Copyright problem when AI makes movies and writes music

At the forum on the impact of digital technology and AI on the creative economy, organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology on October 8, the copyright story was raised as AI is increasingly used in filmmaking and music writing.

According to Mr. Kieu Cong Thuoc, Vice President of the Vietnam Cultural Industry Development Association, AI is a story that "can't be talked about forever", because almost 99% of creative people have used this technology.

Mr. Tao Minh Hung, representative of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), also assessed that AI helps musicians shorten the time to perform manual work that would otherwise take "many days and many nights" to perform. In the past, if artists wanted to create a record, they would have to spend a lot of money to go to a professional recording studio. With the support of AI, even without financial ability, they can still perform many steps to create works and bring them to market.

"AI is very useful for creative activities," Mr. Hung commented, but said that if AI learns from copyrighted works, then creates new products that compete with the same works used as input data, the original creator may be at a disadvantage.

"The music industry's position is not against the use of AI, but there must be limits," he said. IFPI representatives commented that works created entirely by AI should not be recognized as copyrighted. If AI creates new works from copyrighted content, there should be compensation to their creators.

On the contrary, according to Mr. Kieu Cong Thuoc, AI is essentially a form of tool to support productivity growth. Each person can use it differently based on skills and data, thereby creating different results. AI's participation does not mean decision-making power is transferred to machines.

"The right to decide is still with us," he said.

Another question is how to determine the human and AI contributions in a product. Mr. Nguyen Hoang Giang, Deputy Director of the Department of Intellectual Property, said that "clearly separating" these two parts is not feasible. According to him, instead of trying to differentiate, we need to accept that there will be debate and conflict and find ways to resolve it when more information is available.

The forum on the impact of digital technology and AI on the creative economy is part of the three-day Smart City Asia event series, October 8-10, at the National Exhibition Center (VEC), Hanoi. The main activity of the program is the celebration of National Digital Transformation Day, along with side activities including high-level forums, thematic forums, and Smart City Asia exhibition with more than 200 booths.

At the event, the organizing committee also opened the registration portal for the Creative Culture Award - Vietnam Blue Dragon Awards 2026. The award seeks, honors and connects initiatives, products, intellectual property in the field of culture, renewing heritage with contemporary thinking and technology, in the fields of art, music, design, tourism, STEAM education and cultural digitalization.

Trong Dat