright registration shall deter infringement, when owner can prove that the Work is protected under copyright law.

With highly professional staff and great experience in intellectual property aspect in Vietnam, ANT Lawyers would like to support you in registering and protecting your copyright and related rights in Vietnam as following:

Our services in copyright registration

-Provision of professional opinions and advice in relation to registration of copyright and related copyright;

-Advising, preparation, drafting, filing and prosecution of registration of copyright and related copyright;

-Provision of professional opinions and advice in relation to license and assignment of copyright and related copyright;

-Appeal and cancellation;

-Proceedings before the judicial authorities.

How to register a copyright or related rights in Vietnam?

Condition of copyright registration

A Work shall be registered its owner’s copyright if it does meet the following conditions:

-The ideas of the Work shall be presented particularly in a visible material

-The Work shall be original (Be made directly by the author without copying from any other works or people).

Required information and document

-Original Power of Attorney (POA) from the Applicant;

-Information of the author such as: Full name, Identify Card Number, Current address, permanent address; …

-Information of the Works such as: Name, the date of publication (if any), the place of Publication (if any); …

-Business registration certificate or establishment certificate (if applicant is association or organization);

-Written promise of being ownership of the work of the applicant;

-Some other specialized document with each specified aspect.

Note: The POA must be signed by the applicant or a duly authorized representative on behalf of the Applicant and no further notarization or legalization is required.

 Duration of copyright protection

-The following rights are protected forever:

-Right to give titles to their works.

-Right to attach their real names or pseudonyms to their works; to have their real names or pseudonyms acknowledged when their works are published or used.

-Right to protect the integrity of their works; and to forbid other persons to modify, edit or distort their works in whatever form, causing harm to the honor and reputation of the author.

The following rights are protected within the stipulated duration in law

-Right to make derivative works;

-Right to display their works to the public;

-Right to reproduce their works;

-Right to distribute or import the original or copies of their works;

-Right to communicate their works to the public by wireless or landline means, electronic information networks or other technical means;

-Right to lease the original or copies of cinematographic works and computer programs;

-Right to reproduce their works.

The protection duration of each type of Work with the above rights shall be different. In particularly, cinematographic works, photographic works, stage works, applied art works and anonymous works shall have a term of protection of fifty (50) years as from the date of first publication. Other work shall be protected for the whole life of the author and for fifty (50) years after his or her death.

We are a copyright consultant in Vietnam with lawyers with qualification and experience to assist client from application, protection, and dispute handling process.

 Source ANTLawyers: https://antlawyers.vn/legal-service/intellectual-property/registering-copyright-services-in-vietnam.html

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Cases of Using Published Works without Having Permission, without Paying for Royalties, Remuneration

According to regulation of current Law on intellectual property, copyright means rights of an organization or individual to works created or owned by such organization or individual. Copyright to a work includes moral rights and property rights. If other organization or individual wishes to exploit, use a part or the whole of works, they shall ask permission, pay the owner of copyright for royalties, remuneration according to both parties’ agreement or regulation of law. However, there are still cases of using works without having permission and/or without paying the author or owner of copyright for royalties, remuneration.

Cases of using published works without having permission, without paying for royalties, remuneration include:

 

Copyright in Vietnam

-Making one copy for scientific research or personal teaching purposes.

-Reasonable quoting from a work in order to comment on or illustrate one’s own works, without misrepresenting the author’s views;

-Quoting from a work in order to write an article published in a newspaper or to use in periodical publications, in a radio or television broadcast or in a documentary, without misrepresenting the author’s views;

-Quoting from a work in order to teach in school or university without misrepresenting the author’s views and not for commercial purposes;

-Copying of a work in order to archive in library and research purposes;

-Performing a stage work or other art work in cultural meetings, communication or mobilization activities without collecting fees in any form;

-Directly audio-visual recording of a performance in order to report current news or to teach;

-Photographing or televising shaping work, architectural, photographic, or applied art work displayed at a public place in order to present images of such work;

-Translating a work into braille or other languages for the blind;

-Importing copies of another’s work for personal use.

