Specifically, Article 4 of the draft proposes a fine of 10 to 20 million VND for the act of "illegally digitizing and distributing printed publications (books, newspapers, magazines) into electronic formats (ebooks, PDFs) for free sharing or sale for profit."
Copyright infringement in general, and the issue of electronic publications in particular, is a long-standing and persistent problem. The main reason is believed to be the lack of sufficiently strong sanctions, leading to its persistence and increasing prevalence, especially on social media. Besides cases of selling for profit, there are also many instances of free sharing! For example, a female PhD holder brazenly shared ebooks, copyrighted and distributed by publishing houses, on her personal page for everyone to download freely. Many publishing houses have had to contact and plead with the account owner to remove the ebooks, much to their amusement and frustration.
Sharing copyrighted ebooks not only causes economic losses but, more importantly, damages the reputation of Vietnamese publishers with foreign partners. This is because when international publishers learn that their publications are being shared free of charge as ebooks, they will classify domestic publishers as "risky" partners, making future copyright acquisition deals much more difficult and costly.
Therefore, if the draft decree, especially the regulations related to sharing e-books, is approved, it will be a powerful aid to the publishing industry. From now on, not only the act of digitizing and transferring content from print to digital format, but also the distribution and sharing without the permission of the copyright owner will be brought under scrutiny.
QUYNH YEN
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/tro-thu-dac-luc-cho-xuat-ban-post845356.html
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