VietNamNet Bridge - After Coca-Cola and Samsung withdrew their
advertisements on Zing, yesterday, October 5, Zing attempted to reach an
international music copyright agreement with Universal Music.
According to experts, this
incident sounds the bells of respect for copyright in Vietnam.
In the last few days, the
advertising circles have been stirred up because Coca-Cola and Samsung stopped
cooperating with Zing when they knew that this website has many non-copyrighted
Vietnamese and foreign songs.
As one of the most visited
websites (ranking 6th) in Vietnam, Zing’s incident has become a warning for the
respect of intellectual property rights of the media in Vietnam.
External Relations Director of
Coca-Cola Vietnam, Nguyen Khoa My, said on VNExpress that the contract was
signed based on the belief that Zing is a licensed website and it had
confirmation of intellectual property. However, Coca-Cola received information
and documents showing the concerns about intellectual property issues of Zing
by some commercial agencies.
"In the face of these
concerns, Coca-Cola decided to withdraw its advertising from the site," he
said.
According to Mr. My, the
prerequisite for Coca-Cola to cooperate with any partner is that the partner
has to have a fully legal entity. If it is a website, it must be licensed and
must be confirmed to comply with intellectual property rights.
Previously, Zing website made
clear statement about copyright. As a client of Zing, Coca-Cola said it can not
determine what extent of intellectual property rights that the operating model
of Zing is compliant with. So, after receiving information mentioning concerns
over this issue, Coca-Cola had to withdraw advertising, stop cooperation
activities, My said
"This decision shows the
responsibility of our business," said My.
While Samsung Vietnam has not
made any official response about this, in a statement posted on the AP, Samsung
(South Korea) said: "We respect copyright and we oppose any copyright
violation, such as copying and distribution of copyrighted documents."
Deputy General Director of
VinaGame (VNG), the owner of Zing, Mr. Vuong Quang Khai said on VNExpress:
"Zing MP3 is one of the units that hold most music copyright in
Vietnam".
Khai said, for Vietnamese music,
Zing purchased the copyright from the Recording Industry Association of
Vietnam, the Center for Vietnamese Music Copyright, as well as directly
cooperated with hundreds of artists like Dam Vinh Hung, Ho Ngoc Ha, Thuy Tien,
Hien Thuc, Noo Phuoc Thinh, etc.
For foreign music, Zing has been
working with representatives of the world's major music labels such as
Universal and Sony Music for several months. "This is a difficult process
to be able to convince these "giants" to accept a business model
consistent with the habits of enjoying free music of users in Vietnam,"
said Khai.
Khai also said that on October 5,
VNG and Universal Music Group reached an agreement on music copyright.
Universal Music will grant the right to hear the recordings of Universal Music
(in the forms of streaming and download for a fee) to Vietnamese users on the
whole system of this website. VNG commited to remove all access from outside
the territory of Vietnam to the records of Universal Music on Zing MP3.
Director of the Vietnam Institute
of Advertising Research and Training, Mr. Do Kim Dung, said that the actions of
Coca-Cola and Samsung should be encouraged.
He said that it's time for brands
to not need to pay for advertising space on a media tool that lack legal
transparency. This is the way to respect their own brands and respect smart
consumers.
"This is a lesson for media
owners which urge them to be more aware of respecting intellectual property
rights," Dung said.
Compiled by Na Son
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