Post TPP - Should Vietnam revise Internet copyright regulations?

Abstract

To cope with the proliferation of online copyright piracy, a number of para-copyright regimes have been supplemented to the traditional copyright system. Among these lie the legal reinforcement of the right to use Digital Right Management technology (DRM) by copyright holders and ISP’s secondary liability regime for copyright infringement by users. Being one of the most “modern” trade deals, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement put these two regimes on the agenda with an aim to harmonize the copyright regimes among members (toward U.S. DMCA model). The suspension of four provisions on these supplement regimes in the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement is appreciated by the remaining eleven member states as it provides them with a higher level of flexibility in implementing their international commitments. For the case of Vietnam, the suspension does not mean a relief of obligations but an opportunity to review and revise their Internet copyright regulations. Based on the analysis of (i) technological, economic and legal foundations for the reinforcement of self-help remedy in the form of DRMs, (ii) experience in the development and implementation of DRM protection regime and ISP’s liability regime in Vietnam, and (iii) the meaning of the Internet copyright-related provisions in TTP; this article will provide certain policy implications for Vietnam when revising these provisions in order to (i) keep the balance between incentive to create and expansion of public access; (ii) avoid the abuse of copyright on the Internet and (iii) prepare better for the negotiation of similar modern FTA in the future.