Vietnam joins WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty

Tang warmly congratulated Vietnam on joining the treaty, noting the accession demonstrates the country’s strong commitments to the global intellectual property system, while also strengthening the protection of the related rights of performers and producers of phonograms within the digital environment.

WPPT membership is anticipated to also lead to increased employment and opportunities for the Vietnamese creative industry, he said.

Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai, head of the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the UN and World Trade Organization (WTO), stated that the country’s accession to the WPPT and its implementation will strongly promote cinema and performing activities, contributing to the development of the entertainment industry, as well as socio-economic development for the country as a whole.

Ambassador Mai also held a meeting with WIPO leaders as part of efforts to ramp up the implementation of co-operation contents between the country and WIPO as agreed by the two sides during the visit of Vietnamese State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc to the WIPO headquarters in November 2021.

WIPO leaders pledged to work closely alongside relevant Vietnamese agencies to quickly and successfully implement these co-operation contents.

The WPPT primarily deals with the rights of two kinds of beneficiaries, particularly in the digital environment: (i) performers (actors, singers, musicians, etc.); and (ii) producers of phonograms (persons or legal entities that take the initiative and have the responsibility for the fixation of sounds).

The Vietnamese accession to the treaty therefore aims to strengthen the protection of the related rights of performers and producers of phonograms in the digital environment, whilst fully meeting its commitments to new-generation free trade agreements.