Intellectual property - the "launching pad" for music to spread and develop sustainably

World Intellectual Property Day, April 26, is an opportunity for the international community to recognize, evaluate and honor the achievements of the intellectual property system in promoting innovation, creativity and cultural and artistic development.

Launch pad for music development

Music is the language of emotions that connects human souls. It is not only sound, but also life - the emotions and ambitions of the creator. Therefore, music becomes one of the priceless intellectual properties of humanity. A healthy musical environment cannot lack fair protection for works of art. Because, each musical work is the crystallization of the thoughts, emotions and labor of the creator.

The theme of IP Day 2025 is “Intellectual Property and Music: Feel the Rhythm of IP”, emphasizing the role of music - a core cultural industry in developing the creative economy. The intellectual property system is the “launching pad” for music to spread and develop sustainably, especially in the digital age. This theme also conveys to the community the message of honoring the contributions of creators, inventors and entrepreneurs who have pushed the boundaries of innovation and creativity, to create music that connects people together, evokes strong emotions, promotes change and inspires a creative and innovative future.

Talking about the meaning and message of this year's Intellectual Property Day, Ms. Pham Thi Kim Oanh - Deputy Director of the Vietnam Copyright Office (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) said that the World Intellectual Property Organization has chosen music as the theme of this year. Music is extremely important as music copyright is the driving force for creativity and sustainable development. If copyright protection is well implemented, it will encourage creativity, motivate musicians, artists, and investors to invest more in music products.

According to Ms. Pham Thi Kim Oanh, in the digital economy, music is not only an art, but also an economy that can bring enormous values. When we implement strong copyright protection, musicians and artists will feel secure in creating more spiritual products with artistic value, without having to worry much about protection issues anymore, because there are state management agencies, collective rights protection organizations such as the Vietnam Center for Music Copyright Protection to help them protect and exploit those creative products.

Ms. Pham Thi Kim Oanh hopes that all levels and sectors will pay attention to, create favorable conditions to encourage and motivate artists and investors, so that Vietnam can have many world-class music products, so that we can be proud of the Vietnamese cultural industry integrating in the era of growth.

“I hope that we all join hands to have an advanced Vietnamese music industry imbued with national identity. Join hands to have a music industry, a cultural industry that enforces copyright well, encourages creativity and reaches out globally,” Ms. Pham Thi Kim Oanh shared.

Legal tools to protect music and creators

Nowadays, the development of digital platforms has created new opportunities for young artists, musicians, and music producers to bring their works to the public faster, more effectively, and bring more economic value. However, along with that are challenges of copyright infringement, illegal copying, and illegal profiteering from digital platforms.

In the intellectual property system, copyright and related rights are important legal tools to protect musical works from unauthorized use; ensure fair income for artists, producers, and publishers; encourage investment in the creation, production and distribution of copyrighted content. Therefore, raising awareness and enforcing copyright is becoming more urgent.

With efforts to integrate internationally, Vietnam is actively participating in trade agreements and cooperating with copyright protection organizations around the world, aiming to build an effective and transparent copyright management system and increasingly demonstrate its strong commitment to the international community in enforcing intellectual property rights, creating a premise for the music industry to develop sustainably.

Master - Lawyer Nguyen Thi Phuong Hao - Director of International Law Firm said: "In the world, in 1777, France established the model of Collective Management of Copyright. This is an effective model and achieves the highest efficiency in copyright enforcement. In Vietnam, there are currently five organizations of Collective Management of Copyright in the field of literature and art, of which the Vietnam Center for Protection of Music Copyright (VCPMC) is an organization authorized by the state to represent and protect the rights of musicians.

Over the past 23 years, the Vietnam Center for Music Copyright Protection has been the only representative of Vietnam to become a member of the International Confederation of Societies of Composers and Lyricists (CISAC) and has also expanded cooperation with collective rights organizations around the world. Currently, the Center has signed bilateral cooperation agreements with collective rights organizations in 168 countries and territories. The Center not only focuses on reviewing to maximize revenue, but also has many measures to handle and minimize copyright infringement cases by technological measures, or requesting civil administrative handling according to the provisions of law, even filing lawsuits in court to protect the rights and legitimate interests of authors - owners of works. This is extremely important in the digital age, contributing to promoting the fair development of the music industry.

Musician Nguyen Van Chung said that he has authorized the Vietnam Music Copyright Protection Center to exploit and collect fees for all of his works. He is also the first musician to successfully sue for international copyright, and has been given back the official and legal copyright for the work “Crying Moon”.

Musician Nguyen Van Chung said that the song “Vang Trang Khoc” was composed by him in 2002 and was sung by many domestic singers. Since 2008, versions of the song “Vang Trang Khoc” by singers from Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and China have appeared on the internet. Each time, Nguyen Van Chung was suspected of plagiarism. He was very upset and asked the Center to support him in submitting a petition to the International Confederation of Societies of Composers and Lyricists (CISAC). After that, CISAC and the Vietnam Center for Music Copyright Protection reviewed and confirmed that the version of “Vang Trang Khoc” appeared first in Vietnam, thereby recognizing the copyright and restoring honor to musician Nguyen Van Chung.

“I think copyright protection is even more important in today's digital age, where all music products are digitized and fully exploited on cyberspace,” musician Nguyen Van Chung affirmed.

Many musicians, artists and managers also emphasized that protecting intellectual property in music is not only the right of artists, but also the responsibility of the whole society. A sustainable music industry cannot develop if copyright is violated. Because when creative values ​​are protected, artists can focus on developing quality works, and audiences have more opportunities to access more diverse and professional artistic products. Respecting creative values ​​is not only an ethical principle, but also a driving force for Vietnam to develop a strong cultural industry, reaching international standards.

According to Dr. Bui Hoai Son, Standing Member of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education, for many countries in the world, the copyright industry is considered the core of the cultural industry. In Vietnam, in recent years, we have done a very good job of enforcing copyright in the music field, in which the Vietnam Center for Music Copyright Protection plays a very important role. Because when the rights of authors are guaranteed, authors have faith in the Center, have faith in their creative activities. And this has inspired the whole society to have an advanced Vietnamese music industry imbued with national identity, reaching out to the world more professionally. From there, not only the music field benefits but other fields are also inspired...

It can be seen that in the digital age and the spread of AI technology, music needs to be protected by effective legal tools to ensure that the original value of creativity is not lost. The intellectual property system is the bridge connecting creators - users - investors, contributing to the formation of a fair, developed and sustainable music ecosystem.

According to baotintuc.vn

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/so-huu-tri-tue-be-phong-de-am-nhac-lan-toa-va-phat-trien-ben-vung-post400487.html