However, it should be noted that organization or individual using, exploiting works in above cases must meet the conditions: not causing damage to the normal exploit of works, not causing damage to copyright and owner of copyright; must provide information of  the author and the source and origin of the work. In addition, due to specific characteristics of of various types of works such as architectural works, shaping works and computer programs, cases of (i) making one copy for scientific research or personal teaching purposes and (ii) copying of a work in order to archive in library and research purposes, shall have permission and pay author or owner of copyright for royalties, remuneration according to both parties’ agreement or regulation of law.

Cases of using published works without having permission but paying for royalties, remuneration include:

-A broadcasting organization which uses a published work to make a broadcast which is sponsored, contains an advertisement or which collects fees in any form shall not be required to ask permission but must pay the owner of copyright for royalties or remuneration from using time. Level of royalties, remuneration or other material benefits and payment methods are agreed by parties; If the agreement can not be reached, it shall follow regulation of Government or shall file a petition to Court according to regulation of law;

-A broadcasting organization which uses a published work to make a broadcast which is not sponsored, no advertisement or which do not collect fees in any form shall not be required to ask permission but must pay the owner of copyright for royalties or remuneration from using time according to regulation Government;

Similarly, the use of a work in these two cases must neither affect the normal use of such works nor cause prejudice to the rights of the author or copyright holder, and must provide information being the author’s name and the source and origin of the work. Besides, in case of using published work without having to seek permission but royalties or remuneration must be paid shall not be applied to cinematographic works.

If the client needs any other information, requires for further legal advice, or dispute with others on IP matters, our Vietnam IP attorney, copyright lawyers in Vietnam at ANT Lawyers, we will be available for service.

ANT Lawyers - a Law firm in Vietnam with international standard, local expertise and strong international network. We focus on customers’ needs and provide clients with a high quality legal advice and services. For advice or service request, please contact us via email ant@antlawyers.vn, or call us +84 24 730 86 529.

 

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How Copyright Related Rights Are Regulated?

Copyright related rights (hereinafter referred to as related rights) means rights of an organization or individual to performances, audio and visual fixation, and broadcasts and satellite signals carrying coded programmers. Related rights shall arise at the moment of the above subject matters are fixed or displayed without causing loss or damage to copyright. Principally, related rights are protected by state agency even without the registration. However, the related right owner still may perform the registration procedures for being granted of copyright related right certificate by state agency. The copyright related rights registration could also be assisted by IP attorney in Vietnam.

 

Copyright in Vietnam

Which individuals/organizations are eligible for protection of related rights?

The three following subjects are entitled for being protected copyright related rights (i) actors and actresses, singers, instrumentalists, dancers and other persons who perform literary and artistic works (hereinafter all referred to as performers); (ii) organizations and individuals who own performances; (iii) organizations and individuals who fix for the first time the sounds and images of performances or other sounds and images (hereinafter all referred to as producers of audio and visual fixation); (iv) organizations which initiate and carry out broadcasting (hereinafter referred to as broadcasting organizations).

The specific subject matters of copyright related rights which are protected under the law of Vietnam are:

Firstly, performance shall be protected if they fall into one of the following categories (i) it is made by Vietnamese citizens in Vietnam or abroad; (ii) it is made by foreigners in Vietnam; (iii) it is formed on audio and visual fixation; (iv) it has not yet been formed on audio and visual fixation but have already been broadcast (v) it is protected pursuant to an international treaty of which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

Secondly, audio and visual fixation shall be protected if it falls into one of the following categories (i) it belongs to audio and visual fixation producers bearing Vietnamese nationality; (ii) it belongs to audio and visual fixation producers protected pursuant to an international treaty of which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

Thirdly, broadcasts and satellite signals carrying coded programmers shall be protected if they fall into one of the following categories (i) they belong to broadcasting organizations bearing Vietnamese nationality (ii) they belong to broadcasting organizations protected pursuant to an international treaty of which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

It is necessary to take note that the above subject matters are only be protected in the condition that they are not prejudicial to copyright.

If Client needs any more information or request for legal advice regarding copyright related right or other matters of intellectual property, IP attorney in Vietnam at ANT Lawyers could assist.

 

 

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What is the meaning of Copyright?

Fundamentally, copyright is a law that gives you ownership over the things you create. Be it a painting, a photograph, a poem or a novel, if you created it, you own it and it’s the copyright law itself that assures that ownership. The ownership that copyright law grants comes with several rights that you, as the owner, have exclusively.

