Guidelines for Copyright Enforcement

As per Article 25 of the current Law on Intellectual Property and Decree No. 17/2023/ND-CP, the following cases allow the use of published works without the need for permission or payment of royalties, provided that proper attribution to the author and source of the work is given:

Self-copying

• Making a single copy for personal scientific research or study purposes, not for commercial use.

• This rule does not apply to copying using devices with copying functions (such as cameras, photocopiers, scanners, printers, etc.).
• It only applies to materials that TDTU Library owns in print or electronic form or that are registered in a database containing the electronic material.

Copying using copying devices

Print copies

• Up to 10% of the total number of pages in the document.

• Reasonable copying using copying devices must be independent actions by individuals or organizations. Any repeated instances should be isolated and unrelated to each other within the same work.
• This rule only applies to materials that TDTU Library owns in print form.
• Forms of copying include photocopying, photographing, and scanning.

Electronic copies

• Up to 10% of the total number of pages in the document.

• Up to 10% of the total storage units (bytes), total words, or the length of the edition for works provided in unpaginated electronic editions.

• Reasonable copying using copying devices must be independent actions by individuals or organizations. Any repeated instances should be isolated and unrelated to each other within the same work.
• This rule only applies to materials that TDTU Library owns in electronic form or that are registered in a database containing the electronic material.
• Forms of copying include photographing and printing.

Illustrations in Lectures

Reasonable use of works for illustration in lectures and unrecorded performances for teaching purposes, as stipulated in point c of Article 25 of the Intellectual Property Law, must meet the following conditions:

• The use of works for illustration in lectures and unrecorded performances must be limited to the scope of the class at the educational institution and accessible only to students and teachers in that class.
• When using works in exams, answers, or skill assessments within the national education system, usage should be limited to the necessary extent.
• The use of works should not unreasonably harm the legitimate interests of the author or copyright owner.

Reasonable use of works for illustration in recorded performances, audio recordings, video recordings, and broadcast programs for teaching purposes, as stipulated in point c, clause 1, Article 25 of the Intellectual Property Law, must comply with similar conditions as those in Article 28 of Decree 17/2023/ND-CP on reasonable quoting, specifically:

• The excerpt should only aim to introduce, comment on, or clarify issues mentioned in one's work.
• The quoted part should not unreasonably harm the legitimate interests of the author or copyright owner of the work being quoted; it should align with the nature and characteristics of the type of work being quoted.
• The quote must include a reference to the source of the work and the author's name if the author's name is mentioned in the work being quoted.

In case the materials are authored by individual lecturers and the author is the sole copyright owner of the work:

• The author has full rights to publish the material on any system.

• If the material is posted through the School Library, it is compliant with regulations when the author provides written consent for the use of a copy of the work

• If there are co-authors, consent from all co-authors is required.
• The author must clarify if there are any other commitments with related parties, such as publishers, supervisory agencies, journals, etc.
• Payment for royalties and remuneration is subject to agreement between the parties involved.

In case the materials are authored by a collective from the Faculty/Department/Center:

• If the work is solely owned by the institution, assigned by the institution to the author or contracted with the author, lecturers have the right to post the material. However:
  • Written consent from both the institution and the author/co-authors for the use of a copy of the work is required.
  • The material is digitized and published in electronic form by the institution's library.
• If the work is not solely owned by the institution but by other organizations or individuals, written consent from those organizations or individuals is required. Payment for royalties is subject to agreement between the parties involved.

• Consideration of the economic benefits for the author and copyright owner, especially regarding permissions for students to view online or download.
• The author must clarify if there are any other commitments with related parties, such as publishers, supervisory agencies, journals, etc.

In case the material is not created by an individual lecturer or a group of lecturers from the Faculty/Department/Center, uploading any part or the entire document to any system without permission is regarded as a copyright infringement under Article 28 of the current Law on Intellectual Property.

According to Clause 1, Article 12a of the current Law on Intellectual Property: "An author is someone who directly creates a work. If two or more people directly create a work with the intention of combining their contributions into a cohesive whole, they are considered co-authors." Clause 2, Article 12a further specifies: "Individuals who assist, provide feedback, or supply materials to another person in the creation of a work are not considered authors or co-authors."

Accordingly, supervising lecturers, while they may be acknowledged in a student's thesis, dissertation, graduation project, or other works, are legally regarded as individuals who “provide assistance, suggestions, or materials for others to create the work” and are therefore not recognized as authors or co-authors. This principle applies irrespective of the extent or importance of their contributions to the completion of the work. Thus, under copyright law, supervising lecturers do not possess authorship rights over the thesis, dissertation, graduation project, or other works produced by the students they supervise. Nevertheless, from a scientific perspective, supervising lecturers may bear joint responsibility for the accuracy and scientific integrity of those works.

Learners are required to understand and adhere to the regulations set forth in the Intellectual Property Law and related legal regulations concerning copyright/author rights. This knowledge is essential to prevent common infringements, including but not limited to:

• Reproducing, using, and distributing unauthorized copies of original materials without obtaining permission.
• Failing to properly cite sources in scientific research.
• Recording or photographing lectures without authorization from the lecturer.

