On December 6, 2024, in Hanoi, the Copyright Office of Vietnam (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) organized the Conference – Workshop ” Informing and disseminating international treaties on copyright and related rights and enforcing the law on copyright and related rights for intermediary services providers and the exploitation of enterprises” with the theme “Copyright in e-commerce activities and international integration” (hereinafter referred to as the Conference – Seminar).

View of the Conference – Workshop – photo: Quang Minh

Conference – Seminar is divided into 2 parts. In Part 1, experts present basic contents on the overview of Vietnamese law, international treaties on copyright and related rights in the digital environment, basic contents of the Treaty on Copyright of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WCT),  the World Intellectual Property Organization Treaty on Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT Treaty); an overview of e-commerce platforms and copyrighted goods; exploiting and using digital content and applying technological measures in protecting copyright and related rights in the digital environment and handling pirated goods on e-commerce platforms. Part 2 is a seminar on coordination mechanisms and solutions to remove obstacles in handling copyright infringement in the digital environment.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution has opened up many opportunities, brought many new creative tools, and created a new storage environment, distribution methods and new forms of exploitation and use for works, performances, phonograms, video recordings, etc  broadcasts. However, the digital environment also poses many challenges in protecting the rights of subjects and the activities of management and enforcement agencies on copyright and related rights, especially in the context of copyright infringement in cyberspace with the participation of many subjects from different countries making it difficult to identify and handle violations within national jurisdiction.

Sharing at the Conference – Seminar, Ms. Pham Thi Kim Oanh, Deputy Director of the Copyright Office of Vietnam affirmed: The purchase, sale and exchange of goods and services on online platforms has created a revolution in the way of trade and economic interaction, but at the same time it also brings challenges,  especially for intellectual property rights, in which copyright is one of the areas of great interest.

Ms. Pham Thi Kim Oanh, Deputy Director of the Copyright Office of Vietnam spoke at the Conference – Seminar – photo: Le Huong

Artworks, software, articles, images, videos, and other intellectual products are easily copied and distributed without full control. Copyright infringement, such as the unauthorized uploading, copying, and distribution of intellectual works, is causing great damage to copyright owners and weakening the creative economy. Copyright infringement on cross-border e-commerce platforms, as well as the handling of violations in cyberspace, requires a comprehensive copyright management system, combining legal policies, technology, and international cooperation. Authorities need to strengthen measures to monitor and handle violations, and e-commerce platforms also need to apply modern tools and technologies to monitor and prevent infringement. Developing transparency copyright protection policies on e-commerce platforms also plays an important role in building the trust of users and authors.

Ms. Le Thi Ha, Head of E-commerce Activity Management Department, Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency, Ministry of Industry and Trade spoke at the Conference – Workshop – photo: Le Huong

Speaking at the Conference, Ms. Le Thi Ha, Head of the E-commerce Management Department, Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency, Ministry of Industry and Trade said that currently, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is responsible to the Government for implementing the state management of e-commerce, conducting annual inspections of traders,  organize credit assessment and authentication of e-contracts; Examine and inspect traders and organizations that set up sales e-commerce websites/applications, websites/applications providing e-commerce services according to regulations. Ms. Ha also said that with the trend and development orientation to promote the digital economy of the Government in the current period, transaction activities on e-commerce platforms related to copyrighted goods are very diverse and sophisticated. Therefore, copyright infringement on e-commerce floors is currently many and complicated. Ms. Ha affirmed that it is necessary to have coordination and join hands of competent agencies as well as legal policies and it is necessary to strengthen measures to monitor and handle violations, and e-commerce platforms also need to apply modern tools and technologies to monitor and prevent infringement.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Dong, Director of the Institute for Policy Research and Communication Development spoke at the Conference – Workshop – photo: Le Huong

Sharing about  the current implementation status and opinions on proposals to protect copyright and related rights in the digital environment, Mr. Nguyen Quang Dong, Director of the Institute for Policy Research and Media Development, gave a number of suggestions to raise awareness and build a culture of civilized behavior on copyright such as informing widely the laws and regulation on copyright and related rights, guide the use of tools to protect, encourage mediation, and make the process of handling disputes from intermediary platforms transparent. Participants need to: understand and implement the law on copyright, copyright protection mechanisms on digital platforms; it is necessary to apply AI and blockchain technology in copyright management such as developing and improving systems for automatic identification of infringing content, building a system for storing and authenticating intellectual property rights using blockchain.