Copyright in Vietnam 

Those rights include:

-The right to reproduce the work

-To prepare derivative works

-To distribute copies

-To perform the work

-And to display the work publicly

These are your rights and your rights alone. Unless you willingly give them up (EX: A Creative Commons License), no one can violate them legally. This means that, unless you say otherwise, no one can perform a piece written by you or make copies of it, even with attribution, unless you give the OK.

Inversely, if you’re looking for material to use or reuse, you should not do any of these things without either asking permission or confirming that the work is in the public domain, which means that the copyright has expired and all of the above rights have been forfeited. Simply put, if the work isn’t in the public domain and you don’t have permission to use a piece, you put yourself in risk of legal action, regardless of your intentions.

Because, beyond fair use and parody (issues for later essays), the holder of a copyrighted piece has rights to do what they want with their work. It’s no different than owning a car, a house or a pen. One can lend it out to a friend, sell it, modify it or even destroy it. In short, if you own the copyright to something, you have the same rights that you do with anything else and, in some instances, even more. After all, you did create it. It only makes sense that you would own the fruits of your labor. That’s what copyright law is all about.

Moral Rights

Though moral rights are not currently recognized in the United States, they’re a major element of European copyright law and are becoming increasingly important as the Web becomes more globalized.

Moral rights are a set of rights that are separate from the author’s copyright on a piece. These rights are generally considered inalienable, which means that they can not be given away or sold, and thus persist even if the copyright to a work is completely sold.

As defined by the Berne Convention, the moral rights of an author are as follows:

-The right to claim authorship of the work

-The right to object to any distortion, mutilation or modification of the work

-The right to object to any derogatory action that may damage the authors honor or reputation

It is easy to see how moral rights can be useful in fighting plagiarism since such an act is not only a violation of the author’s copyright, if he or she holds it, but also the moral rights. It may also be useful in cases where the copyright of a work has been lost, either sold or given away, but plagiarism continues.

Source: Quora

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How much of a copyrighted material can be used under fair use?

Fair use is a defense to copyright infringement; it essentially makes allowable some instances of copyright infringement, such as educational purposes or parody.

Copyright in Vietnam

What makes fair use difficult is that there is no brightline test or rule to apply in all instances; it varies on a case-by-case basis. There are 4 main factors that courts examine for fair use:

-Purpose and character of your use (educational? commercial (i.e. to make money)? comment or criticism? etc.);

-Nature of the copyrighted work (more creative = more protection: fiction book gets more protection than fact-based article b/c facts aren’t copyrightable);

-Amount and substantiality of the portion used (how much of the work was used? does it go to “heart of the matter?”); and

-Effect on potential market (not just effect on current market. might someone use the infringing work instead of something from the copyright owner?

This article is for informational and educational purposes only. This should not be taken as a substitute for legal advice. This does not create an attorney-client relationship with anyone who reads it.

Source: Quora

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How do I use samples in my music without infringing copyrights?

It depends on a couple of things: how you plan to use the music and whether or not the average listener will be able to identify the samples.

Copyright in Vietnam

Typically, you won’t have an issue if you abide by the following:

-Only use the music for personal use (as in you make absolutely no money)

-You are performing the music live (as in you are not copying and selling the music).

-If you do distribute to the public, then the average listener can’t tell what the samples are or if your use falls under the “fair use” category.

Meeting Fair Use Requirements:

-When making this determination, the courts will consider the following points:

-Did the original owner suffer financially due to your use of their samples?

-Did you totally transform the sound to create a brand new song?

-Did you take a large portion of the original song?

-Keep in mind, many of these questions are subjective and it’s not a clear cut situation by any means.

When it doubt: Ask permission. This is the absolute easiest way to avoid any kind of litigation. Reach out the the original owner and simply ask them if you can use a sample of their music to incorporate in your own. Usually you will need to obtain permission from the copyright owner of the song (publisher) and the copyright owner of the master tape (record company).

It is wise to consult the advice of a IP attorneys in Vietnam to help assist you with your trademark. We are a legal marketplace with quality lawyers who are knowledgeable in various areas of the law—including intellectual property rights.

Source: Quora

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The provisions of law on copyright infringement

The US-China trade war, especially disputes over intellectual property (IP), once again alarmed business executives about the importance of complying with laws and strengthening management capacity for protecting and avoiding infringement of IP rights of any other country, when participating in global "games". One of the most vulnerable objects of intellectual property is computer software. So, in Vietnam, what are the policies to overcome piracy of computer software?

