Many opinions believe that this is a new obligation arising from July 1, 2026. However, according to the lawyer, the obligation to respect copyright, related rights and pay copyright fees when exploiting works, audio and video recordings for business purposes has been stipulated by law for many years.
Copyright obligations exist for a long time
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, lawyer Tran Thi Thanh Lam - Chinh Phap Law Office - Hanoi Bar Association said that the story of music copyright is not a new issue.
In principle, for cafes, restaurants or service business establishments, the use of music to create space, attract customers or support business operations is considered an act of exploiting works in the commercial environment.
Therefore, when using works, audio and video recordings that are being protected, business establishments must comply with the provisions of law on copyright and related rights, including the obligation to ask for permission or pay copyright fees in cases prescribed by law.
The Law on Intellectual Property since its promulgation in 2005 has laid the foundation for the mechanism of protection of copyright and related rights and has been amended and supplemented many times to improve it.
Currently, Article 33 of the Law on Intellectual Property stipulates that in some cases, the use of audio and video recordings that have been published in business and commercial activities does not require permission, but copyright fees must still be paid to the related rights owners according to the provisions of law.
According to the lawyer, one of the reasons why many businesses used music for a long time but did not generate many disputes was due to limited awareness of copyright and related rights, and the enforcement of laws and collective management of rights has not been implemented synchronously as it is now.
Not being required to fulfill copyright obligations does not mean that the activity is in accordance with the provisions of law," lawyer Tran Thi Thanh Lam said.
In addition, the development of online music listening platforms also makes many business owners mistakenly believe that paying subscription fees means being able to use music for commercial purposes.
According to Ms. Lam, these are two different legal relationships. The subscription fee for regular music listening services only grants usage rights for personal purposes, and does not replace the obligation to ask for permission or pay copyright fees when exploiting music in business activities.
July 1, 2026 is not the time to start collecting royalties
Lawyer Tran Thi Thanh Lam said that the view that from July 1, 2026, new restaurants and cafes will have the obligation to pay copyright fees when playing music is not accurate.
In fact, Decree 17/2023/ND-CP, effective from April 26, 2023, has stipulated the copyright fee schedule for the use of works, audio and video recordings in business and commercial activities under cases of restricting copyright and related rights.
Decree 134/2026/ND-CP only amends and supplements some contents of Decree 17 to improve the mechanism for implementing copyright and related rights, not the first document to set out the obligation to pay copyright fees to business establishments using music.
According to Appendix II of Decree 17/2023/ND-CP, the amount of royalties paid annually is determined according to the formula: Copyright fee = Base salary level x Adjustment coefficient.
The adjustment coefficient is determined according to business types such as cafes, restaurants, hotels, karaoke, bars, supermarkets, shopping centers or means of transport; and based on the area, number of rooms or scale of operation of the establishment.
The collection level is also classified by urban area, ranging from 10% to 100% of the price frame, of which Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City apply the full level.
According to lawyer Tran Thi Thanh Lam, the milestone of July 1, 2026 is mainly associated with the application of the new base salary of 2.53 million VND/month to calculate copyright fees according to the formula previously specified. Therefore, the amount that some business establishments must pay also changes correspondingly.
In other words, this is not the time to start collecting music copyright fees but the time to apply the new base salary and adjustment coefficients according to current regulations," Ms. Lam said.
In addition, Decree 134/2026/ND-CP also supplements and perfects a number of regulations related to the mechanism for determining and distributing copyright money and issues of copyright in the context of artificial intelligence application.
