The Brussels Convention was signed to protect broadcasting organisations against unauthorised distribution of encoded programme-carrying signals.

Mr Chu said in order to distribute satellite-broadcast, encoded programmes carrying signals owned by Brussels Convention-member countries, Vietnamese organisations, enterprises and individuals will have to ask for permission from the owners and arrange profit-sharing agreements in case of any arising disputes.

The Brussels Convention was signed by 28 countries on December 12, 2005.

The CACD and the Publication Department have just completed a draft on "Assistance on Royalties for Publishing Activities" in the 2006-2010 period. The draft estimates that copyrights of 2,250 literary works will be bought for translation into Vietnamese.

So far, Vietnam has become a signatory to three international conventions on intellectual property rights, including the Berne Convention on copyright protection for authors of literary, artistic and scientific works, and the Geneva Convention on protection for phonogram producers against unauthorised duplication.

The country is preparing all the necessary procedures to participate in the Rome Convention, drawn up to protect performers, phonogram producers and broadcasting organisations.