Copyright is a vital condition for journalism in the digital age
Currently, many social networking sites and online information channels are not press agencies but regularly repost news, articles, images and videos from mainstream newspapers.
Although not directly investing in content production resources, these platforms still attract a large amount of interaction, generate advertising revenue and benefit from the labor achievements of press agencies.
Talking to a reporter of Lao Dong Newspaper, lawyer Hoang Ha (Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association) - said that the fact that social networking sites take back the original articles, images, and reportage clips of press agencies and then post them to attract interaction, sell advertisements or lead users to their own ecosystem is an act of infringing copyright and related rights.
This is an act that cannot be considered normal and easily accepted. This situation has been happening in Vietnam since social networks appeared.
Speaking about the responsibility of press agencies in protecting the copyright of journalistic works in the current context, according to lawyer Hoang Ha, the responsibility of protecting the copyright of journalistic works must first be seen as part of the management of journalistic assets, not just the handling after being copied. Journalistic works are intellectual property. In which, articles, images, videos, reports, graphic data, radio and television programs all have economic value and are protected according to the Law on Intellectual Property, the Law on Press.
Press agencies therefore need to be more proactive. Each work should clearly identify the author, owner, time of publication, and scope of exploitation. When violated, it should not just stop at texting to request the removal of articles, but it is necessary to prepare a dossier to handle violations including links, posting time, copied content, amount of interaction, advertising, beneficiary accounts and possible damages.
The lawyer believes that each press agency needs to have a department or specialized focal point to scan violations on digital platforms, send requests to remove them to the platform, request to lock re-offending accounts, and at the same time propose administrative sanctions according to Decree 341/2025/ND-CP.
For pages, channels, and fan pages specializing in stealing press content to attract views and make money, press agencies need to boldly file civil lawsuits to demand compensation or transfer dossiers to request the Police to consider the act of infringing copyright and related rights under Article 225 of the 2015 Penal Code if it is commercial in scale, illegally profiting or causing damage reaching the prescribed legal threshold.
The press must manage, prove, pursue and request handling to the end. Only when press agencies consider copyrights as real assets will the digital content market gradually become disciplined" - lawyer Hoang Ha said.
Discussing this topic together, exchanging with Lao Dong Newspaper, Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Hoai Son - Specialized Member of the National Assembly's Committee for Culture and Society - assessed that protecting press copyright is no longer a separate story of each editorial office but has become an important requirement to protect fairness in the information environment, protect creative labor and maintain the healthy development of journalism.
A journalistic work is not simply a few lines of text or a video posted on the internet. Behind it is the effort of reporters, editors, technicians...
Journalists must put in effort and brainpower in the process of investigating and verifying information and operating costs, and there is also the social responsibility of the press agency. Therefore, copying and exploiting press content without permission, without citing sources or without sharing benefits is an act of directly infringing upon the legitimate rights of journalists and press agencies" - Mr. Son said.
From that reality, Mr. Bui Hoai Son believes that the responsibility for copyright and intellectual property first of all belongs to the press agencies themselves. In the digital age, the press cannot only speak out when it is violated but needs to proactively manage its intellectual property.
Content must be considered assets, data is a resource, brand is value, and copyright is a vital condition for editorial offices to survive in an increasingly fierce competitive environment.
This requires press agencies to build a more methodical copyright management strategy, from registering ownership rights, monitoring content usage, detecting violations to implementing appropriate protection measures. At the same time, each editorial office needs to build internal regulations on reusing works, sharing data and cooperating with digital platforms. "More importantly, the responsibility of the press does not just stop at requiring others to respect copyright. The press must also become a pioneer force in respecting intellectual property rights, complying with regulations on the use of information sources, images and data of other organizations and individuals.
Copyright protection is therefore not simply protecting the economic interests of press agencies but also protecting the value of creative labor, protecting professional reputation and public trust in the mainstream press" - Mr. Bui Hoai Son emphasized.
The responsibility of the press before the AI and intellectual property problem
In the current context, if social networks increase the risk of copying content, the development of AI is posing much more complex challenges to intellectual property rights in the field of journalism.
Regarding this, according to Mr. Bui Hoai Son, the most important principle is that innovation cannot stand outside the law. AI development cannot be based on the free or arbitrary use of other people's intellectual property.
Press content is creative product protected by law. Therefore, the use of journalistic works to train AI models, synthesize information or create new commercial products needs to be placed within a clear framework of licensing, issuing licenses, paying fees and sharing revenue.
To solve this problem, Mr. Bui Hoai Son said that it is necessary to soon complete legal regulations related to press data in the AI environment. The law needs to clarify what is a reasonable use act, what is a commercial exploitation activity; which cases are cited, and which cases require permission or fee payment.
In addition, the responsibilities of technology businesses, cross-border platforms and AI developers when using Vietnamese journalistic content also need to be more clearly defined.
However, the press cannot stand aside and completely wait for legal regulations. Press agencies need to proactively build a structured digital data warehouse, attach copyright identification, apply technology to mark content and monitor illegal copying.
Another important direction according to Mr. Son is to build copyright alliances between press agencies. In the context of increasingly influential technology platforms, each editorial office's self-protection will face many limitations. Conversely, if they link together and consider press data as a strategic asset, press agencies will have a stronger negotiating position.
