Vietnam’s longest copyright law ever
On April 26, 2023, the Vietnamese government issued the much-anticipated Decree No. 17/2023/ND-CP to explain several provisions of the revised Intellectual Property Law on copyright and related rights (Copyright Decree ) . The Copyright Decree comes into force immediately upon promulgation and supersedes (i) Decree No. 22/2018/ND-CP[1] and (ii) Decree No. 105/2006/ND-CP[2] concerning copyright and related protection of rights, Decree No. 105/2006/ND-CP has been amended and supplemented by Decree No. 119/2010/ND-CP [3]. The full text of the Copyright Act is available here .
The Copyright Decree includes 8 chapters with 116 articles, making it the longest copyright decree ever written in Vietnam. It covers various topics under the revised Intellectual Property Law, such as the definition/meaning of different types of works or exclusive use rights, copyright registration, copyright exceptions and limitations, Collective Management Organizations (CMOs) and copyright enforcement, etc.
It is worth noting that the “Copyright Act” provides very detailed explanations on copyright protection, especially on what disputes can be classified as copyright disputes, how to define copyright infringement, and how to calculate the damage caused by infringement (with moral damage, definition of material loss, loss of income and loss of business opportunity, and definition of reasonable costs to prevent and remedy the loss). A long and detailed chapter on copyright evaluation is also expected to allow for the development of the currently limited copyright evaluation services in Vietnam.
On the hot topic of ‘Internet Service Providers’, the Copyright Act provides information on what organizations can be considered ISPs and, in order to enjoy the ‘safe harbour’, ISPs receive and process national authorities and rights holders Description and non-exhaustive list of examples of procedures notified by individuals. Thus, while addressing the concerns raised by the recent Decree No. 13/2023/ND-CP on the protection of personal data , the Copyright Decree also marks a comprehensive review and refinement of the terms of service for Internet Service Providers as well as notice and takedown The age of mechanisms is coming.
We will provide more detail on noteworthy issues in the Copyright Act in an upcoming article. stay tuned.
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[1] Decree No. 22/2018/ND-CP of February 23, 2018, on several articles of the Intellectual Property Law and guidelines on copyright and related rights in the Intellectual Property Law Amendment Act 2009.
[2] Decree No. 105/2006/ND-CP of September 22, 2006, detailing and guiding the implementation of some provisions of the Intellectual Property Law on intellectual property protection and national intellectual property management.
[3] Decree No. 119/2010/ND-CP of December 30, 2010 amending and supplementing some provisions of Decree No. 105/2006/ND-CP.
