Writers and poets will sue the Education Publishing House: What did the textbook editor say?

According to Professor Nguyen Minh Thuyet, the Intellectual Property Law is not mandatory and he has not seen any country requiring publishers to ask for permission from authors to include their works in textbooks.

In a recent meeting with writers and poets on the issue of paying royalties to authors whose works are printed in textbooks, the Vietnam Literary Copyright Center said it would file a lawsuit against the Vietnam Education Publishing House for systematic infringement of products published from 2014 and earlier.

Many writers and poets expressed their anger when the Vietnam Education Publishing House did not ask for their opinions and did not pay royalties when using their works in textbooks. Photos are for illustration purposes only.

Many writers and poets expressed their indignation when the Vietnam Education Publishing House did not ask for their opinions and did not pay them royalties for many years while still using their works in textbooks.

To learn more about this story, Infonet reporters contacted Professor Dr. Nguyen Minh Thuyet, Chairman of the Literature Council of the Ministry of Education and Training, who has participated in everything from program evaluation to textbook evaluation at all levels (he is the Editor-in-Chief of primary school textbooks, and co-editor of secondary school textbooks, so he is not part of the evaluation team).

According to Mr. Thuyet, the current process for a work to be included in a textbook does not include asking for the author's opinion.

“For secondary and high school textbooks, which works to include in the textbooks, and even which excerpts of the works to choose, are regulated by the Ministry of Education and Training’s curriculum. Because the Literature program from secondary school level and above has an important content of teaching reading literary works, it is necessary to select literary works that meet many different criteria.

As for primary school, the Vietnamese subject aims to train students in speaking, listening, reading, writing and teach knowledge and life skills appropriate for this age group. Therefore, those who make books have to search through thousands of literary works to see which works or excerpts meet the requirements and then include them.

First, the bookmakers reach an agreement, then present it to the Evaluation Council. Along with evaluating the content of knowledge, the Council has the right to suggest whether or not to use a certain work. The Program Evaluation Council is also the organization that has the final say in selecting the work.

Thus, curriculum and textbook compilers at any level cannot take the initiative in asking for permission from the author. Whether asking for permission before going to the Appraisal Council or after being approved by the Appraisal Council, it is difficult to do because it will slow down the compilation progress.

Therefore, the Intellectual Property Law does not require this. And I do not know of any country that requires publishers to ask for permission from authors to include their works in textbooks. However, the Vietnam Writers Association now has a Literary Copyright Center. After the books are published, textbook publishers can send information about the use of literary works to this center to notify the authors.

But not all literary authors authorize the Literary Copyright Center. Therefore, perhaps the most appropriate form is for publishers to post information on their websites,” Mr. Thuyet explained.

Regarding royalties and remuneration for authors whose works are included in textbooks, Professor Thuyet said, According to the provisions of Point d, Clause 1, Article 25 of the Law on Intellectual Property (issued in 2005; amended and supplemented in 2009), "quoting works for teaching in schools without distorting the author's ideas and not for commercial purposes" belongs to "cases of using published works without asking for permission or paying royalties or remuneration".

Intellectual Property Law provides for such limitations on intellectual property rights for the public interest. The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (1971) also provides in Article 10, paragraph 2: countries “shall have the authority to permit the appropriate use of literary or artistic works by way of quotation, illustration, or teaching in publications, broadcasts, sound or visual recordings, provided that such use is consistent with fair practice”.

In response to Infonet reporter's question, textbooks are not "free" products for students (except in special cases) but are sold on the market, meaning "for commercial purposes". Therefore, the Education Publishing House needs to pay royalties and remuneration to literary authors whose works are used in textbooks.

“As far as I know, for many years now, the Vietnam Education Publishing House has paid royalties and remuneration to a number of authors whose addresses they have found. I also know that for a long time, the Vietnam Education Publishing House and the Literary Copyright Center have negotiated on paying royalties and remuneration to literary authors whose works are used in textbooks.

The main problem is the payment level. I hope that both sides will discuss and come to a decision that is beneficial to the literary author, while not affecting the interests of students (increasing textbook prices) and the dissemination of literary works in schools." - Professor Thuyet added.

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Minh Thuyet

According to Professor Nguyen Minh Thuyet, at the secondary and high school levels, the number of literary works taught is not much and the list of these works has almost stabilized. The number of works included in the curriculum and textbooks after 2015 will be even less, because the spirit of the new curriculum is to only choose to teach a number of the most representative works, giving the initiative to teachers and students to choose the works they love.

In primary school, the inclusion of literary works in textbooks that are appropriate to the educational objectives and content of the Vietnamese subject has only been implemented in the last few decades. In the previous primary school textbooks, the vast majority of reading passages were composed by the textbook authors.

“Bringing literary works into schools not only creates conditions for students to access literary language and literary images rich in aesthetics and humanity, but also creates conditions for literary works to reach a very important and large audience.

I hope that both the Education Publishing House and the Literary Copyright Center will reach the most beneficial agreements for this important work. That is also a way to protect the author's rights," Professor Thuyet emphasized.

Regarding the fact that some writers and poets believe that not asking for the author's opinion when using their works in textbooks is "disrespectful to the author", Mr. Thuyet stated his opinion: "In my opinion, the highest expression of respect for the author is to appreciate and choose their work from countless works to include in textbooks, contributing to the education of tens of millions of students through generations. If we have to wait for the author's approval before submitting a report to the Evaluation Council, the textbook makers will be helpless, because if the Council does not approve, it will take a lot of effort to compile, not to mention the progress of textbook production cannot be guaranteed."

According to infonet