Vietnam's New Copyright Regulation
12 March 2018
The Government of Vietnam has recently issued Decree No. 22/2018/ND-CP (“Decree No. 22”) to replace Decree No. 100/2006/ND-CP dated 21 September 2006 detailing and guiding implementation of a number of articles of the Civil Code and Law on Intellectual Property regarding copyright and related rights, as amended by Decree No. 85/2011/ND-CP dated 20 September 2011 (“Decree No. 100”). Decree No. 22 will come into effect from 10 April 2018.
In comparison to Decree No. 100, Decree No. 22 offers certain notable provisions as follows:
1. Revocation of copyright and related right registration certificates
Decree No. 22 provides for circumstances in which the Copyright Office of Vietnam must revoke a Copyright or Related Right Registration Certificate. Specifically, the Copyright Office of Vietnam must issue a decision to revoke such certificates within fifteen (15) working days from the date of receipt of one of the following documents:
(i) An effective judgement or decision of a court or decision of a competent authority in dealing with infringements on revoking such certificates;
(ii) A request from an individual or organization who had already been granted such certificates.
2. Specific regulations relating to the collection and distribution of royalties by collecting societies
Decree No. 22 requires that organizations and individuals using the copyrighted works, phonograms, video recordings or broadcasts, who are not required to seek permission from the right holders but are required to pay royalties and remunerations, must directly contact the right holders or the relevant collecting societies regarding such use. In case such organizations and individuals are unable to contact the right holders, they must make announcements on public media.
In addition, in case the works, phonograms, video recordings, and broadcasts are related to the rights of multiple collecting societies authorized to represent one or a specific set of rights, those organizations may agree to authorize one of them to negotiate on their behalf on the grant of license, collection and distribution of royalties.
Decree No. 22 also requires that collecting societies maintain their own databases on copyright and related rights, which are linked to the national database on copyright and related rights.
