A study made public in 2021 by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on economic contributions of the copyright-based culture industry showed that the industry made up 11.99 percent of GDP in the US, 9.89 percent in South Korea,7.02 percent in France, and 6.8 percent in Australia. The figures showed the importance of copyright protection in countries’ social, cultural and economic development.

As for Vietnam, the added value the cultural industry contributed to the national economy was 5.82 percent in 2018 and 6.02 percent in 2019. 

The figures were lower in 2020, just 4.32 percent, and in 2021, just 3.92 percent; this was attributed to the Covid-19. The industry recovered later with a contribution ratio of 4.04 percent in 2022.

The production value of Vietnam’s cultural industry in 2018-2022 was estimated at VND1.059 quadrillion, or $44 billion.

Head of Copyright Office of Vietnam Tran Hoang said intellectual property is indispensable in a creative economy which aims for sustainable development. Innovation and intellectual property are essential to settle global challenges and promote society's development.

Copyright protection is needed for a competitive cultural industry that makes up an increasingly high proportion to GDP, and to create jobs and increase export turnover.

There are many distribution modes in digital environment. A TV drama, for example, can be broadcasted on TV and on social networks as well. Meanwhile, cross-border platforms only observe the laws in the countries where they locate offices. The question is if the policies they pursue are compatible with Vietnam’s policies. Therefore, Vietnam needs to build up its policies in a way to ensure the development of technology and suitability to international standards.

Vietnamese content firms are mostly small businesses which are not capable enough to hire lawyers and raise lawsuits against intellectual property infringement. As a result, their content is pirated and distributed on digital platforms.

Asked how high technology can help protect intellectual property in digital environment, Chung said technology firms can provide solutions to authenticate copyright registration to prevent theft in digital environment. Content can be encrypted before it is brought into digital environment. Automatic scanning and AI apps can be used to discovered piracy.

According to Pham Thanh Tung from the Copyright Office of Vietnam, the copyright infringement rate in Vietnam is relatively high because of many reasons. Digital environment is a cross-border environment, therefore, it is difficult to detect violators and violation behaviors. 

Thai Khang