Copyright arises at the moment a work is created and fixed in a certain material form, irrespective of whether or not it has been registered.
Nonetheless, registration of copyright protection remains necessary in order to prove the rights of authors and owners if a dispute arises.
Subjects permitted to register for copyright protection in Vietnam
Foreign organizations and individuals that have works first published in Vietnam and not yet published in any other country, or published in Vietnam within 30 days after its first publication in another country.
Foreign organizations and individuals that have works protected in Vietnam under international conventions on copyright to which Vietnam is a contracting party.
Vietnamese organizations and individuals being authors and copyright holders.
Organizations and individuals may authorize consultants providing copyright or related services to submit registration applications on their behalf.
Article 13 of the 2005 Law on Intellectual Property, amended and supplemented in 2009
Application of copyright registration
A written declaration for copyright registration (according to the form);
- 2 copies of the work to be applied for copyright registration;
- A power of attorney, if the applicant is the authorized person;
- Documents proving the right to file the application, if the applicant acquires such a right from another person due to inheritance, succession or assignment;
- Written consent of co-authors, if the works are under joint authorship;
- Written consent of co-owners, if the copyright is under joint ownership.
Power of attorney, documents proving the right to file application, and written consent of the author must be written in Vietnamese.
Documents in foreign languages must be translated into Vietnamese and notarized or verified.
Other documents enclosed with the application must be notarized or authenticated.
Article 50 of the 2005 Law on Intellectual Property, amended and supplemented in 2009
Copyright registration timeline
Article 39 of Decree 100/2006/ND-CP
Article 52 of the 2005 Law on Intellectual Property, amended and supplemented in 2009
