Copyright and Related rights Registration in Vietnam

1. Right to enjoy copyright protection

Under Law on Intellectual Property of Vietnam (IP Law), foreign authors/entities may enjoy copyright protection in Vietnam if:

• The authors are nationals of one of the countries of Berne Convention (whether or not their works have been published); or
• The works to be protected were first published in one of the countries of the Berne Convention, or were published simultaneously in a country outside the Bern Convention and a Berne Convention country, even when the authors are not nationals of any Berne Convention country; or
• The works are created in Vietnam; or
• The works are first published in Vietnam.

2. Works to be copyrighted

The following categories of works shall be copyrighted:

 

1)	Literary and scientific works, textbooks, teaching courses and other works expressed in written languages or other characters;
2)	Lectures, addresses and other sermons;
3)	Press works;
4)	Musical works;
5)	Dramatic works;
6)	Cinematographic works and works created by a process analogous to cinematography (below collectively referred to as “cinematographic works”);
7)	Plastic-art works and works of applied art;
8)	Photographic works;
9)	Architectural works;
10)	Sketches, plans, maps and drawings related to topography, architecture or scientific works;
11)	Folklore and folk art works of folk culture;
12)	Computer programs and data compilations

 

3.  Moral rights, economic rights and term of copyright protection

3.1. Moral rights of authors include the following rights

 

• To title their works;
• To attach their real names or pseudonyms to their works; to have their real names or pseudonyms acknowledged when their works are published or used;
• To publish their works or authorize other persons to publish their works;
• To protect the integrity of their works, and to prevent other persons from modifying, mutilating or distorting their works in whatever form prejudicial to their honor and reputation.

3.2. Economic rights of authors include the following rights

• To make derivative works;
• To display their works to the public;
• To reproduce their works;
• To distribute or import original works or copies thereof;
• To communicate their works to the public by wire or wireless means, electronic information networks or any other technical means;
• To lease original cinematographic works and computer programs or copies thereof.

3.3. Term of copyright protection

a) The moral rights as to (i) titling their works, (ii) attaching their real names or pseudonyms to their works and (iii) protecting the integrity of their works, provided for in Clauses 1, 2 and 4 of Article 19 of IP Law, shall be protected for an indefinite term.

b) The moral rights over publishing their works or authorize other persons to publish their works, and the all economic rights enjoy the following term of protection:

• Cinematographic works, photographic works, works of applied art and anonymous works have a term of protection of seventy five years from the date of first publication.
• For cinematographic works, photographic works and works of applied art which remain unpublished within twenty five years from the date of fixation, the term of protection is one hundred years from the date of fixation. For anonymous works, when information on their authors is published, the term of protection will be calculated under Point b of this Clause.
• A work not specified at Point (a) of this Clause is protected for the whole life of the author and for fifty years after his/her death. For a work under joint authorship, the term of protection expires in the fiftieth year after the death of the last surviving co-author;

4.  Registration of copyright

In Vietnam, copyrights shall arise at the moment when a work is created and expressed in a certain material form regardless of its content, quality, form, mean, language, whether or not it has been published or registered. While not compulsory, copyright registration in Vietnam is possible. The most important advantage of a registration is that in case of any dispute or in any administrative, civil or criminal procedures relating to the exploitation or enforcement of the work, the party having no registration bears the initial burden of proving his/her ownership.

Requests for registration shall be filed with the Copyright Office of Vietnam under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

4.1. Required documents

• 03 copies of the works to be registered;
• A Power of Attorney signed by the applicant and duly notarized (under our form);
• A Notarized Deed of Assignments from the author(s) to the applicant(s) (under our form), or a certified copy of a labor contract, or a certified document proving the right to register copyright for the works, if the applicant is not the author;
• A Notarized Letter of Consent from the co-author(s) of the works, if the works is created by multiple authors;
• A Notarized Letter of Consent from the co-owner of the works, if the works is owned by multiple owners;
• A Notarized Copy of Business License of the Copyright Owner if the copyright owner is a Company;
• A Notarized Copy of Passport of the author;
• Undertaking of the author stating that he is the author/designer of the works (under our form) and;

4.2. Information

• Full name, address, nationality of applicant(s) and author(s);
• Title, kind and two copies of work;
• Date on which the work was created, date and place of the first publication of the work;

 4.3. Time frame involved

In general, it takes 15 working days from the date of receiving duly required documents. During this period, the application will be examined as to form and eligibility for protection.

In case you require more information or require advice on Copyright and Related Rights as well as other IP matters, please do not hesitate to contact us via:

Email: info@lawfirmelite.com

Tel: (+84-24) 3 7373051

Fax: (+84-24) 3 7373056