HA NOI (VNS) — Vietnamese and South Korean agencies have signed a memorandum of understanding under which the latter will provide technical know-how for copyright protection in the music industry.

Under the MoU signed during a seminar held on Friday in Ha Noi, the Korean side will show their Vietnamese counterparts how to control the number of times a song can be downloaded from a website. Based on this, the Viet Nam Centre for Protection of Music Copyright (VNCPMC) can calculate and collect royalty for composers.

Yu Byong-han, chairman of the Korea Copyright Commission, said Korean experts are willing to share their experience and technology with Vietnamese managers.

"We update continuously the technology for copyright protection and digital forensic investigation," Yu said.

"Korea is not rich in natural resources. That's why we value the human resources. For us, each creative work is a treasure.

"We try our best to protect the rights for creators and encourage them to work," Yu added.

The Viet Nam and South Korea Copyright Seminar drew the participation of numerous Vietnamese and South Korean experts who spoke on different issues relating to copyright, especially in the context of cultural exchanges between the two countries.

The protection of copyrights and related rights is not taken very seriously in Viet Nam yet, said VNCPMC director Pho Duc Phuong.

"Many artistes have complained that their works are used without their permission and they don't receive any royalty from such use," he said.

Viet Nam faces several obstacles in collecting royalty and managing copyrights, Phuong said, adding one of them was the difficulty in controlling the download of songs from music websites.

Phuong said that after 12 years since its inception, his agency had paid composers a royalty of US$8 million in total, while a counterpart organisation in the US collected $3 billion in just one year.

Vu Ngoc Hoan, director of the Copyright Office of Viet Nam (COV), stressed the importance of copyright protection in the global integration process.

"Artistes will maintain their creativity and keep their minds on work as long as they know that they are respected and their rights are protected," Hoan said. — VNS