By paying for copyright, businesses can still infringe online
(Dan Tri) - To avoid being "slowed down" in the cross-border digital environment, businesses need to change from a passive mindset of handling violations to proactively defending, standardizing data and managing the rights chain.
Risks from the use-first-pay-later mechanism
The development of cyberspace and AI is turning intellectual property into a core but also risky growth driver for businesses. This comment was made by experts at the roundtable conference on protecting copyright and related rights in cyberspace recently organized by the Vietnam Association of Business Administrators (VACD) in Hanoi.
Speaking at the opening of the event, Professor Nguyen Duc Thuan, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Business Administrators, emphasized that in the digital era, intellectual property is no longer confined to filing cabinets or paper designs. It is present on every platform, in every creative product and data that businesses create. This is an intangible asset that determines the global competitiveness of a business.
Professor Nguyen Duc Thuan, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Business Administrators, spoke at the event (Photo: Organizing Committee).
"However, the digital environment also makes intellectual property a vulnerable point. Just one act of uncontrolled copying or exploitation of content can cause heavy economic, reputational and strategic damage. Current violations are sophisticated, spread in just a few seconds and are cross-border, making law enforcement extremely complicated.
The law must play a leading role and move ahead of violations, not follow them. If businesses only seek legal action when damage has occurred, then in the digital environment, we are already a step behind and that slow pace can lead to a lifetime of delays," a VACD representative shared.
Regarding the current status of enforcement, MSc. Bui Nguyen Hung, Chairman of the Vietnam Association for Creativity and Copyright (former Director of the Copyright Department) assessed: Although the Vietnamese legal system is basically compatible with international commitments and agreements, the implementation process still faces many bottlenecks.
A typical example is the lack of standard price schedules for live performances or royalty collection mechanisms at restaurants, hotels, and karaoke.
In addition, the understanding and application of regulations such as Article 33 of the Intellectual Property Law related to the exception of not having to ask for permission but having to pay when using commercial audio and video recordings still has many conflicts between the exploiter and the owner.
The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) changes the way digital content is distributed, posing many challenges in voice, image, database and e-book copyrights.
Sharing the same opinion, lawyer Le Quang Vinh, Director of Intellectual Property Company Bross and Associates, pointed out that the most common mistake of businesses today is confusion between "technical rights" and "legal rights".
"The fact that a business has access to the system, manages channels, has distribution tools or owns powerful technology tools does not mean that the business has legal ownership of that content," lawyer Vinh analyzed.
Citing evidence from YouTube's Content ID system, Mr. Vinh said this is purely an automatic technical matching tool based on algorithms and AI. Content ID can only answer the question of whether the content matches or not, but has absolutely no authority to determine who is the real owner or to what extent the rights are transferred.
Abuse or dishonest declaration on Content ID has led to a series of copyright infringement cases, seriously damaging the accounts and cash flow of content creators.
Businesses need to proactively defend
To solve the problem of violations in cyberspace, experts affirm that businesses must proactively build data management and legal defense strategies from the beginning.
Many users have lost their accounts and data due to using pirated software (Illustration: Doan Thuy).
Ms. Le Thi Minh Hang, Director of the Center for Digital Asset Rights and Solutions, said that businesses need to shift from the mindset of finding a lawyer for violations to proactively managing the asset lifecycle.
The Intellectual Property Law has opened an important legal corridor allowing the establishment and valuation of intangible assets. In many businesses around the world, intangible assets account for up to 90% of total asset value.
At the same time, Ms. Hang proposed solutions to build a comprehensive digital copyright infrastructure. The first is to classify all data (from source code, processes, customer lists to creative content) and perform IP identification and attach international standard metadata codes.
Businesses need to decentralize access to data, put security provisions and strict decentralization of rights into labor contracts as well as partner contracts.
Finally, authenticating the owner will create a transparent basis for licensing and business activities, and even serve for asset valuation when borrowing capital, calling for investment or M&A (business mergers and acquisitions).
From an enforcement perspective, lawyer Le Quang Vinh emphasized the principle: "A digital content contains many layers of rights (music, lyrics, arrangements, vocals, recordings, graphics). Purchasing a data file does not mean purchasing all layers of rights."
Lawyer Vinh recommends that businesses need to clarify the origin of creativity, transfer contracts and scope of authorization (especially the right to identify and handle third parties).
"When detecting a violation or having content removed, you must immediately save the URL, listing code, take/record a panoramic screen, freeze the source code repository, and save cash flow data before making any edits," Mr. Vinh noted.