On August 1, the Hanoi Police Investigation Agency initiated criminal proceedings against Vu Phi Diep, 45, a resident of Hoang Mai Ward in Hanoi and director of VietKTV Electronics Group Co., Ltd., on charges of infringing copyright and related rights.

According to police, Diep had not signed any copyright licensing agreements but instructed technical staff to copy musical works from various digital platforms, process them into karaoke data and convert them into a proprietary format for integration into VietKTV-branded devices.

The data was stored on a cloud computing system and a master 4TB hard drive, from which Diep had it copied onto karaoke players or all-in-one karaoke systems with built-in screens before the products were put on the market. For products without hard drives, users could still download songs free of charge from a pre-connected online system.

Authorities allege that from 2023 to June 2026, VietKTV distributed 919 products and earned about US$32,500 in illicit profits. After reviewing more than 41,000 data files, the Vietnam Center for Protection of Music Copyright (VCPMC) initially identified around 1,500 musical works under its management that had allegedly been exploited without authorization, causing estimated losses of about US$22,900.

According to VietNamNet’s reporting, some karaoke business owners have recently been advising one another to stop using karaoke players and instead play songs from YouTube for customers, in the belief that this could “reduce copyright risks.” The idea has sparked debate.

The issue is not whether the music comes from a hard drive or the Internet

Speaking with VietNamNet, lawyer Diem Trinh of the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association said that switching from a karaoke player to YouTube does not mean a karaoke business has eliminated its copyright exposure.

Vietnam’s current Law on Intellectual Property protects copyright in musical works as well as related rights covering performances, sound recordings and video recordings.

Specifically, Article 20 establishes the right to perform a work before the public as an economic right of the copyright owner, while Articles 26 and 33 provide that royalties must be paid when published works, sound recordings or video recordings are used for business or commercial purposes.

Clause 1, Article 34 of Decree 17/2023/ND-CP, which details a number of provisions and measures for implementing the Law on Intellectual Property concerning copyright and related rights, expressly identifies karaoke service businesses as among those using works, sound recordings and video recordings for commercial purposes.

Users are required to contact rights holders or collective management organizations for copyright and related rights, provide information on the repertoire and duration of use, and pay the applicable royalties. The decree is currently applied together with amendments introduced under Decree 134/2026/ND-CP.

According to Trinh, the legal issue is not whether a song comes from a hard drive or the Internet, but whether a business is exploiting a musical work, sound recording or video recording as part of its commercial operations.

Karaoke businesses today may use online recordings from YouTube and other platforms, but doing so does not remove their obligations concerning copyright and related rights.

YouTube’s own terms of service state that viewing and listening to content is generally intended for personal, non-commercial use, and that users may not use the service to publicly screen videos or stream music unless they have the appropriate rights.

“Therefore, the fact that a video is publicly available on YouTube, even if it was uploaded by an artist’s or record label’s official channel, does not automatically give a karaoke bar the right to use that video as a source of music for its customers,” the lawyer emphasized.

What should karaoke business owners do?

Trinh advised that businesses wishing to use music from YouTube can contact VCPMC to obtain licenses for musical works that fall within the organization’s authorized repertoire.

VCPMC currently has a licensing procedure specifically for businesses, requiring them to declare their type of operation and list the songs they use before signing a licensing agreement and paying royalties.

If a work is not covered by VCPMC’s authorization, a karaoke business must, in principle, contact the author, copyright owner or an authorized representative directly to obtain permission and agree on royalty payments.

The lawyer recommended that karaoke businesses review two issues simultaneously. The first is whether they have the right to use the musical works, sound recordings and video recordings in their commercial operations. The second is whether their use complies with the terms imposed by the platform providing the content.

To fully minimize legal risks, karaoke operators should use music libraries with clearly established origins and licensing scopes while also fulfilling all royalty-payment obligations required under current law.

Trinh also noted that paying an author or VCPMC addresses only the copyright in the underlying song. If a business uses a specific karaoke track, sound recording or video from YouTube, separate rights held by the producer of the recording and the performers may also come into play.

Vietnam’s music sector also includes the Recording Industry Association of Vietnam (RIAV) and the Association for Protection of Performing Artists of Vietnam (APPA), which represent certain performers and other rights holders on the basis of authorization.

“The safest approach, therefore, is to draw up a list of the music a business intends to use, check each layer of rights involved and obtain licenses from the appropriate rights holders. Businesses should not assume that paying one organization automatically gives them the right to use every song and every video available on YouTube,” Trinh said.

Mi Le