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Here are examples of copyright disputes in Vietnam. In Vietnam, copyright disputes are becoming increasingly common, especially in the context of digitalization and the rapid growth of the Internet.
Copyright Dispute over the Comic Series “Thần Đồng Đất Việt”
The copyright dispute involving the comic series “Thần Đồng Đất Việt” is one of the most prominent and long-lasting intellectual property cases in Vietnam.
Artist Lê Phong Linh (pen name Lê Linh), the creator of the four main characters in “Thần Đồng Đất Việt” (Trạng Tí, Sửu Ẹo, Dần Béo, Cả Mẹo), filed a lawsuit against Phan Thị Company and Ms. Phan Thị Mỹ Hạnh in 2007. Lê Linh demanded that the court recognize him as the sole author of these characters, while Phan Thị Company and Ms. Hạnh argued that they were co-authors.
The case dragged on for over 12 years, with multiple trials at both the first-instance and appellate levels. Finally, in 2019, the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City ruled that Lê Linh was the sole author of the four character designs in the comic series. Phan Thị Company was no longer allowed to use these characters without Lê Linh’s consent.
Copyright Dispute over the Song “Gánh Mẹ”
The copyright dispute involving the song “Gánh Mẹ” is one of the most notable copyright cases in Vietnam in recent years.
The dispute began when poet Trương Minh Nhật accused musician Quách Beem (real name Đoàn Đông Đức) of using his poem “Gánh Mẹ” without permission to create a song of the same name. Mr. Nhật claimed that he wrote the poem in 2014 when his mother was hospitalized and posted it in a Facebook poetry group.
Quách Beem asserted that the song “Gánh Mẹ” was his original work, written in 2013 and registered with the Copyright Office. This led to a controversy over who truly owned the copyright for the song.
After the trial, the court recognized Trương Minh Nhật as the sole author of the poem “Gánh Mẹ”. The court ordered Quách Beem and related parties to stop using the poem without Mr. Nhật’s consent and to issue a public apology and compensation for the damages caused.
Copyright Dispute over the film “The Story of MingLan”
TK-L Media held exclusive rights for the films “The Story of Minglan,” “Princess Silver – Bạch Phát Vương Phi,” and “Legend of the Phoenix – Phượng Dịch” on all platforms in Vietnam. TK-L Media discovered that VNG uploaded these films to its website, tv.zing.vn, without permission. TK-L Media sued, requesting damages of VND 14,342,264,300, along with an apology in multiple newspapers.
VNG admitted ownership of tv.zing.vn but argued that the films were uploaded by users, not the company, and that it was not responsible for verifying user-uploaded content. VNG claimed TK-L Media had no exclusive rights and requested the court dismiss the case.
The court found that Company S, which licensed the films to TK-L Media, did so before obtaining exclusive distribution rights in Vietnam. As a result, TK-L Media’s licensing contract was invalid, and it did not have the exclusive rights claimed. The court ruled that TK-L Media’s claim was without merit and could not be accepted.
Copyright infringement case: TK-L Media Joint Stock Company and VNG Joint Stock Company.
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