Currently, there are many questions raised about whether the provisions on copyright as well as related rights of Vietnam’s Intellectual Property Law are similar to those in the EVFTA Agreement or not? In the article below, Lincon Law Firm will give views on this matter.
1. Copyright and related rights
a. Copyrights, rights related under Vietnam intellectual property law and EVFTA
When an organization or individuals that create or own a work by themselves mean that organization or individual has copyright to that work.
b. Rights related to copyrights
Rights related to copyrights (hereinafter referred to as related rights) are the rights of organizations and individuals to performances, phonograms, video recordings, broadcast programs. program carrier satellite signals are encoded.
2. Comparing the provisions on copyright between Vietnam Intellectual Property Law and EVFTA
Basically, the provisions of the Vietnam Intellectual Property Law are compatible with the provisions of the EVFTA.
Criteria | Vietnam Intellectual Property Law | EVFTA Agreement | Comparison |
Objects | As a rule, objects protected by copyright include: literary, artistic and scientific works, including works on: literature, newspapers, movies, music, architecture, graphics, computers, etc.Derivative works Objects not covered by copyright protection: Pure news newsletter;Legal and administrative documents;Processes, systems, methods of operation, concepts, principles, data. | The Agreement provides that Members shall comply with provisions on protection under the Berne Convention on the protection of literary and artistic works, in particular, the objects protected by copyright are: literary works and art;Ability to require fixation;Derivative works;Official documents;Collect;Obligation to protect, subject to enjoy protection;Works of applied art and industrial designs;News (except news or events, minor data is only for press information) | The objects that are protected by copyright in two types of documents have similarities, namely the works. The product is creative and must be created by the author. |
Subjects | Subjects that are copyright owners include: Authors: people who use their time, finance, material and technical facilities to create works;Co-authors: individuals using their time, finance, facilities and techniques to co-create works;Organizations and individuals that assign tasks to authors or enter into contracts with authors;Heirs of copyright;Authorized persons;Government; | Subject to the provisions of the EVFTA Agreement and the Berne Convention, the subject covered by copyright includes only the author or co-author of the work. | The provisions of Vietnamese law are already compatible with the provisions of the EVFTA Agreement and have stated more specifically that other subjects will also be copyright owners. For example, in the case of organizations or individuals that contract with the author will also be the copyright owner because the contractual relationship is very developed and hiring one person to create the work is very common in each country. . |
Copyright | Copyrights under Vietnamese law will include moral rights and property rights. Moral rights include the following rights: Naming work; real name or pseudonym on the work;To have his / her real name or pseudonym mentioned when the work is published or used;Publish the work or allow others to publish the work;Protect the integrity of the work, prevent others from modifying, mutilating or otherwise distorting the work in any way that would damage the author’s honor and reputation. Property rights include the following rights: Make a derivative work;Performing work in public;Copy work;Distributing or importing originals or copies of works;Communicating the work to the public by wire, wireless, electronic information network or any other technical means;Rent originals or copies of a cinematographic work or computer program. Except for the author and co-authors who enjoy both moral and property rights, the remaining owners are entitled to one of the prescribed moral and property rights. For example, a director will only have the right to name, hold his own name, publish his own name, and protect the integrity of his work. | The author has the exclusive right to allow or prohibit: Copying directly or indirectly by any means or by any means part or all of his work;Any form of distribution to the public through the sale or other transfer of title to the original or a copy of its work;Any communication of the work to the public by radio or wire, including public disclosure of its work in a manner that the public can choose the location and time of access. Products. | As with the above criteria, Vietnamese laws are already compatible with the EVFTA Agreement. Vietnamese law has more specific provisions on rights over copyright owners who are not authorship or co-authors to suit many practical cases. |
Term of Protection | Term of Protection for Naming rights for the work; real name or pseudonym on the work; To be given a real name or pseudonym when a work is published, used, and for Protection of the integrity of the work will be indefinitely. The term of protection for the right to publish or allow others to publish the work will be specified as follows: Cinematographic works, photographic works, applied art, anonymous works with term of protection is seventy-five years since the work was first published;Cinematographic, photographic and applied art works which have not been published for a period of twenty five years, after the work is fixed, the term of protection is one hundred years from the time the work is fixed. ;Anonymous works, when information about the author appears, the term of protection shall be for the entire life of the author and the following fifty years following the year of the author’s death; in case of works with co-authors, the term of protection shall end in the fiftieth year after the year that the last co-author dies; | Author rights are for the lifetime of the author and at least 50 years after the author’s death, irrespective of the date on which the work is legally disseminated to the public. In the case of a work of co-author, the time limit is counted from the time the last co-author passed away. | Vietnamese law has set a specific term for certain types of works such as cinematographic, photographic, fine-art works, for other types of works, basically the term of protection is provided. is similar to the EVFTA Agreement. |

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3. Comparing the provisions on copyright-related rights between Vietnam Intellectual Property Law and EVFTA
Criteria | Vietnam Intellectual Property Law | EVFTA Agreement | Comparing |
