# When you may use a work without permission

Source: https://luatbanquyen.com/en/copyright/limitations-and-exceptions · Updated: 2026-08-17 · Reviewed: 2026-08-17

Vietnam has no US-style fair use — it has an enumerated list plus three overarching conditions. Confusing the two causes a great deal of trouble.

This is where Vietnamese law differs fundamentally from the United States, and where content users most often invoke the wrong rule.

## Vietnam has no "fair use"

The US applies fair use — an open standard with four factors weighed case by case. Vietnam follows the continental European model: the law **enumerates** permitted free uses, and anything not on the list is not permitted.

The direct consequence: "my video is fair use because it is commentary and transformative" is not a valid legal argument in Vietnam. You must point to the specific statutory case your conduct falls within.

## Three conditions apply to every exception

Even if your use is on the list, it must also: not conflict with normal exploitation of the work; not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the author or owner; and **credit the author and the source**.

That third condition matters: attribution is a **mandatory add-on**, not a substitute for permission. Many people have it backwards, assuming that crediting the source makes any use acceptable.

## Uses requiring neither permission nor payment

Article 25 covers, among others: making **one copy for your own** non-commercial research or study (all three conditions required); **reasonable quotation** for comment, introduction or illustration in your own work; quotation in journalism, periodicals, broadcasts and documentaries; use in **teaching** for non-commercial purposes; **library copying** for research; performance at cultural or public-information events where nothing is charged in any form; photographing or filming works of art, architecture or photography **displayed in public places** in order to present them; and converting works into **braille or accessible formats for the visually impaired** — a group broadened after Vietnam joined the Marrakesh Treaty, in force from 6 March 2023.

Article 26 separately covers uses requiring **no permission but payment of royalties**, mainly by broadcasters using published works.

## How much is "reasonable quotation"?

The law gives no figure. There is no "under 10% is fine" or "under 30 seconds is fine" rule — those numbers circulate online but have no basis in Vietnamese law.

Test it against the three conditions instead. The core question: does your extract substitute for the original? Quoting a passage to comment on it does not. Quoting the heart of the work so nobody needs the original does — and that conflicts with normal exploitation.

## A note on software

The Article 25 exceptions do **not** extend to computer programs in the way they do to other works. Copying software "for personal research" is not the shield it is for a book.

## When unsure

Three safe options in ascending cost: use public domain works; use works under a clear open licence and keep evidence of it; or ask for written permission. The cost of asking is almost always lower than the cost of a dispute.

## Cited documents

- [Consolidated document 67/VBHN-VPQH — Law on Intellectual Property](/en/legal-documents/ip-law-consolidated) — In force

## Sources

- [Articles 25, 25a and 26 of the IP Law — limitations and exceptions — Điều 25, 25a, 26](https://thuvienphapluat.vn/van-ban/So-huu-tri-tue/Van-ban-hop-nhat-67-VBHN-VPQH-2026-Luat-So-huu-tri-tue-700846.aspx) (67/VBHN-VPQH)
- [WIPO Lex — the Marrakesh Treaty entered into force for Viet Nam on 6 March 2023](https://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/members/profile/VN)

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Reference material only; it does not replace legal advice on a specific matter.