Lawyer Duong Viet Duc, IPMAX Law Firm spoke at the Conference – Seminar – Photo: Le Huong

Speaking at the Conference – Seminar on the topic of handling pirated goods on e-commerce floors, Lawyer Duong Viet Duc, IPMAX Law Firm pointed out a number of common copyright infringement acts on e-commerce floors such as trading in pirated goods,  illegally using copyrighted photos to offer products for sale, illegally copying copyrighted images on products. Facing that situation, Lawyer Duc said that it is necessary to improve the law, more specific regulations on the responsibilities of e-commerce floors, in preventing and handling trademark infringement on e-commerce floors and improving sanctions. In addition, e-commerce floors need to apply measures to screen violators and contents; applying modern technology to identify and screen counterfeit goods, infringers, etc. E-commerce floors should build a more reasonable and effective process to respond promptly to complaints of violations, set clear timelines, and regularly update rights holders on the status of complaint handling; raise consumer awareness when shopping on e-commerce floors,  proactively detect and report the trading of counterfeit and infringing goods. In addition to a combination of legal measures, public awareness campaigns, and the application of technology; by working together, state regulators, enforcement agencies, rights holders, e-commerce platforms and consumers can create unity against copyright infringement in the coming time.

Experts exchanged and discussed at Part 2 – Seminar – photo: Quang Minh

In part 2, the speakers at the seminar focused on discussing coordination mechanisms and solutions to remove obstacles in handling copyright infringement in the digital environment; exchanging experiences of a number of countries on the application of technological measures in the protection of copyright and related rights in the digital environment. Thereby, making proposals and solutions on exploitation and enforcement of copyright and related rights in the digital environment.

Through the 2 parts of the Conference – Seminar, the opinions drawn from the speakers and experts are as follows:

First, there needs to be more specific regulations on the responsibilities of stakeholders, especially e-commerce platforms.

Second, promote the propagation, dissemination and education of the law on copyright protection to relevant subjects.

Third, intermediary service providers and other businesses need to be more responsible in protecting intellectual property rights.

Fourth, rights holders need to be aware of and learn about the law and tools to protect their rights, make full use of what the law has empowered… to protect the copyright of the works they create.

Fifth, it is necessary to apply AI and blockchain technology in copyright management such as developing and improving systems to automatically identify infringing content, building a system for storing and authenticating intellectual property rights using blockchain.

Speaking at the conclusion of the Conference – Seminar, Deputy Director of the Copyright Office of Vietnam Pham Thi Kim Oanh emphasized that with today’s current situation, we need to have solutions in a holistic way in enforcing copyright protection and especially copyright transactions in the digital environment and on e-commerce. In the process of integration, the legal basis is to be researched and reviewed to improve and be more in line with the rapid development of science and technology as well as strong international integration. The Copyright Office of Vietnam will have opinions to include copyright-related content in the digital environment in laws and legal documents to be appropriate and synchronized with relevant legal provisions.

This Conference – Seminar is an opportunity for officials to manage and enforce copyright and related rights, organizations representing copyright and related rights collectives, intermediary service providers, legal and natural persons producing, exploiting and using digital content exchange, etc  discussing copyright enforcement in digital environment, especially identifying infringements in general, on e-commerce platforms in particular, and proposing practical solutions to build a transparent, fair and sustainable online environment to improve the effectiveness of copyright protection and enforcement in the e-commerce environment./.

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