The author of the photo book "Ha Tinh, my homeland" violated copyright

The Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists recently held a meeting and criticized Mr. Ngo Sy Ngo, Chairman of Thanh Sen Photography Club, for copyright infringement, and requested the Ha Tinh Literature and Arts Association to take disciplinary action.

Covers of 2 photo books accused of copyright infringement
(Photo: Thanh Hoai/Ha Tinh online newspaper)

The above information was confirmed by Mr. Pham Van Ty, Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists, right after the meeting on the afternoon of July 15 to clarify the responsibilities of groups and individuals related to the printing of two books with the same title "Ha Tinh, my homeland".

At the meeting, the leaders of the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists said that Mr. Ngo Sy Ngo had violated the code of professional ethics. Ngo Sy Ngo also admitted his mistakes and sincerely apologized, committing to pay royalties to the authors of the photos published and used in the second book “Ha Tinh, my homeland”.

Recently, many members of the Literature and Arts Association specializing in photography complained that Mr. Ngo Sy Ngo violated copyright when printing and publishing two photo books published by the Writers' Association Publishing House.

In early 2013, Mr. Ngo Sy Ngo published a photo book “Ha Tinh, my homeland” with 250 photos, including over 100 photos by 16 authors that Mr. Ngo took photos of and printed without the authors’ names and without the consent of the authors. Mr. Ngo’s book is a collection of photos by many different authors, but on the cover only the author’s name is printed on the cover and sold widely.

Previously, the photo book of the same name “Ha Tinh, my homeland” by Mr. Ngo introduced 180 photos by 21 authors who were all members of the Thanh Sen Photography Club, but did not ask for opinions and did not name the authors on some photos, including photos of authors who had been exhibited or widely distributed in central and local newspapers and magazines.

This incident has angered many authors. Mr. Nguyen Dinh Thong, Minh Chien and several other authors have filed a lawsuit against Mr. Ngo Sy Ngo for copyright infringement. The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ha Tinh Literature and Arts Association have intervened and issued a document requesting Mr. Ngo Sy Ngo to publicly apologize, pay royalties and other material benefits to the authors for violating the Intellectual Property Law, but Mr. Ngo ignored the above requests./.

According to (vov.vn) - LT