Stronger penalties expected to hinder copyright violations in Vietnam

Though much improvement has been made in recent years, copyright infringements in Vietnam remain a burning issue for not only foreign copyright holders but local companies and authors as well. Various measures have been taken by the Government authorities for more effective copyright protection in the country. However, the dealing with copyright violations is still the most weakness of the enforcement of intellectual property rights in Vietnam. Copyright violations are seen in a wide range of areas from software, books, music recordings, films to online products on the internet.

In order to further improve the enforcement of copyrights, the Government has recently issued Decree No. 47/2009/ND-CP dated 13 May 2009 providing sanctions on administrative violations of copyrights and related rights (“Decree 47”). The new decree replaces the respective provisions (Chapter VII) of Decree No. 56/2006/ND-CP providing sanctions on administrative violations in the fields of culture and information. For the first time, this is a separate decree dealing with the copyright violations in Vietnam. Of note, under Decree 47, specific acts of copyright and related right infringements are defined and much stronger penalties and measures are introduced to deal with the violations. For example, the highest level of monetary fine (as the main form of penalty) has been increased from VND70 million (approx. US$4,200) as under Decree 56 to VND500 million (approx. US$30,000) pursuant to Decree 47.
Amongst actions of infringement, the acts of copying the protected work, performance, phonogram, or broadcast program without the authorization of the copyright owners are considered to be most serious. For these actions, subject to the value of the infringing articles and the seriousness of the case, the monetary fine may fall within 11 levels, ranging from VND1 million to VND500 million (approx. US$60 – US$30,000). And the highest level, VND500 million, shall be applied in case the value of the infringing articles is above VND500 million.

Decree 47 also provides for 11 levels of monetary fine, from VND0.5 million to VND250 million (approx. US$30 – US$15,000), applicable to the actions of selling protected works, or distributing directly or indirectly to the public the original or copy of performance, the original or copy of phonogram, the copy of broadcast program.

In addition, actions of appropriating the property rights of the copyright owners, phonogram producers, or broadcasting organizations are now also considered to be serious infringements, and the highest monetary fine of VND500 million may be applied for such actions. With respect to an action of storage or concealment of goods in infringement upon copyrights and/or related rights, a fine of from VND20 million to VND30 million may be applied, while the action of transportation or advertisement of the infringing goods may be subjected to a fine of up to VND10 million.

Decree 47 took effect as of 30 June 2009. While the administrative channel is still common for settlement of copyright disputes and violations in Vietnam, it is expected that the new decree will help copyright holders to better enforce their rights in the country.

Written by
Dang The Duc, Managing Partner,
and Nguyen Thi Hong Anh
Indochine Counsel
Unit 4A2, 4th Floor,
Han Nam Office Bldg.
65 Nguyen Du, District 1
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
(Tel) +848 3823 9640
(Fax) +848 3823 9641
duc.dang@indochinecounsel.com
www.indochinecounsel.com