# Rights of producers of sound and audiovisual recordings

Source: https://luatbanquyen.com/en/related-rights/producers-rights · Updated: 2026-08-17 · Reviewed: 2026-08-17

This right protects the investment in making a recording, not creativity — the protected object is the specific recording, not the work inside it.

A producer of sound or audiovisual recordings is whoever first fixes the sounds or images of a performance or of other sounds and images. They need not have created anything — they put up the money, equipment and effort to make the recording. Their right exists to protect exactly that investment.

## The protected object is the recording, not the work

The line to keep straight: a producer has no right in the **song** inside the recording — that belongs to the composer's copyright. They hold a right only in the **specific recording** they funded.

One song can therefore exist in countless recordings made by countless labels, each recording a separate protected object.

## The producer's two exclusive rights

Under Article 30 of the IP Law the producer has the exclusive right to do or authorise: (1) **reproducing** the recording directly or indirectly; and (2) **distributing** the original and copies to the public by sale, rental or any technical means. The producer is also entitled to **material benefits** when the recording is distributed to the public.

## Material benefits from commercial exploitation

When a published recording made for commercial purposes is broadcast or communicated to the public for payment, the copyright owner, the performer and the producer are entitled to royalties. This is the legal basis for collecting royalties from streaming — and the WPPT (in force for Vietnam since 1 July 2022) is the international instrument that modernised this for the digital environment.

## Term

Producers' rights run **50 years from the year following publication**, or from the year following fixation if unpublished (Article 34), ending at 24:00 on 31 December of the final year.

## Registration and cost

The right arises automatically on fixation; registration is evidentiary only. The certificate fee is **VND 200,000** for a sound recording and **VND 300,000** for an audiovisual recording.

## International basis

Vietnam is party to the Geneva Phonograms Convention (in force 6 July 2005) and the WPPT (1 July 2022). National treatment means a Vietnamese producer's recording is protected in member states, and vice versa.

## Common mistakes

**Assuming buying or downloading music buys a right to use it.** You buy only a right to listen for personal purposes. Using that recording in a commercial video, film or app is a new act of exploitation requiring the producer's permission.

**Assuming the label owns the song.** The label owns the recording; the song belongs to the composer or the copyright owner. The two layers are cleared separately — see the [related-rights overview](/related-rights/related-rights-overview).

## Cited documents

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

## Sources

- [Articles 30 and 34 of the IP Law — producers' rights and their term — Điều 30, Điều 34](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 Geneva Phonograms Convention and WPPT in force for Viet Nam](https://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/members/profile/VN)

- Previous: [Performers' rights — moral and economic rights](/en/related-rights/performers-rights)
- Next: [Rights of broadcasting organisations](/en/related-rights/broadcasters-rights)

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