Bùi Nguyên Hùng, director general of the Copyright Office, under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, speaks to the newspaper Hà Nội Mới (New Hà Nội) about how Decree 22 will interpret changes made to the 2009 Law on Intellectual Property Rights

What is new in Decree 22/2018/NĐ-CP on guidelines for some articles of the intellectual property law (IP) and law on amendments to the IP law 2009 in terms of the copyright and related rights as compared to the existing laws on IP rights?

A key objective of Decree 22 is to supplement and revise some provisions contained in the current Law on Intellectual Property Rights to facilitate its on-the-ground implementation.

Decree 22 has added three new articles relating to procedures through which an author’s copyrights and related rights can be re-issued, amended or repealed. The aim of the new articles is to create favourable conditions for organisations and individuals applying for the work’s intellectual property rights or related rights. 

Under the new regulation, the requested papers will be available in 15 working days. However, for some special cases, the returned results can be available in 12 days or even seven days depending on the case. [The old regulations did not specify how long the authorities would take to return paperwork.]

Under both the 2005 Law on Intellectual Property Rights and the 2009 revision, the Provincial Department of Culture and Information or the Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism were the focal points to receive dossiers requesting intellectual property licences and related rights. But under Decree 22, the applicants have to submit their dossiers to the Copyright Office of Việt Nam in person in its headquarters in Hà Nội, or its representative offices in HCM City and Đà Nẵng City. Or if they want, they can send their documents to the Copyright Office of Việt Nam in Hà Nội.   

Will you further elaborate on what Decree 22 says about the payment of honoraria and related rights?

Decree 22 states clearly the rights and responsibilities of organisations and collectives that will act on behalf of the authors in the spirit of transparency and accountability.

It also states clearly that if any dispute occurs, the dispute will then be referred to the court or to legal organisations for settlement, including an arbitration centre.

Are there any articles or provisions that creators should pay attention to in order to protect their rights?

Article 49 of Decree 22 says;

First, the authentic author can empower a collective or individual on his or her behalf to use his or her work in whatever form they have mutually agreed upon.

Second, it is the duty of the collective or individual to inform concerned authorities about their granted permission to use the art work from the author.

And finally, if any disputes may occur relating to the author’s right or other related rights, the disputes will be settled in accordance with the Code of Civil Procedure or Arbitration Law.

When will Decree 22 be actually implemented?

Decree 22 will be implemented as soon as it comes into force [on April 10, 2018].

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has already adopted a plan on organising workshops, seminars and training for Decree 22 in Hà Nội, Huế and HCM City in April and May this year. The first workshop is scheduled to take place in La Thành Hotel, in Hà Nội on the up coming April 11. — VNS