Copyright is the right of organizations or individuals over works they have created or own (Clause 2, Article 4 of the current Law on Intellectual Property).
Related rights to copyright (hereinafter referred to as "related rights") are the rights of organizations and individuals to performances, audio and video recordings, broadcasts, and encrypted program-carrying satellite signals (Clause 3, Article 4 of the current Law on Intellectual Property).
Objects of Copyright
The objects of copyright include:
- Literary works
- Artistic works
- Scientific works
The objects of related rights include:
- Performances
- Audio recordings
- Video recordings
- Broadcasts
- Encrypted program-carrying satellite signals
(Clause 1, Article 3 of the current Law on Intellectual Property).
Author's Rights to Works Include Moral Rights and Economic Rights
Moral Rights
- Naming the work: The author has the right to transfer the right to name the work to organizations or individuals receiving the transfer of property rights as specified in Clause 1, Article 20 of the current Law on Intellectual Property.
- Attribution: The right to have their real name or pseudonym displayed on the work; to be acknowledged by their real name or pseudonym when the work is published or used;
- Publication: The right to publish the work or authorize others to publish the work;
- Integrity: Protect the integrity of the work, preventing others from distorting it; prohibiting others from altering or cutting the work in any way that harms the author's honor and reputation..
Property Rights
- Creating Derivative Works: The right to create derivative works based on the original work;
- Public Performance: The right to perform the work publicly, either directly or indirectly through audio or video recordings or any technical means, at a place accessible to the public where they cannot freely choose the time and individual parts of the work;
- Reproduction: The right to reproduce directly or indirectly the whole or a part of the work by any means or form, except as provided in point a, Clause 3, Article 20 of the current Law on Intellectual Property (Reproduction of the work solely to exercise other rights under the current Law on Intellectual Property; temporary reproduction according to technological processes, during the operation of devices to transmit in a network between third parties through intermediaries, or legal use of the work, without independent economic purpose and the copies are automatically erased, with no possibility of recovery).
- Distribution: The right to distribute, import for distribution to the public through sale or other forms of transfer of ownership of the original or copies of the work in tangible form, except as provided in point b, Clause 3, Article 20 of the current Law on Intellectual Property (Subsequent distribution, import for distribution of the original or copies of the work that has been distributed by or with the authorization of the copyright owner)
- Broadcasting: The right to broadcast and communicate the work to the public by wire, wireless, electronic information networks, or any other technical means, including making the work available to the public in a way that they can access it at a place and time of their choosing;
- Rental: The right to rent the original or copies of cinematographic works, computer programs, except where the computer program is not the main subject of the rental.
- Copyright provides timely mechanisms to protect the legitimate rights and interests of authors and copyright owners by enabling them to safeguard their works.
- Copyright helps prevent infringements on the legitimate rights and interests of authors, such as unauthorized copying, editing, and mass distribution. By doing so, copyright encourages creativity by providing motivation and stimulating individuals to explore and create new works that can achieve economic benefits during their exploitation and use, serving the needs of society.
- In the creative economy, copyright issues, including authors' rights and related rights, play a crucial role. Protecting intellectual property rights in general, and copyright and related rights in particular, has become a mandatory condition for international economic integration.
- Copyright issues are considered as drivers of the knowledge economy in each country. The Intellectual Property Law ensures individual ownership rights for protected works, guaranteeing that creators receive fair value for their works in the market. This also promotes the sustainable creation of cultural products and supports the market, enabling consumers to access and enjoy these products.
Article 14 of the current Law on Intellectual Property specifies the types of works protected by copyright:
- Protected literary, artistic, and scientific works include:
- Literary, scientific, textbooks, curricula, and other works expressed in written or other characters;
- Lectures, speeches, and other talks;
- Journalistic works;
- Musical works;
- Stage works;
- Cinematographic works and works created by similar methods (collectively referred to as cinematographic works);
- Graphic works and applied arts;
- Photographic works;
- Architectural works;
- Drawings, diagrams, maps, plans related to topography, architecture, and scientific projects;
- Folklore and folk art works;
- Computer programs and data compilations.
