Copyright infringement case: TK-L Media Joint Stock Company and VNG Joint Stock Company

Copyright infringement case: TK-L Media Joint Stock Company and VNG Joint Stock Company.

Case Details

TK-L Media is the entity granted exclusive exploitation rights for all episodes of the three films: “The Story of Minglan,” “Princess Silver – Bạch Phát Vương Phi” and “Legend of the Phoenix – Phượng Dịch” on all television platforms such as free-to-air television, pay television, mobile television, internet television, and all internet service platforms and applications such as YouTube, Facebook, general websites, within the territory of Vietnam.

TK-L Media discovered that VNG had exploited these three films by directly uploading them to the website managed and owned by them, “tv.zing.vn.” This act of using and exploiting these exclusive works by VNG was done without the permission of TK-L Media. The violations of VNG caused damage to TK-L Media, so TK-L Media filed a lawsuit requesting:

• Require VNG to compensate TK-L Media with VND 14,342,264,300, including: VND 14,242,264,300 for damages to exclusive rights, based on the value of the transfer contracts for exclusive exploitation of the works and VND 100,000,000 for legal fees.

• An apology in both online and print editions of the newspapers “Tuổi Trẻ,” “V1,” and “Pháp luật Thành Phố Hồ Chí Minh” in three consecutive issues,

The defendant, representing VNG, stated:

• VNG confirmed that the domain www.tv.zing.vn belongs to VNG. VNG established the website https://tv.zing.vn/ under a social network model, and the three films “The Story of MingLan – (Minh Lan Truyện),” “Princess Silver – (Bạch Phát Vương Phi),” and “Legend of The Phoenix – (Phượng Dịch)” were uploaded by social network users. According to the regulations, VNG is not responsible for reviewing or ensuring the copyright of digital content uploaded by users.

• The evidence in the case shows that the plaintiff is not the entity exclusively authorized to exploit the films “The Story of Minglan,” “Princess Silver – Bạch Phát Vương Phi,” and “Legend of the Phoenix – Phượng Dịch” in Vietnam. With the plaintiff’s claims, the defendant, VNG, did not agree with any of them and requested that the court dismiss the case, arguing that the plaintiff had no right to sue.

Court’s Ruling

Based on the licensing agreements from Company S to TK-L Media, the plaintiff asserts that they were granted exclusive exploitation rights for all episodes of the three films: “The Story of Minglan,” “Princess Silver – Bạch Phát Vương Phi,” and “Legend of the Phoenix – Phượng Dịch” on all television platforms, such as free-to-air television, pay television, mobile television, internet television, and all internet service platforms and applications such as YouTube, Facebook, and general websites, within the territory of Vietnam. Therefore, the issues that need to be proven in resolving the case are:

At the time when the defendant’s alleged infringement occurred (the time when the formal record was made), the following questions need to be addressed:

• Did Company S have the right to enter into an agreement with TK-L Media regarding the mentioned content (in other words, did Company S have the right to sign the licensing agreement with TK-L Media at the time of signing)?
• Had TK-L Media received the necessary approval from the relevant authorities in Vietnam to import these films?

These are the necessary and sufficient conditions to support the plaintiff’s claim. If any of these elements are missing, there would be no basis to establish that the plaintiff has the exclusive right to exploit the films “The Story of MingLan – Minh Lan Truyện,” “Princess Silver – Bạch Phát Vương Phi,” and “Legend of the Phoenix – Phượng Dịch” in Vietnam. These are also key pieces of evidence in determining whether or not to accept the plaintiff’s claim.

The evidence proving Company S’s licensing rights to TK-L Media for these films is the distribution certificates granted to Company S (with the distribution area limited to Vietnam). It is determined that the date on which Company S transacted the licensing agreement with TK-L Media was before Company S was authorized to exclusively distribute these films in Vietnam, as per the distribution certificates. Therefore, it is established that the licensing contract issued by Company S to TK-L Media does not comply with legal regulations, as Company S did not have the authority to sign the agreement with TK-L Media at the time of signing.

Conclusion: At the time of the defendant’s alleged infringement, Company S did not have the legal authority to enter into the agreement with TK-L Media regarding the content specified in the contract. As a result, TK-L Media cannot have exclusive exploitation rights over these films in Vietnam. Thus, the plaintiff’s claim that the defendant infringed on its exclusive rights to exploit these films is without merit and cannot be accepted.

Source: Judgment No. 109/2023/KDTM-PT of the High People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City

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