Figures about revenue of films screened at cinemas in Vietnam is automatically collected by BOVN.

A security expert, who asked to be anonymous, affirmed that the move by BOVN may face the risk of being sued by cinemas for copyright infringement. 

When retrieving information from another website, one has to observe the terms of use of the website. The copyright of content belongs to the governing body of the website, so if one uses data from a website without any agreement or notification, the governing body can request a citation, revoke the content, or even sue for copyright infringement.

If data is published under a statistical mode, collectors can use the statistics for synthesis. Meanwhile, if bots find out that tickets have run out and then synthesize data, it is necessary to check the regulations of use of the website to find out if the website allows automatic bots to access the data. In most cases, websites don’t allow this.

According to the security expert, only when buyers log in booking websites with their accounts and follow steps to book tickets will they know if tickets are available.

VietNamNet reporters decided to check the information provided by the expert by logging in Galaxy’s online ticket booking channel and found that regarding the issues related to copyright, all the content displayed on the website and the products related to Galaxy Cinema under any form, including characters, images, logos and video clips, are the assets of Galaxy Cinema, or its partners who provide content. 

Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa, CEO of Galaxy Studio, confirmed with VietNamNet that BOVN is automatically collecting information from Galaxy’s ticket booking web without asking Galaxy for permission.

On CGV website, one can also read clear provisions about data collections. When users download information on the website to their personal devices, the downloaded content will still belong to CGV Vietnam. 

There is no article showing that the system agrees to sell, transfer, distribute, redistribute, crack, encrypt, develop, extend, decompile, decrypt, or do anything with the downloaded content downloaded without the consent of CGV Vietnam. Any action that violates the articles will be considered infringement of property rights and intellectual property rights.

Nguyen Khanh Duong, the founder of BOVN, said the system has collected data for seven years. Cinemas and film manufacturers keep in contact with BOVN and if they think the website violates their rules, they can contact BOVN via the channels that were established.

Le My