The Vietnam Center for Protection of Music Copyright (VCPMC) has recently sent a list of eight hotels, an art performance organizing company, and a music website to local intellectual property law firm Pham & Associates, accusing those units of using songs from composers whom the center represents without purchasing copyrights.

According to the VCPMC, before working with the law firm, the center had sent announcements to the violating parties asking them to stopm but received no reply. VCPMC added that if the violators continue their copyright infringement and do not cooperate the center, together with the law firm, will take the case to court.

Pham & Associates has sent announcements to the aforementioned units including the Hanoi Daewoo, InterContinental Hanoi Westlake, Sofitel Plaza Hanoi, Melia Hanoi, Metropole, Sheraton and Hanoi Horison hotels; CM Vietnam event organizing JSC., and music site teenpro.vn, managed by Interland JSC.

According to VCPMC, from 2007 to 2010, those hotels had paid for their use of the center’s songs at their restaurants, bars, and music shows. Since 2010, however, they have refused to purchase copyrights because “the Government has had no tariff for this.”

For its part, CM Vietnam has been in the list of violators since they refused to pay for songs they used in two live shows of overseas singer Che Linh in Hai Phong and Da Nang in September and October.

“Tickets for the show in Hai Phong were almost sold out. But they only wanted to pay VND3million (US$144) for a music copyright,” VCPMC’s representative stressed. “The amount of money is too small compared with the revenue from a show with high ticket prices and hundreds of seats.”

Meanwhile, teenpro.vn has claimed that they have documents proving that they have purchased the copyright of songs used on their site. “We have the responsibility to show those documents under the request of functional agencies,” the website expressed. Pham Thi Vinh Hoa, general director of Interland, also requested that VCPMC stop sending the company announcements of their violations since it has hindered their business.

Pham Huu Khanh Toan, a lawyer from Pham & Associates, told Tuoi Tre that the concerned parties have their reasons to explain their failure to purchase copyrights. He also added that it would be better if the related sides reach a deal instead than taking the case to court.

“However, if they don’t want to cooperate, we will definitely take them to court,” he said.

For her part, lawyer Pham Thanh Thuy from VCPMC said the battle has just begun.

“These are just the first names and there will be a list with many names of copyright infringing units,” she informed. “Court is the last choice, but if we don’t take it seriously, they may think it’s not a big deal to violate music copyrights.”

“This is a declaration of war against all music copyright violation. In the near future we will also invite inspectors of the Ministry of Information and Communication to investigate the case,” she stated.

On November 7, Vu Ngoc Hoan, Deputy Director of the Copyright Department of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism confirmed that the department’s point of view is that the copyright issue needs to be respected.

“In foreign countries, it’s not strange when people take a case to court. In Vietnam, this is not the first time this has happened, but most cases have been solved with deals in the negotiation process,” he said.

In related news, on October 26 local singer Le Quyen and Viet Tan Studio submitted a letter to concerned agencies accusing a number of local music websites of violating their songs’ copyright.

According to lawyer Le Quang Vy, representing the accusers, the sites (mp3.zing.vn, nhaccuatui.com, musicmusic.vn, music.go.vn, hcm.nhac.vui.vn and teenpro.vn) have used a number of songs performed by Quyen and recorded by Viet Tan Studio without permission.