Call us now:
Inheritance of copyright in Vietnam. Along with the process of deep international integration, the issue of copyright has received increasing attention. A question arises as to whether, in the case where the copyright owner is an individual who has passed away, copyright is considered inheritable property, and if so, whether the heir is entitled to inherit the entirety of the rights associated with copyright. The following article aims to share with readers the legal provisions related to copyright inheritance.
Who is considered an author?
According to Article 6 of Decree No. 22/2018/ND-CP dated February 23, 2018, issued by the Government detailing certain provisions and measures for the implementation of the Intellectual Property Law concerning copyright and related rights, an author is defined as a person who directly creates part or all of a work. Individuals who merely assist, provide suggestions, or supply materials for others to create the work are not legally recognized as the author or co-author of that work.
Who is the owner of copyright?
According to the Intellectual Property Law, the owner of copyright is an organization or individual holding one, several, or all of the property rights associated with a work. An organization or individual may become the owner of copyright in the following cases:
– Being the author who directly creates the work.
– Being an organization or individual that assigns tasks to an author within their organization or enters into a contract with an author to create the work.
– Inheriting, succeeding to, or receiving the transfer of copyright.
The Difference Between an Author and a Copyright Owner
An author who directly creates a work through their own effort, time, and expense is simultaneously the owner of the copyright to that work. However, in cases where the author creates the work under a job assignment contract or an employment contract, the author is not also the copyright owner. In such cases, the distinction between the author and the copyright owner is as follows:
– Subject: The author is the individual who directly creates the work, so the author is always an individual. The copyright owner can be either an individual or an organization.
– Role: The author is the one who directly creates part or all of the work, while the copyright owner is not necessarily involved in its creation.
– Rights: The author has moral rights to the work, except for the right to publish or authorize others to publish it. The copyright owner holds the economic rights to the work, including the right to publish or authorize others to publish it.
Types of Assets Eligible for Copyright Inheritance in Vietnam
Works that fall under the categories of copyright-protected works as stipulated by Vietnamese law are eligible for copyright inheritance. These include literary, artistic, and scientific works, as well as derivative works from these categories (such as translations from one language to another, adaptations, abridgements, transformations, annotations, compilations, and selections).
What Rights Do Copyright Heirs Have in Vietnam?
According to Article 40 of the Intellectual Property Law, a copyright heir inherits the following rights:
– Property rights, including: the right to create derivative works; copy the work; distribute and import the original or copies of the work; publicly perform the work; communicate the work to the public via any technical means; and rent the original or copies of cinematographic works or computer programs.
– Moral rights: the copyright heir has the right to publish or authorize others to publish the work. The remaining moral rights (except for the right to publish or authorize others to publish the work) are not inheritable.
– The copyright heir may only exercise these rights within the protection term of the copyright.
Provisions on Copyright Inheritance in Vietnam
The author or copyright owner has the right to make a will to dispose of their copyright. If the author or copyright owner does not make a will, or if a will is made but is either invalid or does not address the copyright, the copyright will be distributed according to legal provisions.
Heirs
According to Article 651 of the 2015 Civil Code, heirs by law are determined in the following order of inheritance:
– First order of heirs: spouse, biological parents, adoptive parents, biological children, and adopted children.
– Second order of heirs: paternal grandparents, maternal grandparents, siblings, and nieces or nephews whose grandparent has passed away.
– Third order of heirs: great-grandparents; uncles, aunts; nieces or nephews whose uncle or aunt has passed away; and great-grandchildren whose great-grandparent has passed away.
Heirs of the same order inherit equal shares of the estate. Heirs of a subsequent order may only inherit if there are no surviving heirs of the previous order due to death, disqualification, ineligibility, or renunciation of inheritance.
