How are copyright holders in Vietnam regulated? Is joint authorship also joint copyright ownership?
How are copyright holders in Vietnam regulated?
According to the provisions of Article 18 of Decree No. 17/2023/ND-CP on copyright holders as follows:
Copyright holders
Copyright holders specified under Article 36 of the Law on Intellectual Property include:
1. Vietnamese organizations and individuals.
2. Foreign organizations and individuals whose works are created and expressed in a definite tangible medium in Vietnam.
3. Foreign organizations and individuals whose works are first published in Vietnam.
4. Foreign organizations and individuals whose works are protected in Vietnam in accordance with International treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory.
Thus, copyright holder means an organization or individual that holds one, several or all of the rights stipulated in Clause 3 Article 19 and Clause 1 Article 20 of the 2005 Law on Intellectual Property in Vietnam (amended by Clause 11 Article 1 of the 2022 Law on Amendments to Law on Intellectual Property) including:
- Vietnamese organizations and individuals.
- Foreign organizations and individuals whose works are created and expressed in a definite tangible medium in Vietnam.
- Foreign organizations and individuals whose works are first published in Vietnam.
- Foreign organizations and individuals whose works are protected in Vietnam in accordance with International treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory.
How are copyright holders in Vietnam regulated? Is joint authorship also joint copyright ownership? (Image from the Internet)
Is joint authorship also joint copyright ownership?
Pursuant to Article 16 of Decree No. 17/2023/ND-CP stipulating the joint authorship and joint copyright ownership as follows:
Joint authorship and joint copyright ownership
1. Co-authors who also are co-owners of copyrights shall negotiate about the exercising of moral rights and economic rights of the works in accordance with Clause 3 Article 12a of the Law on Intellectual Property.
2. Co-authors who are not co-owners of copyrights of the works shall negotiate about the exercising of moral rights while co-owners of copyrights of the works shall negotiate about the exercising of economic rights of the works in accordance with Clause 3 Article 45 and Clause 3 Article 47 of the Law on Intellectual Property.
3. Co-authors and co-owners of copyrights are not allowed to reject the use of their works in a regular manner and for common interests.
4. Co-owners of copyrights of the works have the right to waive the rights specified under Clause 3 Article 19 and Clause 1 Article 20 of the Law on Intellectual Property in writing and notify other co-owners of copyrights. Rights of co-owners of copyrights who have waived their rights shall be automatically transferred to other co-owners.
According to the above provisions, co-authors who also are co-owners of copyrights shall negotiate about the exercising of moral rights and economic rights of the works in accordance with Clause 3 Article 12a of the 2005 Law on Intellectual Property in Vietnam.
However, co-authors who are not co-owners of copyrights of the works shall negotiate about the exercising of moral rights while co-owners of copyrights of the works shall negotiate about the exercising of economic rights of the works in accordance with Clause 3 Article 45 and Clause 3 Article 47 of the 2005 Law on Intellectual Property in Vietnam.
What are the regulations on copyrights of motion pictures?
Pursuant to Article 10 of Decree No. 17/2023/ND-CP stipulating as follows:
Copyrights of motion pictures
1. Individuals mentioned under Point a and Point b Clause 1 Article 21 of the Law on Intellectual Property shall have the right to have their names attached to the motion pictures and be named when the motion pictures are published or used. It is permissible to not include name of everyone in the cast and persons carrying out creative works specified under Point b Clause 1 Article 21 of the Law on Intellectual Property in a motion picture due to the use of said motion picture.
2. In case of agreement on naming and/or editing of motion pictures according to Point d Clause 1 Article 21 of the Law on Intellectual Property, screenwriters and directors are not allowed to take advantage of their moral rights to prevent the naming and editing of motion pictures which are compliant with creative and use requirements of the motion pictures.
Authors and copyright holders of scripts in musical works and musical works which are used in motion pictures are only allowed to prohibit distortion of their scripts in musical works and musical works or revision, editing of their scripts in musical works and musical works which harm their reputation or credibility.
3. The right to lease original or copy of motion pictures mentioned under Point e Clause 1 Article 20 of the Law on Intellectual Property is the right of copyright holders to exclusively lease or authorize other individuals to lease for a limited amount of time.
Thus, copyrights of motion pictures shall comply with the above provisions.
Nguyễn Thị Hồng Nhung