At the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's regular second-quarter press conference on July 15, representatives of the Ministry's agencies provided information and answered questions on issues within their areas of responsibility, including copyright.
Amid concerns that many restaurants and coffee shops have had to deal with multiple organizations collecting music copyright fees, Deputy Head Pham Thanh Tung of the Department of Management and International Cooperation on Copyright and Related Rights under the Copyright Office of Vietnam, said the requirement to pay royalties for the use of music in business activities is not new. It has been stipulated under the Intellectual Property Law since 2005.
Explaining why multiple organizations may collect fees from the same business, Deputy Head Pham Thanh Tung said each organization currently represents a different group of copyright holders. Government Decree No. 134/2026/ND-CP, which amends and supplements several provisions of Decree No. 17/2023/ND-CP detailing the implementation of the Intellectual Property Law on copyright and related rights, encourages collective management organizations to authorize a single entity to collect fees in order to make the process more convenient for users. However, because this is a civil relationship, state management authorities cannot require such an arrangement.
A representative of the Copyright Office of Vietnam also emphasized that authorized organizations must publicly disclose the list of works, copyright owners, and the scope of their representation. Organizations that collect fees beyond the scope of their authorization or operate without sufficient transparency will be handled in accordance with the law.
According to the Deputy Head of the Department of Management and International Cooperation on Copyright and Related Rights, the Copyright Office of Vietnam is promoting cooperation among the Vietnam Center for Protection of Music Copyright, the Recording Industry Association of Vietnam, and the Vietnam Association for Rights Protection of Music Performing Artists to develop a shared database on copyright and related rights.
Once the database is synchronized, the organizations could move toward appointing a single representative to collect fees for the use of music in business activities, he said.