Objects | Law Vietnamese Intellectuals protect related rights for the following objects: Performances performed by Vietnamese citizens in Vietnam or abroad; performed by foreigners in Vietnam and other performances that are protected under other regulations and international treaties;Phonogram, video recording;Broadcast programs or satellite signals carry encrypted programs. These objects will be protected related rights if they do not prejudice copyright. | Because EVFTA Agreement members will comply with the provisions of the Rome Treaty, the objects protected by related rights include: Performance;Record;Broadcasting. | The objects protected by related rights in two documents are similar. |
Subjects | Subjects of related rights protection include: Performers: Actors, singers, musicians, dancers and others presenting literary and artistic works;Owners of performances: Organizations and individuals that use their time, financial investments and physical and technical facilities to perform their performances;Producer of phonograms and video recordings;Broadcast organization. | Subjects protected by related rights include: Performers;Producer of sound recordings;Broadcast organization. | The provisions of Vietnamese law are quite similar to the EVFTA Agreement. |
Rights of performers | Vietnamese law is classified into two cases: First, a performer who is also the owner of the performance has the following rights: To introduce names when performing, when distributing phonograms, recording and broadcasting the performance;Protect the integrity of the performers ‘images, prevent others from modifying, mutilating or otherwise distorting the performers’ honor and prestige in any way.Fixing their live performances on phonograms or video recordings;Directly or indirectly reproduce his / her performances fixed on phonograms or video recordings;Broadcast or otherwise transmit to the public its performance which is not yet accessible to the general public, except for the purpose of broadcasting;Distribute to the public originals and copies of their performances through sale, rental or distribution by any technical means accessible to the general public. Second, performers who are not also the investors will have the following rights: To be able to introduce names when performing, when issuing phonograms, recording or broadcasting performances;To protect the integrity of the performance symbol, prevent others from modifying, mutilating or otherwise distorting the performers’ honor and prestige in any way;Remuneration paid by the investor. In this case, the investor will have the remaining rights. | Performers have the exclusive right to allow or prohibit: Fixing their performance;Copying, directly or indirectly, by any means or by any means, part or all of the fixation of its performance;Distribution to the public through sale or other transfer of ownership of their performance fixes;Disclose to the public by wireless or wired means of their performance fixes in such a way that the public can choose for themselves where and when to access the fix; andbroadcasting and communicating to the public its unmixed performance, except where the performance itself is performed for broadcast. | It can be seen that the Vietnamese law provides more specific provisions on rights accorded to individuals related to the performance, however the rights to the performance are fundamentally similar to the EVFTA Agreement. |
Rights of producers of phonograms | Producers of phonograms have the exclusive right to exercise or allow others to exercise the following rights: Directly or indirectly copying their phonograms;Import and distribute to the public originals and copies of their phonograms or video recordings through sale, rental or distribution by any technical means accessible to the public.Enjoy material benefits when your phonograms or video recordings are distributed to the public. | The producer of phonograms reserves the right to permit or prohibit: Reproduction directly or indirectly by any means or by any means, part or all of its phonograms;Distributing to the public by selling or otherwise transferring ownership of its originals or phonograms;Disseminating to the public by means of wireless or wired means of their recordings;A reasonable remuneration is paid to the user when the sound recording has been released for commercial purposes. | These rights are also provided for the same between the two documents. |
Rights of broadcasting organizations Broadcasting | Organizations have the exclusive right to perform or permit others to exercise the following rights: Broadcast and re-broadcast their broadcasts;Distributing to the public its broadcasts;Shaping your broadcasts;Copy your broadcast fixation.To enjoy material benefits when their broadcasts are recorded, recorded and distributed to the public. | Broadcasting organizations have the privilege of allowing or prohibiting: Fixing their broadcasts;Copy your broadcast fixation;Distributing to the public the fixings of its broadcasts; andRe-broadcasting your broadcast by radio means. | These rights are also provided for the same between the two documents. |
Term of Protection | A performer is protected 50 years from the year following the year the performance is fixed. The rights of the producer of a phonogram are protected for 50 years starting from the year following the year of publication or fifty years from the year following the year in which the phonogram is fixed if the phonogram is fixed. has not been announced yet. The rights of a broadcasting organization are protected for 50 years starting from the year following the year the broadcast is performed. | Performers’ rights will last for a minimum of 50 years after the date of performance. Rights of producers of phonograms must last for a minimum of 50 years from the date of recording. Rights of broadcasting organizations must last for a minimum of 50 years from the date of the first transmission of the program, whether broadcast by radio or by wire. | The term of rights protection under Vietnamese law has met the minimum period of time prescribed in the EVFTA Agreement. |
Thus, the provisions on copyright and related rights of Vietnamese law are basically compatible with the EVFTA Agreement. Because it is a national law, the Law on Intellectual Property of Vietnam has provided more detailed provisions for the application of the law more conveniently.
Legal basis:
- Law on Intellectual Property 2005, amended and supplemented in 2019;
- EVFTA Agreement;
- Berne Convention;
- Rome Convention.
𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐎𝐍 𝐋𝐀𝐖 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐌 – 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
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