HA NOI (VNS)– Rights to a poem about nostalgia between two lovers were sold for VND300 million (US$15,000) by the HCM City-based MASEKO corporation.

The poem, O Hai Dau Noi Nho (At Two Ends of Nostalgia), was first published in the Nhan Dan (People) newspaper in 1984 by journalist Tran Dinh Chinh. Three years later, noted composer Phan Huynh Dieu adapted it into a popular song.

The copyright handover ceremony will take place in Ha Noi during the lunar New Year festival. Representatives from a law firm and the Viet Nam Music Copyright Protection Centre will serve as witnesses.

Such transactions have been going on since the early 2000s. In 2004, the copyright to Mau Tim Hoa Sim (The Purple Colour of Sim Flower) by poet Huu Loan (1915-2010) was sold for 100 million ($5,000). - VN