Copyright in Vietnam

Referring to the operation of the WTO, people often mention the activities of the Trade Council under the General Assembly. There are three trade councils (as known as three "pillars" of the WTO): the Council for Trade in Goods, the Council for Trade in Services and the Council of Trade-Related Aspect of Intellectual Property Rights. In particular, the Council on Trade-Related Aspect of Intellectual Property Rights is responsible for activities that fall within the scope of the  Agreement on Trade-Related Aspect of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), as well as coordination with other international organizations in the field of IP rights.

According to the request of the TRIPS Agreement, each member state or WTO member must give full and effective protection of intellectual property rights to citizens of other WTO members in accordance with the principle of national treatment and most favored nation. Specifically, members must have a legal system and apparatus to protect intellectual property rights (including: copyright and related rights, patents, business secrets, trademarks, industrial designs, integrated circuit layout design, geographical indications and unfair anti-competitive rights) meet the TRIPS Agreement minimum standards for content, scope, time limits and enforcement of rights.

Besides, the Berne Convention allows authors to enjoy copyright for a lifetime and a minimum of 50 years thereafter. However, countries that comply with the convention are allowed to extend the term of copyright. Regarding the world situation, through free trade agreements, developed countries like the United States and Japan ... want to work towards a stronger enforcement mechanism than the standards set forth in the agreement when it comes to the trade of intellectual property rights. In particular, developed countries tend to "criminalize" intellectual property infringements by expanding the subject of criminal enforcement measures to infringements of inventions, business secrets, trademarks, industrial designs, integrated circuit layout design, ... not just violations of trademarks, copyrights and related rights. Criminally infringed intellectual property rights also tend to be expanded.

Vietnam is increasingly integrating deeply into the economy with the region and the world through free trade agreements with leading partners such as the United States, Japan and the European Union. The enforcement of intellectual property rights by criminal means is one of the important contents in the negotiation of new generation free trade agreements and is particularly emphasized by development partners. In recent years, the law on enforcement and protection of intellectual property rights, including enforcement by criminal measures, has been constantly strengthened, improved and contributed to improving the effectiveness of enforcement activities to protect IP rights. With the efforts of the Government, the activities of protecting copyright and related rights have made significant progress. The State has issued many legal documents on this field, the Vietnamese laws have been developed and completed from the practice of management and administration for copyrigh, acquired international standards, met the requirements to promote effective protection and international integration.

Regarding the protection of intellectual property rights, especially for computer software, Vietnam has signed many bilateral and multilateral international treaties related to copyright and related rights. Accordingly, Vietnam has an obligation to protect copyright and related rights under international treaties to which Vietnam is a member. At the Resolution of the 9th Plenum of the Party Central Committee, Session XI (Resolution No. 33-NQ / TW) on building and developing culture and people of Vietnam to meet the requirements of sustainable development of the country, stated: “Raising awareness of the implementation of legal provisions on copyright and related rights in the whole society. Strengthen and enhance the operational efficiency of copyright management agencies and agencies from central to local levels.”

Criminal Code No. 12/2017 / QH14 amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Criminal Code No. 100/2015 / QH13, effective from January 1, 2018, demonstrating the determination of the Vietnamese Government to strictly enforce against copyright and related rights violations, including computer software copyrights. Under the new provisions of the amended Criminal Code, for the first time, commercial legal entities shall be criminally responsible for crimes infringing copyright and related rights. Article 225 of the amended Criminal Code has introduced sanctions to overcome violations of copyright and related rights. Including  computer software  copyright. With the new strict penalty framework that the Criminal Code 2015 will apply to commercial entities that intentionally violate computer software copyrights in particular and copyrights in general, the rate of software piracy Vietnam will be able to significantly reduce, create a fair competitive business environment for businesses, as well as promote the development of the socio-economy in the context of Vietnam's deep and broad integration into the international economy.

If you're looking for an affordable IP attorneys in Vietnam, check out ANTLawyers.vn. ANTLawyers.vn was established to meet these needs by providing fast, effective and economical solutions. Hope that clears things up a bit. Feel free to message me directly to chat further about any other IP questions that you face.

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