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.