Copyright is the right of organizations and individuals to the work they create or own and is automatically formed from the moment the work is shaped in a certain material form, regardless of whether the work is published or unpublished, registered or unregistered. However, if individuals and organizations have registered their copyrights and have a Copyright Registration Certificate for their works, when disputes arise, they will have a solid legal basis to ensure their rights. its legality. In the article below, iguide.ai will provide customers with information about copyright registration.
1. General overview
According to Clause 1, Article 6 of the 2005 Intellectual Property Law (amended and supplemented in 2009, 2019, 2022), copyright arises from the moment that work is created and saved in any form, any medium or language, regardless of copyright publication or registration. Thus, copyright is established automatically, regardless of any form or procedure, but as soon as the work is created, born and exists in a recognizable form, copyright also arose at the same time from that time.
Works are protected when they meet the following conditions:
- It is the result of spiritual creative activity;
- Formative (expressed in a certain form);
- Be creative (original).
2. Reasons for needing to register copyright
- Copyright registration is a measure to protect legal rights and interests when disputes arise and is the basis for proving the time rights arise. The registered entity will not be obliged to prove that copyright belongs to him or her.
- Copyright registration ensures authors and owners against acts of infringement such as theft, copying, and misuse of that work.
- Copyright registration is a declaration of legal ownership of a work. If the author discovers that someone is illegally using his or her work, the author can request that user to stop using it and can claim compensation for damages.
- A copyright certificate is a type of document proving ownership of a work, used when contributing capital and valuing company assets in cases of equitization, business acquisition or merger.
3. Copyright registration procedures
Copyright registration procedures are carried out according to the following steps:
Step 1: Identify the registered work
After completing the work, if the work has sufficient grounds for copyright registration and the work is subject to protection, the owner and author shall determine the genre of the work intended to be copyrighted.
Types of works protected under the Intellectual Property Law include:
- Literary, scientific works, textbooks, course books and other works expressed in writing or other characters;
- Sermons, speeches and other talks;
- Journalistic works;
- Musical works;
- Theater works;
- Cinematographic works and works created by similar methods;
- Fine art works;
- Works of applied art;
- Photographic works;
- Architectural works;
- Plans, diagrams, maps, drawings;
- Literary and folk art works.
Pursuant to Article 8 of Decree 17/2023/ND-CP, works are not subject to copyright protection and registration in the following cases:
- Pure current news is short daily press information, small news, real data, only for reporting purposes, not creative.
- Administrative documents include documents of state agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-political-professional organizations, social organizations, socio-professional organizations and People's armed forces unit.
- Processes, systems, operating methods, concepts, principles, and regulatory data:
- Process is the order that must be followed to carry out work;
- A system is a collection of many elements and units of the same type or function, closely related or interconnected, forming a unified whole;
- Method is a way of researching and viewing phenomena of nature and social life;
- Concepts are thoughts that reflect in general form the objects and phenomena of reality and the relationships between them;
- Principles are basic laws of a general nature, governing a series of phenomena, are important initial ideas or theories and are considered a starting point for the construction of other theories.
Step 2: Prepare documents for copyright registration
After determining the type of work intended to be copyrighted, the owner and author of the work prepare the registration dossier according to regulations.
Customers need to prepare the following documents to complete the copyright registration application:
- Information about the applicant, author, copyright owner or related rights owner (identification information such as full name, pen name, date of birth, contact address); work information (name, completion date, summary of content); author's name, work used as a derivative work if the work is registered as a derivative work; time, place, and form of announcement; The basis for generating ownership of rights is the basis for completing the Copyright Registration Declaration (according to the corresponding form in Circular 08/2023/TT-BVHTTDL dated June 2, 2023, Circular stipulating forms for registration of copyright and related rights).
- Two copies of the copyrighted work.
- 01 copy is kept at the Copyright Office, 01 copy is stamped with the Registration Certificate number and returned to the subject to whom the Registration Certificate was issued.
- For works with unique characteristics such as paintings, statues, monuments, reliefs, and monumental paintings associated with architectural works; works that are too large and bulky, copies of registered works are replaced by three-dimensional photographs.
- For written works: 02 volumes on A4 paper with page numbers and author's signature on each page or company seal;
- For computer programs: 02 printed copies of source code + software interface on A4 paper + 02 CDs with source code and interface content on them;
- For works of applied art: 02 copies printed on A4 paper of the work with the signature or stamp of the author or owner of the work;
- For musical works: 02 printed copies of music + lyrics or audio recording (recording) in case of recording;
All documents submitted with the copyright registration application must be made in Vietnamese. In case it is made in a foreign language, it must be translated into Vietnamese and notarized/authenticated. Documents attached to the application, if they are copies, must be notarized or authenticated.
Step 3: Submit application and copyright registration fee
According to the provisions of the Intellectual Property Law, the author or owner of a work can be a domestic individual or legal entity or a foreign individual or legal entity and has the right to apply for copyright registration for his or her work. me.
- When submitting an individual registration application, a domestic legal entity can directly or authorize a copyright representative organization to submit the registration application to the registration agency on its behalf.
- For foreign individuals and legal entities who want to register copyright in Vietnam, they will authorize a copyright representative organization to submit an application to register the work in Vietnam.
Authors, copyright owners, and related rights owners can directly or through an Intellectual Property Representative Organization apply for copyright registration according to various methods.
- Submit in person or by mail to the Copyright Office at the following addresses:
- Copyright Office (Copyright Information Office): No. 33 Alley 294/2 Kim Ma, Ba Dinh, Hanoi, City. Hanoi. Phone number: 024 3823 6908.
- Representative Office of the Copyright Department in City. Ho Chi Minh: No. 170 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Ward 6, District 3, City. Ho Chi Minh. Phone number: 028.39 308 086.
- Representative Office of the Copyright Department in City. Da Nang: No. 58 Phan Chu Trinh, Hai Chau District, Da Nang city. Phone number: 0236.3 606 967.
- Submit online via the Online Public Service Portal: http://dichvucong.gov.vn/
Pursuant to Circular 211/2016/TT-BTC dated November 10, 2016, the state fees that owners and authors for copyright registration need to pay are as follows:
- For written works: literary works, scientific works, textbooks, lecture textbooks, speeches and other talks, journalistic works, musical works, photographic works, the fee is : 100,000 VND/registration.
- For architectural works; For maps, diagrams, maps, and drawings related to topography and scientific works, the fee is: 300,000 VND/registration dossier.
- For visual works and applied art works, the fee is: 400,000 VND/registration.
- For cinematographic works and theatrical works fixed on tape or disc, the fee is: 500,000 VND/registration dossier.
- For computer programs, data collection or programs running on computers, the fee is: 600,000 VND/registration.
Step 4: The Copyright Office evaluates and issues the Certificate
- Competent state agencies review, classify, and consider the validity of the dossier within 01 month from the date of receipt of the dossier;
- In case the dossier contains errors, the organization or individual has a maximum period of 01 month from the date of receipt of the notice to amend or supplement the dossier, unless a force majeure event or customer obstacle occurs. according to the provisions of law
- Within 15 working days from the expiration of the above time limit, the Copyright Office shall issue a Copyright Registration Certificate to the applicant or notify the applicant of refusal, clearly stating the reason. .
