Creative Commons Licenses (CC Licenses) launched in Vietnam

Creative Commons Licenses (CC Licenses) launched in Vietnam

Monday, 24.05.2010 15:12

On May 7, 2010, in Hanoi Melia Hotel, Creative Commons together with Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF) and D&N International launched the ported CC License in Vietnam. This event has marked the completion of Phase 1 of the CC Vietnam project, an important step forward in Vietnam’s copyright development.

Creative Commons

In general, copyright legislation systems help authors and holders to reserve full copyrights over their creative works, facilitate authors and holders in receiving profit from their works as well as create new works. However, such protection of comprehensive rights also limits the sharing capacity with bona fide users, thus, it reduces the popularity of the copyrighted works as well as the co-creativity among commons.

Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization established in 2001 in Unites States of America, please see the website at: http://creativecommons.org/about/history/. As its name, Creative Commons (“CC”), aims at increasing the amount of creativity of cultural, educational, and scientific content in “the commons” through Creative Commons License (“CC License”). Nowadays, CC has built their network in over 50 countries. Vietnam becomes the 53^rd country which is officially entitled to use the CC License. This event has been updated on Creative Commons website at:

http://creativecommons.org/press-releases/entry/21941
http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/21945

Creative Commons Licenses

CC created the CC License for worldwide use based on the most general regulations pursuant to international laws on copyright. CC License is a legal tools which is standardized to facilitate authors and holders (collectively called “Licensor”) licensing their works to commons while some rights still reserved depending on their choise.

For using CC License in a particular nation, this form of CC License must be modified to suite to national jurisdiction, this modification process creates a ported CC License. On 7 May 2010, Vietnam was officially declared to use ported CC License, finishing Phase 1 of CC Vietnam project, which was managed by VEF.

Under Vietnamese law, CC License is a kind of ready use License Agreement, which is standardized to provide to Licensors in sharing their copyrighted Works for users (Licensee) pursuant to conditions raised in headline of each among six main CC Licenses. When offer to license their copyrighted Works to community, depending on the rights they want to reserve, Licensor may use one among the following six CC Licenses, which are published in website network of CC:

Six main CC Licenses

Depend on the rights reserved, authors and holder may choose to publish their copyrighted works by choosing a set of conditions they wish to apply:

1. Attribution

2. Attribution Share Alike

3. Attribution No-Derivative
4. Attribution Non-Commercial

5. Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike

6. Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike

CC License Conditions

Each of the above CC Licenses includes one or more among the four following fundamental conditions of the CC Licenses:

1. Attribution (BY): You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your copyrighted work — and derivative works based upon it — but only if they give credit the way you request.
2.  Non Derivative (ND): You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform only verbatim copies of your work, not derivative works based upon it.
3.  Non-Commercial (NC): You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your work — and derivative works based upon it — but for non-commercial purposes only.
4.  Share Alike (SA): You allow others to distribute derivative works only under a license identical to the license that governs your work.

CCL will improve Vietnam’s development in the areas of science, literature, art and information technology;

In olden times, ancestors were aware of moral right of their works, it is being recognized as author and to protect the integrity of their works. Pirate is considered as behavior of small-mind persons. In addition, Vietnamese culture values sentiment above reason, this matter therefore is considered in the two aspects to reach a result that is conformable to both reason and sentiment.

On 2005, The National Vietnamese Assembly approved Law on Intellectual Property which includes law on copyright, accordingly the copyright is protected in aspects of economic rights as well as moral rights. However, through past 5 years, it appears that law on copyright has not been effectively and practically applied, awareness of people of copyright is limited. The copyright infringement therefore is getting extended and out of control because of carelessness as well as intention of infringers. Authors and holders of copyrighted works do not see that their rights are protected in practice and they discourages from protecting their rights. This will inhibit the development of science, literature, art and information technology which are under the strong influence of copyright.

Ported CC License will create good condition allowing the copyright’s holder to share their copyrighted work to commons in reasonable purpose such as teaching, research, creating derivative works., ext… , to be considered as a reasonable solution because CC License allows users to use work within determined scope while holders still reserve their copyright. The works published under CC License will become well known in the public fast, and will thus facilitate holder’s commercial exploitations. However. when licensees carry out activities exceeding license terms, the copyright enforcement system needs help licensors to protect their rights.

Ministry of Education and Training applied CC License to Vietnamese Open Course Ware which was built by VEF in corporation with Ministry of Education and Training. This program helps teachers, lectures, students and pupils legally share their lectures, studying materials to improve studying and training quality for youth generation.

CC Vietnam is currently prepared for the second phase for the purpose of applying CC License in every field to impulse creations in commons to enrich literature, science and art treasure and impulse the development of information technology in Vietnam. Speed and effectivity in second phase, which makes CC License impulse the creative progress in the above mentioned fields in Vietnam Creative Commons, depends on us who want to join the World Creative Commons.

                                                                                                                     D&N International