Promoting Copyright Enforcement in Vietnam – Foundation for Creative Economy Development

VHO - International conference in Ho Chi Minh City discussed solutions to promote enforcement of copy rights, copyright protection, knowledge development and creative economy in Vietnam.

Many delegates attended the workshop

On October 22, in Ho Chi Minh City, the Vietnam Copyright Association (VIETRRO) in collaboration with the International Federation of Copyright Organizations (IFRRO) organized the International Workshop "Building a Creative Economy : Promoting Copyright Enforcement in Vietnam", taking place over two days, October 22-23.

The event gathered a large number of representatives from ministries, branches, management agencies, professional associations, publishers, domestic and international experts... to promote awareness and practice of the right to copy - a core element in the copyright and related rights protection system, contributing to the formation of a sustainable creative and knowledge-based economy in Vietnam.

Copyright – a legal tool of the knowledge economy

Speaking at the workshop, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Ha, Deputy Head of the Department of Management and International Cooperation on Copyright and Related Rights (Copyright Office - Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) emphasized: "In the digital age, knowledge and creative content are valuable assets and important production resources.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Ha, Deputy Head of the Department of Management and International Cooperation on Copyright and Related Rights (Copyright Office - Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) delivered a welcome speech.

The right to copy – a fundamental right in copyright – is a legal tool to enforce, protect, manage and commercially exploit intellectual property. Today’s workshop is a practical opportunity to share international experiences, sign cooperation agreements, and raise social awareness of the right to copy, an indispensable factor in the development of the creative economy.”

According to Ms. Ha, Vietnam is currently a member of eight multilateral international treaties on copyright and related rights; has signed two bilateral agreements with the United States and Switzerland on copyright and intellectual property, and 15 free trade agreements with content on copyright and related rights protection...

Ms. Ha added: “The Copyright Office will continue to accompany and guide the activities of collective rights representative organizations, focusing on perfecting the legal basis, building a table of rights transfer rates, providing legal support, training human resources and promoting legal propaganda.

We hope that the Vietnam Copyright Association will continue to expand its membership network, improve the mechanism for distributing copyright fees, develop a public electronic information system, and move towards a transparent and sustainable creative and exploitation environment."

Anita Huss-Ekerhult, CEO and Secretary General of the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organizations (IFRRO)

Speaking at the workshop, Ms. Anita Huss-Ekerhult, Executive Director and Secretary General of the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organizations (IFRRO), highly appreciated Vietnam's efforts in international integration on copyright.

She said that today’s conference was not only a meeting of creative minds, but also an occasion to celebrate collaboration and reaffirm shared values. Copyright is not just a legal issue – it is the foundation for creators to express themselves freely, educators to teach, and societies to thrive.

Ms. Anita Huss-Ekerhult shared three focuses of IFRRO’s mission. One is to promote collective copyright licensing – a fair and efficient mechanism that provides users with legal access to a wide range of knowledge sources, while ensuring the rights of creators.

Second, to pay fair remuneration to rights holders – to recognise the value of intellectual labour and encourage sustainable innovation. And third, to create momentum for national knowledge development, promote the creative economy and enrich national culture.

“We believe that Vietnam deserves a strong copyright system that empowers creators, supports learners and helps shape the global creative economy,” said Anita Huss-Ekerhult .

In his opening speech, Mr. Hoang Trong Giang, President of the Vietnam Copyright Association, Head of the Conference Organizing Committee, looked back on the 15-year journey of formation and development of the Association.

“Since its establishment in 2010, the Association has experienced many difficulties in terms of mechanisms, policies, and social awareness in the field of copyright. However, it is from that 'bottleneck' that we have chosen raising awareness as the focus of our activities.

If the concept of 'copy right' was previously unfamiliar, it has now gradually appeared in state documents, in scientific seminars and in public awareness," Mr. Giang shared.

Many foreign experts attended the event

Mr. Hoang Trong Giang said, “The fundamental goal of this workshop is to affirm that the right to copy is a legitimate right and at the same time the obligation of citizens in a society that respects knowledge. Promoting awareness and enforcement of the right to copy also contributes to building a creative economy, a culture of learning and a knowledge society in Vietnam.”

Delegates attending the workshop agreed that protecting copy rights and copyright is not only a legal requirement, but also a driving force to encourage creativity, promote innovation and enhance national competitiveness.

Perfecting the licensing mechanism, building a transparent royalty distribution system, and creating conditions for the community to access legal knowledge are essential steps in the process of building a creative economy in Vietnam.

The conference is also a forum connecting policymakers, businesses, educational institutions and creatives – sharing a vision of a sustainable knowledge ecosystem where creators are protected, learners have access, and society benefits.

Vietnamese knowledge on the journey of global integration

Within the framework of the workshop, the Institute of Educational Sciences and Environment and the Vietnam Reading and Learning Culture Joint Stock Company introduced the bilingual publication The Path to the Future by writer and researcher Nguyen Xuan Tuan - a strategic work on national sustainable development in the digital age.

In addition to the previously released Vietnamese version, at the Workshop, the Institute of Educational Sciences and Environment and the Vietnam Reading and Learning Culture Company launched the English version of the book.

The Road to the Future is considered one of the academic highlights of the conference, demonstrating the spirit of intellectualization and internationalization of Vietnam. The work presents the “Four Hands” theory – a model of balance between economics, politics, culture and ethics in social development.

The two invisible hands are the market and human conscience, representing freedom and humanity; the two visible hands are the State and the social community, representing order and humanity. When these four “hands” operate in harmony, civilization will develop sustainably – both free and disciplined; both creative and humane.

From that philosophy, author Nguyen Xuan Tuan expands the vision of a humane digital civilization, where technology serves people, not replaces them; where technical progress goes hand in hand with moral progress; where small countries can still reach new heights if they know how to balance the market, the State, the community, and conscience.

He sees Vietnam's transformation after the 1986 Doi Moi as a testament to that balanced model - when economic growth goes hand in hand with innovation in thinking, when community spirit and social ethics are aroused as development resources.

At the workshop, the Institute of Educational Sciences and Environment and the Vietnam Reading and Learning Culture Company also launched the English version of the book, opening up opportunities for international readers and scholars to access development models and policy forecasts proposed by Vietnam.

Workshop to promote awareness and practice of copyright

The project "The Road to the Future" with author Nguyen Xuan Tuan sent a copy of the book to the Cuban people and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Cuba to Vietnam, along with a cooperation plan to develop a reading culture.

The Cuban Ambassador expressed his emotion, appreciated the spirit of friendship and said that Cuba will publish this book in Spanish - opening a new direction of cooperation between the two countries in the fields of knowledge and culture.

According to author Nguyen Xuan Tuan, The Road to the Future will continue to be published in many other countries to spread Vietnamese knowledge to the world, contributing to the common effort to build a creative economy and a global learning society.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/thuc-day-thuc-thi-quyen-sao-chep-tai-viet-nam-nen-tang-phat-trien-kinh-te-sang-tao-176378.html