WHY SHOULD YOU REGISTER COPYRIGHT FOR YOUR WORK?

In the 4.0 era, with the rise of media, especially social networks, literary and artistic works have more and more opportunities to reach audiences. That leads to consequences, works easily fall into the situation of being copied and plagiarized. Did you know that registering the copyright for your work can protect your “brainchild”? To maximally safeguard the legal rights and interests of the author, copyright registration of work becomes more urgent than ever.

With consulting experience in the Intellectual property field, Law Plus is willing to provide clients with regulations on copyright of work defined by current law.

I. COPYRIGHT OF WORK

1.1. What is copyright of work?

The copyright of work includes the copyright and rights related to the copyright (referred to as related rights).

According to Clause 2, Article 4 of Intellectual Property Law 2005, amended and supplemented in 2022 (hereinafter referred to as the Intellectual Property Law), copyright is the right of organizations or individuals to the works they create or own.

Clause 3, Article 4 of this Law also stipulates that related rights are the rights of organizations and individuals to performances, audio and video recordings, broadcast programs, and satellite signals carrying encoded programs.

1.2. Subjects of copyright registration

Based on Clause 1, Article 3 of Intellectual Property Law, subjects of copyright registration include literary, artistic and scientific works; subjects of related rights include performances, audio and video recordings, broadcast programs and satellite signals carrying encoded programs.

II. COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION OF WORK

2.1. What is copyright registration of work?

According to Clause 1, Article 5 of Intellectual Property Law, copyright registration and related rights registration are the process where the author, copyright owner and related rights owner submit applications to the competent State agency to record information about the author, the work, the copyright owner, and the related rights owner.

2.2. Is copyright registration of work necessary?

According to Clause 2, Article 49 of Intellectual Property Law, submitting applications to be granted a Certificate of Copyright Registration or a Certificate of Related Rights Registration is not a mandatory procedure to enjoy the copyright or related rights as stipulated by this Law. Copyright and related rights arise from the moment the work is created and expressed in a certain material form, or legally shaped or performed, even if it is not registered or published, based on Article 6 of Intellectual Property Law.

However, copyright registration of work is extremely necessary. This is effective evidence recognizing the legitimate and lawful rights of the author over the work, especially when disputes arise. Simultaneously, copyright registration of work also contributes to preventing acts that damage or threaten to harm the work.

In addition, based on Clause 10a, Article 4 of Intellectual Property Law, copyright fee refers to the payment for the creation or transfer of copyright or related rights to works, performances, audio and video recordings and broadcast programs, including royalty and remuneration. Thus, in some cases, the copyright owner and the related rights owner may receive the copyright fee for their work.

III. PROCEDURE FOR REGISTERING COPYRIGHT FOR WORKS

Copyright registration of work (copyright and related rights) is a procedure to establish ownership of the work. Currently, this procedure is regulated in Article 50, Article 51, and Article 52 of Intellectual Property Law. Accordingly, this regulation lists the details of dossier components and implementation procedures. 

To know more about this registration procedure, you can refer to the article COPYRIGHT on the website of Law Plus.

Legal protection of copyright and related rights is the way for the State and law to respect the efforts and “grey matter” of authors, as well as care about and encourage authors to create through intellectual labor. By copyright registration of work, you gain the legal right to control how your work is reproduced, distributed and displayed. This not only safeguards your work from infringement but also allows you to benefit financially from your creations. So why not take the necessary steps to protect your hard work and creativity by registering copyright for your work right now?

For any inquiries, please contact Law Plus via email at info@lawplus.vn or website, hotline 02862 779 399 / 0965 052 039 / 0966 008 030 (WhatsApp, Viber, Zalo).