Film piracy: Proactively prevent it from the beginning

SGGP 11/24/2023 08:40

Helplessness, inability to resist… is the reaction of filmmakers to the sophisticated, painful, and widespread copyright infringement. Legal corridors and anti-infringement technology are necessary, but perhaps the thing that needs to change the most right now is awareness and perception of protecting one’s legal rights.

Who to call, who to save?

The workshop “Copyright protection in the development of the film industry” within the framework of the 23rd Vietnam Film Festival, re-examined the old but never old story. From the story of directors Luong Dinh Dung, Vo Thanh Hoa to the thoughts of Associate Professor, Dr. Do Lenh Hung Tu, Chairman of the Vietnam Cinema Association, it is still full of topicality.

Associate Professor Dr. Do Lenh Hung Tu cited a sad reality: many groups of students offered to sell their script outlines for television dramas, were accepted, paid an advance and asked to complete them within 3 months. However, due to the short time, they requested an extension but were refused, asked to terminate the contract and sign a commitment not to sue. But only a short time later, they discovered that their scripts had been made into films, only the names of the setting and characters had been changed. “In film creation, copyright infringement happens every day, every hour. Feeling sorry for their children, they want to cry for help, but do not know who to cry to,” Mr. Do Lenh Hung Tu emphasized.

The representative of Phanlaw Law Office also pointed out that, in reality, very few authors or copyright owners proactively carry out registration procedures with competent authorities to establish their rights. In fact, many copyright owners do not register at the time the work is created, but wait until they discover that their work has been infringed. At that time, this copyright registration has almost no evidentiary value. In addition, there are still cases of confusing the value of the copyright registration certificate with the author's rights certificate. This not only leads to a contradiction with the principle of copyright arising under the automatic protection mechanism, but also makes the disputing parties confused in proving the rights owner.

Super scam meets super prankster illegally spread on many platforms. Photo: DPCC

Can't be absent-minded

In terms of law, Vietnam currently has the Intellectual Property Law, the Cinema Law, the Penal Code and many other sub-law documents. From 2004 to June 2023, Vietnam has participated in 8 international conventions, treaties and agreements on copyright and related rights.

Ms. Sylvie Forbin, Deputy Director General of the Copyright and Creative Industries Division of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), hopes that Vietnam will soon join the WIPO Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances so that authors, performers and other stakeholders can be protected not only in Vietnam, but also in the global market. However, the issue of copyright infringement must be addressed from the root to be effective.

Dr. Ngo Phuong Lan, President of the Vietnam Cinema Promotion and Development Association, admitted that Vietnamese cinema originated as revolutionary cinema, protected and subsidized by the state, so awareness and tradition of copyright protection were almost non-existent. Only when the film market and film industry existed did this receive attention.

Therefore, in her proposal, Ms. Ngo Phuong Lan emphasized: “Filmmakers themselves must carefully study the legal documents related to themselves to avoid losses. We cannot wait until we are violated or disadvantaged before speaking up, instead of participating from the beginning, finding consulting and research organizations, and having representatives to protect copyright.” According to Ms. Ngo Phuong Lan, raising awareness and perception also requires synchronization among management levels and society as a whole, because it affects the entire national film industry. She cited many major film studios in the world who, when seeing copyright problems in Vietnam, hesitated to set up representative offices or invest.

A solution proposed by both Ms. Ngo Phuong Lan and Phanlaw is to have pilot cases to have a high deterrent effect. Phanlaw believes that the right holder suing the infringing party is not only a measure to handle and prevent the infringing party's behavior. It is also a warning message to other subjects, that they are ready to exercise their rights to end all violations. In addition, another basic goal when filing a lawsuit is to request the court to force the infringing party to compensate for damages in a satisfactory manner. Therefore, the obstacles and difficulties in filing a lawsuit in court also need to be resolved, so that the right holders can exercise their rights effectively.

“Directors or filmmakers often only focus on making films and not everyone really has a thorough understanding of the law. This leads to the consequence that after the film is released and copyright is infringed, they frantically call for help and do everything they can to protect their work, and often the copyright protection is not very effective,” directors Luong Dinh Dung and Vo Thanh Hoa shared.

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/vi-pham-ban-quyen-dien-anh-chu-dong-ngan-chan-ngay-tu-dau-post715502.html