Definition:

"Plagiarism is the act of using another person's language, ideas, organization, images, data, creations, inventions, or other types of products under one's own name; it encompasses both individual intellectual property and community resources. It includes purchasing articles, cutting and pasting from Internet sources, failing to use quotation marks when directly quoting, rephrasing others' ideas without citation, hiring others to write or complete parts of a work and publishing it under one's own name" (Liddell, 2003, p. 49).

Types of Plagiarism:

There are two main types of plagiarism: literal plagiarism and intelligent plagiarism.

• Literal Plagiarism: Copying text in whole or in part, or copying by inserting or deleting, splitting and joining sentences, substituting or rearranging sentences.

• Intelligent Plagiarism: Using ideas, translations, summaries, or paraphrased content from a text without proper attribution (Alzahrani, 2012).

Common Methods of Plagiarism:

According to a study by Maurer et al. (2006), common methods of plagiarism include:

• Cut-and-Paste Plagiarism: Copying text word-for-word from a source.

• Translation Plagiarism: Translating articles, books, or sentences/paragraphs from another language without citing the source.

• Idea Plagiarism: Using another person's concepts or opinions without citation. Rewriting another person's text or ideas without citation.

• Artistic Work Plagiarism: Expressing another person's ideas through different media such as text, images, sound, video, etc.

• Citation Plagiarism:

  • Citing a specific source without providing a link to the original material.
  • Direct quoting without using quotation marks.
  • Incorrectly citing sources or citing content that does not exist in the original material.

Criteria for Identifying Plagiarism:

According to Lafollette, plagiarism is established when any of the following four elements are present:

• The use of words, text, ideas, or illustrations created by another person without proper attribution.
• Failing to acknowledge the original author through appropriate communication.
• Implying that the plagiarist is the original author.
• Lacking the original author's consent.

As specified in Article 25 of the current Law on Intellectual Property, the following situations allow the use of published works without needing permission or payment of royalties, provided that proper attribution to the author and the source of the work is given:

Self-copying

• Individuals are permitted to make a single copy for personal scientific research or study purposes, not intended for commercial use.

• This provision does not apply to copying performed using devices with copying functions (e.g., cameras, photocopiers, scanners, printers).
• It only applies to materials of which the TDTU Library owns a copy in print or electronic form or that are registered in a database containing the electronic material.

Copying using copying devices

Print Copies

• Up to 10% of the total number of pages in the document.

• Reasonable copying using copying devices must be independent actions performed by individuals or organizations. Repeated instances should be isolated and unrelated within the same work.
• This provision only applies to materials of which the TDTU Library owns a copy in print form.
• Permitted forms of copying include photocopying, photographing, and scanning.

Electronic Copies

• Up to 10% of the total number of pages in the document.

• Up to 10% of the total storage units (bytes), total words, or the length of the edition for works provided in unpaginated electronic editions.

• Reasonable copying using copying devices must be independent actions performed by individuals or organizations. Repeated instances should be isolated and unrelated within the same work.
• This provision only applies to materials of which the TDTU Library owns a copy in electronic form or has purchased access rights to a database containing the electronic material.
• Permitted forms of copying include photographing and printing.

Types of Works Created by Learners in Universities

Learners in universities may produce various types of works during their academic and research activities, including but not limited to:

• Academic Works:

  • Theses
  • Dissertations
  • Essays
  • Reports
  • Written works for university-level scientific research projects
  • Scientific articles

• Specialized and Artistic Works:

  • Musical compositions
  • Fine art works
  • Applied art works
  • Cinematographic works
  • Stage works
  • Architectural works
  • Journalistic works
  • Computer programs

These works are produced as part of the educational and research processes and may fall under different categories depending on the specific field of study and the nature of the university program.

Determining Copyright Status and Rights for Works Created by Learners in Universities

Learners Creating Works as Part of Their Academic Duties

• When students produce a work as part of their academic assignments at a university—such as a final essay, a thesis, or a graduation project—the university is considered the "copyright owner" under the current Law on Intellectual Property. This means the university holds the rights to publish the work and other property rights. The student remains the "author" of the work but retains only certain moral rights. This arrangement is based on Clause 1, Article 39 of the current Law on Intellectual Property, which specifies that if an organization assigns the task of creating a work to someone within the organization, the organization becomes the copyright holder and has the right to publish the work, unless a different agreement is in place. Therefore, in this context, the university is the entity assigning the task to the student, and thus, holds the copyright for the work created.
• It is important to note that this default legal status applies only in the absence of any other agreements between the parties involved. If the learner has a different agreement with the university or any third party, the ownership and rights will be determined according to the terms of those agreements.

Learners Creating Works Independently, Outside the Scope of Academic Duties

• In cases where a learner independently creates a work during their time at the university, and this creative activity is not part of any academic subject within the university’s curriculum or is only encouraged to achieve better evaluation in exams, the learner is both the author and the owner of the copyright.

• Under Article 37 of the current Law on Intellectual Property: "An author who invests their own time, finances, and technical resources in creating a work holds the moral rights outlined in Article 19 and the property rights outlined in Article 20." Therefore, if a student independently uses their own time, effort, and resources to create a work, they will retain all copyright related to that work.
• It is crucial to recognize that if the learner has any agreements with the university or any third party, the ownership and rights will be subject to the terms of those agreements. For instance, if a learner collaborates with a university lecturer to write a scientific paper that is published in a journal, the copyright for that paper may be jointly held by both individuals as co-authors.