In addition, according to Section 4 of Resolution No. 02/HĐTP dated October 19, 1990, of the Council of Judges of the Supreme People’s Court, the following issues should be noted:
– In the case where a person has multiple wives (if married before January 13, 1960, in the North, or before March 25, 1977, in the South, or in the case of officials or soldiers who had a wife in the South and took another wife after regrouping in the North, provided that the subsequent marriage was not annulled by a legally effective court judgment), all wives are considered first-order heirs of the husband, and vice versa.
– Both legitimate and illegitimate children of an individual are considered first-order heirs of that person. The parents of both legitimate and illegitimate children are first-order heirs of their respective children. A person who has both legitimate and illegitimate children is the first-order heir of all their children.
– An adopted child is not considered a grandchild of the adoptive parents’ parents and is not considered a sibling of the adoptive parents’ biological children. Therefore, an adopted child is not a legal heir of the adoptive parents’ parents or the biological children of the adoptive parents.
– Siblings are considered siblings if they share the same mother or the same father. For example, if a mother gives birth to several children, all those children are considered full siblings, regardless of whether they share the same father. Stepchildren from the wife or the husband are not considered siblings.
Conditions for Heirs
The condition for an heir is that they must be alive at the time the inheritance is opened, or be born alive after the inheritance is opened but conceived before the inheritance is opened. The moment the inheritance is opened is the time when the author or copyright owner passes away. In cases where the author or copyright owner is declared deceased by a court, the moment the inheritance is opened is the date of death determined in the court’s decision.
Cases Where Heirs Are Disqualified from Inheriting
Additionally, the 2015 Civil Code outlines cases in which an heir is disqualified from inheriting the estate left by the deceased according to law, including:
– Individuals convicted of intentionally infringing on the life, health, or severely mistreating or torturing the author or copyright owner, or seriously violating their honor and dignity.
– Individuals who seriously violate the obligation to care for the author or copyright owner.
– Individuals convicted of intentionally infringing on the life of other heirs to claim a share of the estate to which they are entitled.
– Individuals who engage in deceit, coercion, or obstruction to prevent the author or copyright owner from making a will, or who forge, alter, destroy, or conceal the will to gain inheritance against the author’s or copyright owner’s wishes.
The statute of limitations for heirs to request the division of a copyright inheritance is 10 years from the moment the inheritance is opened. The statute of limitations to request confirmation of one’s inheritance rights or to deny the inheritance rights of others is 10 years from the time the inheritance is opened.
Copyright Inheritance Dossier in Vietnam
Copyright can be inherited either through a will or by law. The inheritance process is carried out by preparing an agreement on the division of the estate or by declaring the inheritance according to legal provisions.
The dossier for notarizing the agreement on the division of the copyright inheritance or the declaration of copyright inheritance includes the following documents:
– Notarization request form.
– Death certificate of the author or copyright owner.
– Copyright registration certificate or other documents proving that the deceased was the copyright owner of the work.
– Will (in the case of inheritance by will).
– Documents proving the relationship between the deceased and the heirs (in the case of inheritance by law): household registration, birth certificates, death certificates of heirs who passed away before the estate leaver, marriage certificates, etc.
– Personal identification documents of the individuals requesting the notarization of inheritance documents: identity card, citizen identification card, passport, etc.
Can the Title of a Work Be Changed After Inheriting?
The right to name a work is one of the personal rights of the author who directly created the work. According to the Intellectual Property Law, this personal right cannot be transferred or inherited by others. Therefore, the heir does not have the right to change the title of the work after inheriting the copyright.
Can Copyright Be Transferred After Inheritance?
After inheritance, the heir becomes the owner of part or all of the copyright and has the right to transfer the copyright within the scope of the rights they have inherited. The copyright that can be transferred includes the property rights and the right to publish or authorize others to publish the work.
Contact Us Now:
DCNH LAW
Address: 38B Tran Nhat Duat, Phuoc Hoa ward, Nha Trang city, Khanh Hoa province, Vietnam.
Phone: (+84) 343320223 – 974278893
Email: [email protected]