- Derivative works are only protected if they do not harm the copyright of the original work used to create the derivative work.
- Works that are protected must be directly created by the author through their own intellectual labor and not copied from others' works.
- Pure news reports.
- Legal documents, administrative documents, judicial documents, and their official translations.
- Processes, systems, methods of operation, concepts, principles, and data.
The term of protection is the period during which the author and copyright owner can derive legal rights and benefits from the exploitation of the work. According to the Berne Convention, the minimum term of copyright protection is the lifetime of the author plus 50 years after the author's death (for literary and artistic works only).
In Vietnam, the term of copyright protection is specified in Article 19, Article 20, and Article 27 of the current Law on Intellectual Property as follows:
- Indefinite Protection for moral rights associated with the author to the author's property, include:
- the right to name the work;
- the right to use one's real name or pen name on the work and to have that name mentioned when the work is published or used;
- the right to safeguard the work's integrity, preventing any distortion or alteration that could damage the author's honor and reputation.
- Time-limited protection for moral rights linked to property (such as the right to publish the work or allow others to publish it) and property rights includes:
- For cinematographic, photographic, applied art works, and anonymous works: Protection lasts 75 years from the date of the first publication;
- For cinematographic, photographic, and applied art works that have not been published within 25 years from their creation: Protection lasts 100 years from the date of creation;
- For anonymous works, when author information becomes known: Protection lasts for the lifetime of the author plus 50 years after their death; if there are co-authors, protection ends 50 years after the death of the last surviving co-author;
- For other types of works: Protection lasts for the lifetime of the author plus 50 years after their death; if there are co-authors, protection ends 50 years after the death of the last surviving co-author;
- The protection term ends at 24:00 on December 31 of the year in which the protection period expires.
- Once the copyright protection period expires, the work becomes part of the public domain.
Sharing via Creative Commons (CC) License
What is a Creative Commons (CC) License?
A Creative Commons (CC) license is a standardized legal tool adapted to national laws that allows creators to share their work freely and easily within the Creative Commons community. These licenses enable authors to share their works with users, promoting creativity within the community. By sharing under a Creative Commons license, works become more diverse and complete, contributing to the enrichment of the nation’s and humanity’s literary, scientific, and artistic knowledge.
Additionally, Creative Commons licenses allow authors to quickly disseminate their works to the public through the Creative Commons network of websites, while still retaining the rights they wish to reserve.
Types of Creative Commons (CC) Licenses
There are six types of Creative Commons (CC) licenses:
Attribution (BY)
This license permits users to copy, modify, mix, and share the original work for both non-commercial and commercial purposes, as long as they provide appropriate credit to the author.
Attribution-ShareAlike (BY-SA)
This license allows users to copy, modify, mix, and share the original work for both non-commercial and commercial purposes, but requires any derivative works to be licensed under the same terms as the original.
Attribution-NoDerivs (BY-ND)
This license allows users to copy and share the original work without any modifications, for both non-commercial and commercial purposes.
Attribution-NonCommercial (BY-NC)
This license allows users to copy, modify, mix, and share the original work for non-commercial purposes only.
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (BY-NC-SA)
This license permits users to copy, modify, mix, and share the original work for non-commercial purposes, with the condition that any derivative works are licensed under the same terms as the original.
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (BY-NC-ND)
This license allows users to copy and share the original work without any modifications, for non-commercial purposes only.
Authority to Issue Copyright Registration Certificates and Related Rights Registration Certificates in Vietnam
- The Copyright Office, which is the state management authority for copyright and related rights, is responsible for issuing, reissuing, amending, or revoking Copyright Registration Certificates and Related Rights Registration Certificates as outlined in Clauses 1 and 2, Article 51 of the current Law on Intellectual Property..
- Organizations and individuals must pay the prescribed fees and charges when carrying out procedures related to copyright and related rights with the Copyright Office of Vietnam.
- The forms for registration, as well as the Copyright Registration Certificates and Related Rights Registration Certificates, are detailed in Circular 08/2023/TT-BVHTTDL.