Copyright of the lyrics and the music sheet
In 2010, Nghiêm Thúy Băng, the wife of late musician Văn Cao, addressed a letter to the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam proposing to donate the work "Tien quan ca" to the public, the Party, the National Assembly and the State. This is also the wish of Văn Cao when he was still alive. [12] [13] [14] [15]
However, in 2015, the family of Văn Cao, registered the song with the Vietnam Center for Protection of Music Copyright, demanding royalties for all public performances except in certain situations like schools and "important state ceremonies". Văn Cao's eldest son Văn Thao said that his family "never reached consensus on 'gifting' the song, so they authorized the center to collect royalties on his father's songs". [16]
The copyright announcement has angered many veteran musicians. Nguyen Quang Long says the "anthem must belong to the public, and people should be allowed to sing it without worrying about royalties". Singer Ánh Tuyết, who is best known for her performance of Cao's songs, agrees that the anthem "long ago became a song of the people, so it should be gifted to the people".
On 25 August 2015, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism sent an official letter to the music copyright agency to stop collecting royalties on "Tiến Quân Ca". [17]
On 8 July 2016, Văn Thao confirmed that he and his family were going to donate the song to their country and people as his father's last wish. A letter, signed by all the legal inheritors in the family, stated that the family would donate the song for free use. [18]
On 15 July 2016, The National Assembly Office held a ceremony in Hanoi to receive the national anthem, donated by family members of Văn Cao, and to bestow the composer with the Ho Chi Minh Order. [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] Also at the ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam presented a certificate of merit from the Prime Minister to Nghiêm Thúy Băng, the composer's widow, in recognition of her efforts in preserving the composer's works. [24] [25]
Copyright of different recording versions of the anthem
There are still disputes over the copyrights of each recording versions of the anthem, for example during the broadcasting the football match between Laos and Vietnam on 6 December 2021, the sound of anthem music was muted using the reason of copyrights. [26] The copyright claims met with huge backlash from the author's family, the government, and other opinions who considered national anthem should be free for all. [27] [28] [29] Opposite opinions claimed that although the lyric and music sheet of the anthem is free, it is legal to claim the copyright of specific recording versions of the anthem. [30] [31] [32]
The Government then announced a "free" recording version of the national anthem which had been already published on the government website and emphasized that "Vietnamese laws strictly forbid the obstruction of popularizing the national anthem, directly or indirectly, under the regulation of rules and laws." [33] The Department of Sport also issued an instruction called for the use of the "free" version published by the government. [34] The "free" version was then used in subsequent sport events. [35]
On 16 June 2022, the National Assembly of Vietnam passed the bill of "Amendments to some Articles of the Law on Intellectual property" related to "Tiến Quân Ca", in which Clause 2, Article 7 of the law was added to be: "The exercise of intellectual property rights must not infringe the interests of the State, the public interest or the legitimate rights and interests of other organizations and individuals, and must not breach other relevant provisions of law. Organizations and individuals exercising intellectual property rights related to the National Flag, National Emblem, National Anthem of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam must not obstruct their use and dissemination." [36] [37] The amendments were set to become effective on 1 January 2023. [38]
