Stricter regulations needed to fight against copyright infringement

Artist Le The Anh accused that his work ‘Li xi nhe’ (on the right) had been copied illegally by Pham Hong Minh (on the left) (Photo given by Le The Anh)

Issued in 2005 then amended and supplemented in 2009, 2019, and 2022, the Intellectual Property Law ignites a hope that the legitimate rights and interests of individuals and organizations owning artistic or journalism works can be ensured, and that law violations are strictly sanctioned.

The reality is sadly far from that. Even though there have been a large number of copyright breach cases, not many have filed a lawsuit for those offenses. The reason is that it takes too much time, effort, and money to pursue the case while the outcome is unknown. For instance, the copyright dispute over the comic book ‘Than Dong Dat Viet’ lasted 12 years.

Artist Bui Trong Du commented that the wariness when pursuing a lawsuit for copyright breach has harmful effects on the creativity of artistic content owners. Most Vietnamese artists do not register for a copyright except those joining in international activities and sending their products abroad. He also admitted that the procedure for such a registration is quite simple and is the best way to enforce law. To ensure a win in copyright dispute lawsuits, it is advisable for creators of artistic works to collect evidence of the work process from the sketching to finalizing stages.

Deputy General Director Hoang Van Binh of Vietnam Music Copyright Protection Center (VCPMC) stated that copyright infringement has become increasingly complicated in the digital environment. VCPMC has signed cooperation agreements with 86 organizations which manage collective rights that have influence in 154 nations and territories. However, handling copyright breach in the digital environment is so challenging that it is legally critical to have stricter regulations, harsher sanctions.

At present, the implementation of technology to fulfill the tough mission copyright protection is an unavoidable trend in the world. Violations on YouTube, Facebook, and pirate film sites can be traced via software that exploits such advanced technologies as Fingerprinting, Watermarking. For example, K+ Satellite Digital TV is adopting solutions to block users from accessing infringing domain names, it also tries to erase search results for such websites on Google. It is planning to work with intermediary service providers to eliminate infringing content from their systems, to block violating IP addresses and servers.

The issue of infringement of copyright and related rights was raised at a conference organized by the Copyright Office (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) on March 31, 2023 (Photo: SGGP)

The development of blockchain technology is expected to revolutionize the task of dealing with copyright law violations. Particularly, NFT (Non-Fungible Token) technology helps content creators trace all visits, views, downloads, and shares of their products easily. Artist Bui Trong Du shared that many of his clients have suggested to buy his artworks via this useful way. However, as it is rather new, the technology should be carefully studied to master it.

On February 17, 2022, the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) came into effect in Vietnam, marking its official participation in the international copyright protection playground. It commits to implementing all regulations on copyright protection, including those in the digital environment.

Chief Inspector Le Thanh Liem of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism informed that each year, his office handles 80 cases related to copyright breach on the cyberspace, with a total administrative fine of VND2 billion (US$85,250). Legal documents for this matter are now being completed. Particularly, in 2022, the National Assembly approved the Law to amend, supplement a number of articles in the Intellectual Property Right Law, including the content about copyright and related rights.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has already submitted to the Government a detailed decree on this to be released in the near future. Following this will be a decree on administrative sanctions for copyright infringement in 2023. These will become an important legal corridor to address the issue.

Director Nguyen Tu Thuc of Thuc Intellectual Property Law Firm suggested an establishment of an agency to assess creative works. In Vietnam now, besides obvious copyright breach acts (illegally copying and exploiting people’s work), other more cunning cases cannot be fully handled since there is no organizations here to assess whether certain acts (cutting, modification, imitation of a workpiece) have offended the copyright law or not. To reach such a conclusion and to make it valid in court need specific criteria and regulations, hence the necessity of a capable assessment agency.

Head of Phan Law Vietnam Office mentioned the need to strictly punish law violations. He said that the most popular way now for criminals to circumvent the law when asked to close a website is to open a new similar one under a new registered business name or manager’s name. Some even use an international domain name and set up their servers abroad or hide their IP address.

The recent strict handling of the Economic Police Division (under the HCMC Department of Public Security) over phimmoi.net is a welcoming signal by those working in the content production, trading, and protection fields on the Internet environment. It is also a wake-up call for would-be copyright infringers and an effective method to raise the awareness of the public about respecting the copyright and related rights.