Currently, the infringement of intellectual property rights in Vietnam is increasing day by day. Thus, what are Vietnam’s regulations on remedies when dealing with acts of infringement of copyrights and relevant rights?
Article table of contents
According to Article 199 of the Law on Intellectual Property 2005 of Vietnam, any organization or individual who commits an act of infringement of the intellectual property rights of another organization or individual shall, depending upon the nature and seriousness of such infringement, be dealt with by the application of civil, administrative or criminal remedies. In necessary cases, the competent State body may apply provisional urgent measures, measures to control intellectual property related imports and exports, preventive measures and measures to secure enforcement of an administrative penalty in accordance with the provisions of this Law and other relevant laws.
Specifically, acts of infringement of copyrights and relevant rights shall be sanctioned according to the following regulations:
1. Administrative sanctions for acts of infringement of copyrights and relevant rights
According to Decree No. 131/2013/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, fines for acts of infringement of copyrights and relevant rights are as follows:
- A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and 3,000,000 shall be imposed for using a work without indicating the real name or pen name of its author or its title or indicating a wrong real name or pen name of the author or a wrong title of the work on copies of the work, phonogram, video recording or broadcast program.
- A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed for transporting goods produced without permission of the copyright or related right holders.
- A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and 10,000,000 shall be imposed for stockpiling goods produced without permission of the copyright or related right holders.
- A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed for arbitrarily modifying or mutilating a work causing damage to honor and prestige of the author.
- A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and 10,000,000 shall be imposed for distorting a work causing damage to the honor and prestige of the author.
- A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and 10,000,000 shall be imposed for publishing the work without permission of the copyright holders in accordance with regulations.
- A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and 10,000,000 shall be imposed for making derivative works without permission of the copyright holders.
Thus, according to the above provisions, any person who commits acts of infringement of copyrights and relevant rights shall be imposed a fine ranging from VND 2 million to VND 10 million depending on the level of violation. Concurrently, the violating person shall also be subject to remedial measures such as: forcible correction publicly on means of mass media for violation, confiscation of material evidence used for committing acts of violation, forcibly removing copies of the work which is infringed, in electronic form, on internet and digital environment or forcible destruction of material evidence of violation, etc.
It can be seen that the law has specified fines for acts of infringement of copyrights and relevant rights, thus, individuals or organizations that consider their works created or owned to be infringed may report to competent agencies at all levels to handle this violation.
2. Criminal liability for infringing copyrights and relevant rights
In addition to administrative sanctions, infringement of copyrights and relevant rights may also be subject to criminal liability in accordance with the Criminal Code 2015 of Vietnam.
Specifically, according to Article 225 of the Criminal Code 2015 of Vietnam amended by Point a Clause 52 Article 1 of the Law on amendments to the Criminal Code in 2017 on infringement of copyrights and relevant rights:
- A person who, without the consent of the holders of copyrights and relevant rights, deliberately commits any of the following acts which infringe upon copyrights and relevant rights protected in Vietnam for commercial purpose or to earn an illegal profit of from VND 50,000,000 to under VND 300,000,000 or causes a loss of from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 500,000,000 for the holders of such copyrights and relevant rights, or with the violating goods assessed at from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 500,000,000 shall be liable to a fine of from VND 50,000,000 to VND 300,000,000 or face a penalty of up to 03 years' community sentence:
+ Making copies of works, video recordings or audio recordings;
+ Making the copies of works, video recordings, audio recordings publicly available.
Note: Any corporate legal entity that commits this violation shall be liable to a fine of from VND 300,000,000 to VND 1,000,000,000.
- This offense committed in any of the following circumstances carries a fine of from VND 300,000,000 to VND 1,000,000,000 or a penalty of 06 - 03 years' imprisonment (a fine of from VND 1,000,000,000 to VND 3,000,000,000 or has its operation suspended for 06 - 24 months for a violating corporate legal entity):
+ The offense is committed by an organized group;
+ The offense has been committed more than once;
+ The illegal profit reaped is ≥ VND 300,000,000;
+ The loss incurred by the holders of copyrights and relevant rights is ≥ VND 500,000,000;
+ The illegal goods are assessed at ≥ VND 500,000,000.
Concurrently, the offender might also be liable to a fine of from VND 20,000,000 to VND 200,000,000, prohibited from holding certain positions or doing certain works for 01 - 05 years. In particular, the violating corporate legal entity might also be liable to a fine of from VND 100,000,000 to VND 300,000,000 , be banned from operating in certain fields or raising capital for 01 - 03 years.
Thus, it can be seen that the law strictly has sanctioned acts of infringing upon copyright and related rights. In addition to administrative penalties, depending on the severity of the violation, those who commit acts of infringing copyright or related rights can also be imprisoned for up to 3 years and be fined up to VND 1 billion, and concurrently banned from holding certain posts, practicing certain professions or doing certain jobs from 1 to 5 years. In particular, for commercial legal entities that commit crimes, the criminal liability will be heavier.
However, though criminal penalties are regulated, currently acts of infringing upon copyright and related rights are mostly handled by administrative measures and rarely criminally prosecuted, concurrently, there are cases where the application of measures to handle administrative violations is still very limited.
Ty Na
