Introduction

♦ Decree No. 17/2023/NĐ-CP of the Government providing detailed guidance on implementation of the Intellectual Property Law of 2005 (amended in 2009, 2019, 2022) for registration and protection of copyright and related rights (hereinafter referred to as “Decree 17/2023”). This decree was issued and took effect on April 26, 2023.

♦ Decree 17/2023 consists of 7 chapters, 116 Articles, which is expected to provide a powerful legal tool for authors and copyright holders in the protection, collection of copyright fees and enforcement of copyrights, related rights in Vietnam.

We would like to briefly introduce 04 new and important contents of this Decree for your reference.

The production and use of works

The Decree provided clear definitions of “reasonable reproduction of works”, “reasonable use of works”, “reasonable quotation of works”, “use of works in libraries for non-commercial purposes”, “reasonable reproduction of a part of related rights works”, “reasonable quotation of related rights works” and the exception to copyright infringement for persons with disabilities.

In particular, Decree No. 17/2023 regulated the proportional distribution of royalties for the use of copyrighted works and related rights works that have been published without permission but must pay royalties when the parties fail to come to an agreement. Accordingly, copyright holders receive 50%, performers receive 25%, holders of related rights to phonograms and video recordings 25% of the total royalties collected in this case.

Copyright and related rights protection

Contents of the protection of copyright and related rights are particularly concerned and comprehensively regulated. The Decree dedicated 60 articles out of a total of 116 articles to regulate copyright and related rights protection.

The important subject matters such as the self-protection of copyright and related rights; the disputes and determination of acts of infringing upon copyrights and related rights; the determination of damages caused by an infringement of copyrights and related rights; the handling of acts of infringing upon copyright and related rights; border control measures on  exporting, importing goods relating to copyrights and related rights; the copyrights and related rights assessment; provisions regarding intermediary service providers, have been also specified in detail and fully in this Decree.

Copyright disputes

The Decree regulated 13 types of copyright disputes (Article 62) and 9 types of related rights disputes (Article 63). Additionally, the decree also provided clear regulations on 16 kinds of acts of infringing upon copyrights and 15 kinds of acts of infringing upon related rights. These regulations shall assist copyright holders and enforcement authorities in determining disputing types and infringing acts easily during the process of handling acts of infringing upon copyright and related rights in practice (Articles 66, 67).

Responsibilities of Intermediary Service Providers

Six (6) types of Intermediary Service Providers (ISP) in the field of information technology and telecommunications were specified in this Decree (Article 110), including enterprises operating in the fields of:

(i) Internet services, internet connection;

(ii) Leased private telecommunications channel services;

(iii) Server hosting services, dedicated server rentals;

(iv) On-demand content storage services;

(iv) Online social networking services;

(vi) Digital content search services.

At the same time, the Decree also clearly regulated that ISP must establish tools to receive requests for removal or blocking of access to copyright and related rights infringing contents. These required tools include computer programs, websites, email addresses, portals, and other request-receiving tools.

In cases where they are not exempted from legal obligations, ISPs are jointly liable for compensating damages caused by infringing acts together with pirates. If an ISP directly carries out acts of infringing upon copyright and related rights, they are legally responsible accordingly. Upon receiving a request, the ISP must remove or block accession to the copyright, related rights infringing contents. The ISP is also required to notify or report to the copyright holders or the competent authorities about those matters, after removing or blocking infringing content.

The foregoing are highlighted regulations of the new Decree aimed at strictly protecting and effectively addressing acts of infringing upon copyrights and related rights, especially in the digital environment in Vietnam. These regulations also fulfill the requirements set by the CPTPP Agreement, which member countries must strictly comply with in order to ensure the highest level of protection for copyright and related rights.

In conclusion

The new copyright Decree No. 17/2023 shall make a positive contribution to protecting creativity and ensuring the interests of authors and copyright, related rights holders. We hope that the effective enforcement of this Decree will safeguard the interests of the authors and create favorable conditions for the sustainable development of the creative industries in Vietnam in the future.

 

Tag: Copyright, Copyright Infringement

 

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