The Vietnam Center for Protection of Music Copyright (VCPMC) said that in the second quarter of 2021, they have collected nearly $US 3.8 million in royalties and have promptly distributed it to authors – work owners in the context of social distancing due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
VCPMC – The only Music Copyright Collective Representative organization in Vietnam
Vietnam Center for Protection of Music Copyright (VCPMC) is a non-profit organization, established under Decision No. 19/2002/QD-NS dated April 19, 2002, of the Vietnam Musicians Association. Currently, there are more than 4,000 Vietnamese authors/copyright owners signing copyright entrustment contracts with VCPMC. VCPMC is a full member of CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers) consisting of 239 associations of 123 countries with over 4 million authors.
Basic working principle of VCPMC
The Center performs tasks and duties on the basis of authorization from authors and copyright holders in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code, the Intellectual Property Law, and Decree 100/2006/ND-CP.
The authorization contract of the author is established on a voluntary basis. The scope of authorization is clearly stated in the authorization contract. Through it, the Center performs rights management, negotiates, licenses collects, and distributes royalties, remunerations, and other material benefits from allowing exploitation and use of authorized rights. Furthermore, the Center protects the members’ legitimate rights and interests, arranges conciliation in the event of a dispute.
The level of administrative fees that the Center retains for operating expenses is based on an agreement with the authors/copyright holders, determined as a percentage of the total proceeds specified at Point b, Clause 3, Article 41 of Decree 100/2006/ND-CP.
Pursuant to the establishment decision and the operation charter, the Center is a non-profit organization, so the amount of administrative fees retained by the Center is used and balanced to cover operating expenses such as salary payments to employees, electricity and water expenses, work expenses, recruitment costs, personnel training, aiding music author’s families in difficult circumstances, timely advance royalties to musicians with serious illnesses who need urgent surgery in critical condition, support Music Associations with a portion of their operating expenses, international interactive software operating costs, training costs, etc.
In practice, the administrative money has not yet met the requirements and scale of operation of the Center. VCPMC has encountered many difficulties in operating funding. However, the Center still tries to balance, find solutions to continue to develop and improve in operation, especially to ensure the best interests of authorized authors.
License activities and collection of copyright use’s royalties
The license activities and collection of copyright use’s royalties is an activity that VCPMC pays great attention to, reflecting most clearly the results of copyright protection work. The higher the number of copyright royalties, the more protected the rights and interests of the author.
Currently, VCPMC has implemented 19 areas to collect royalties, which is clearly shown in the royalty level signed by the Center.
The basis for calculating the fee for using the copyright
The basis for calculating the fee for using the copyright include:
- Table of royalties (The initial basis for agreement);
- Type of service, business field;
- The form of music use (live music – background music);
- Size/capacity/number of rooms/number of seats/area/number of performances/number of songs, etc.;
- Average operating capacity yearly (declared by business establishments);
- The actual operating situation at the business establishment.
Licensing rights
VCPMC applies the provisions of the IP Law as a basis and clearly defines the scope of rights in licensing contracts, the most basic and common include the following rights:
- Right to copy works (Point c, Clause 1, Article 20 of the Intellectual Property Law, Clause 2, Article 23 of Decree 100/2006/ND-CP);
- Right to communicate works to the public (Point dd, Clause 1, Article 20 of the Intellectual Property Law, Clause 4, Article 23 of Decree 100/2006/ND-CP);
- Right to perform works in public (point b, clause 1, Article 20 of the Intellectual Property Law, clause 1, Article 23 of Decree 100/2006/ND-CP).
Licensing process
The Licensing Department of the Center follows the basic process as follows:
- Surveying fields, areas, and business establishments;
- Sending a written request to cooperate to business establishments;
- Guide establishments to declare the form of music use, scale, and capacity;
- Guide establishments to learn the provisions of the law on copyright;
- Discuss, negotiate, sign contracts, collect payment.
In case some business establishments show signs of avoidance and response, the Center applies measures to protect rights according to Article 198 of the Intellectual Property Law which include: warn, report violations, propose administrative sanctions according to the regulation on Decree No. 131/2013/ND-CP. In addition, VCPMC may also send written complaints and denunciations of infringement acts to the competent authorities and sue the violating parties in Court.
VCPMC collects and pays $US 3.8 million of music royalties to work owners in the context of social distancing (Q2/2021)
According to the Vietnam Center for Music Copyright Protection, the fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has left a devastating impact on society, damaging not just Vietnam’s but the entire world’s economy.
Realizing the difficulties the people and especially, authors – work owners must face if this pandemic keeps developing without a sign of suspension, VCPMC has innovated technology, conduct online exchange, and connected activities with all related parties right from the beginning of 2020 when the pandemic starts.
Returning to the present day, in the second quarter of 2021, in the midst of the fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, VCPMC has collected nearly $US3.8 million in royalties and transferred this money to Vietnamese musicians.
According to VCPMC, implementing the Prime Minister’s Directive on social distancing to ensure epidemic prevention and control, but also must ensure economic and social development, and the stability of the people’s daily life, the payment of royalties according to regulations has been fully implemented.
The right support in the right time and place
According to VCPMC’s representative: “With outstanding efforts in applying information technology and flexibility in management and administration, the Vietnam Center for Protection of Music Copyright has been and is the support and trust of the authors, creating motivation to promote creativity for members of VCPMC. The figure of nearly $US3.8 million in royalties collected in the second quarter of 2021 is vivid proof of the unremitting efforts of the VCPMC’s officials and staff to promptly distribute copyright payments to authors – owners of works in this difficult social distancing situation.”
Sharing when receiving timely support, musician Hoai An expressed: “During the days of social distancing in Ho Chi Minh City, I, like many others, had to work from home. In fact, I have been working at home since mid-April 2021. Life has been turned upside down and there are many inconveniences. Fortunately, (I) have believed and authorized the Vietnam Center for Protection of Music Copyright to obtain copyright and thankfully they have been able to collect royalties.”
It is this revenue that helps Hoai An – a famous Vietnamese musician ensure livelihood. The epidemic has caused a series of mayhem to every aspect, including and especially the educated workers. Accordingly, because of the timely solution and careful preparations, the Vietnam Center for Music Copyright Protection still finds a way to develop, ensuring the interests of musicians, helping musicians feel secure to be creative, even during the Covid-19 crisis.
Musician Nguyen Khac Viet, one of Vietnam’s young generation of authors in the group of people who received high copyright in the second quarter, said his only source of income during this crisis is also from copyright. According to Khac Viet, in the past time, performances have been frozen, nevertheless, when the public can’t watch the performances, they listen and watch more online, especially when information technology develops rapidly and many programs, shows, games, etc. use different forms of copyright music.
Hence, the royalties gained from copyright music in the Covid-19 context may be actually higher than from the time before the Covid-19 pandemic and accordingly, the roles of the organizations like VCPMC are even more significant and crucial.
(Reference from VCPMC)
You can see a list of Vietnam IP firms here.