Music Copyright Center is upset because 'New Circular is ambiguous and contrary to Decree'

VCPMC representative said that while the Decree requires a commitment letter with the author or copyright owner in the performance application, the circular has removed this requirement.

On the morning of April 13, the Vietnam Center for Music Copyright Protection (VCPMC) held an advisory council meeting on the contents of Circular 01/2016 issued by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on March 24, related to music copyright.

Previously, Decree No. 79 added: Procedures for applying for a performance license include "a written commitment to fully implement the provisions of the law on copyright or a copy of the contract or agreement with the author or copyright owner".According to Mr. Pho Duc Phuong - representative of VCPMC, this ishuge step forwardFrom a copyright law perspective, when someone wants to use a work, they must consult the author before applying for a performance license.

However, the Circular - drafted by the Department of Performing Arts - guiding the implementation of this Decree is not clear on the above content. The Circular provides sample documents, of which the 14th sample is called: "Commitment document to fully implement the provisions of the law on copyright".

Musician Pho Duc Phuong said: "The Circular does not mention the Decree but is ambiguous and violates the Decree by providing an appendix of sample documents attached to the license application. Form 14 instructs applicants to unilaterally sign a commitment and send it to the place where they request the license, namely the Department of Performance or the Department of Culture. Authors and copyright owners are left out and have absolutely no rights. This Circular is contrary to the Decree, not to mention illegal. Authors are still being excluded from their legitimate rights by the regulations of state management agencies."

Meeting of the Vietnam Music Copyright Protection Center on the morning of April 13.

Musician Pho Duc Phuong said that performing without the author's permission is illegal and will create chaos, including the possibility that in order to protect the work, the authors or copyright owners will go to the place to prevent the performance.

At the meeting, Mr. Do Khac Chien - intellectual property expert, former Deputy Director of the Intellectual Property Department - said that the Circular does not take seriously Article 20 of the Intellectual Property Law, which includes provisions on performing works by musicians. Mr. Chien affirmed that the Circular should have guided the implementation of the Decree but failed to guide and even distorted the spirit because a commitment between two parties is completely different from a unilateral declaration or promise to do.

Mr. Chien believes that this Circular will cause harm to the enforcement of intellectual property rights in Vietnam, causing many people to take advantage of it to not comply with legal regulations.

"The Decree states that it is a commitment. A commitment to whom? To the author or the owner of the author. The commitment must take place between two parties, even requiring witnesses. Meanwhile, in the Circular's sample document No. 14, the signature section only states 'Legal representative of the notifying organization' and there is no sign of the property owner or the property owner's representative. This is a unilateral promise, a declaration, with no binding force to be fulfilled in the future," said Mr. Chien.

Many musicians present at the meeting such as musicians Vu Mao, Le May, Truong Ngoc Ninh, Doan Bong, Doan Nho... all expressed their indignation with the new Circular of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.Musician Nguyen Tai Tue shared: "No one has ever asked for permission to perform my works." He said that in the past 10 years, they have only received 15% of the royalties they should have received. The amount he receives each quarter is about 3 to 4 million, while there are musicians living far away who only receive a few hundred. Musician Nguyen Tai Tue expressed that the Department of Performing Arts is the one who grants performance licenses but does not care about the author's opinion, as long as the performance organizer requests it, it will be stamped.

Representatives of the Vietnam Music Copyright Protection Center said they will draft a document reflecting the incident and send it to Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam as well as the new Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism - Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Thien. This agency will also make an appointment with the Director of the Department of Document Inspection of the Ministry of Justice to reflect on the illegal document.

The new circular of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism takes effect from May 15. The Center's representative said they will work to the end and urgently to claim the rights of the musicians and request compliance with the law.

According to VNE