Copyright Fair Use Doctrine in Vietnam: Contrast with U.S. and European Law

Abstract

This study reviews and compares Vietnam’s fair use doctrine in copyright law with U.S. and European law. Intellectual Property (IP) law is a relatively new concept in Vietnam which traditionally has resisted the notion of IP rights that copyright protection was contrary to the socialist ideology (Nghiem, Nguyen and Gelinas, 1996).

 Vietnam IP law is principally based on U.S. law with the emphasis on economic rights versus moral or authors’ rights which is prominent in European law. Thus European law is less flexible than Vietnam/U.S. fair use provisions. Whilst Vietnam’s laws in relation to IP law have been developed over the last decade and reasonably robust, no cases of fair use infringement that been before the courts. Thus interpretations of Vietnam fair use provisions are yet to be tested.

 Having robust laws is meaningless without enforcement and Vietnam falls behind in this area. Whether its derives from the traditional notion of IP protection being contrary to the socialist ideology as discussed above or common practice, fair use on the street has a whole different meaning to the law.