Related rights — the layer above copyright
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A recorded song carries at least three layers of rights held by three different parties. Clearing only some of them still infringes.
Related rights protect those who did not write the work but who bring it to the public. The regime stands independently and sits on top of copyright rather than replacing it.
The three holders
Performers — actors, singers, musicians, dancers and others who present a work. Performers hold both moral rights (to be identified, and to the integrity of their performance image) and economic rights where they also funded the performance.
Producers of sound and audiovisual recordings — those who first fix sounds or images. Their right protects the investment in making the recording, not creativity.
Broadcasting organisations — rights in broadcasts and in encrypted programme-carrying satellite signals.
Why this matters in practice
Take a specific song. You want to use singer A's recording of composer B's song, produced by label C, in an advertisement. Three layers apply: copyright in the song (composer B or the rights owner), performers' rights (singer A), and the producer's rights in that particular recording (label C).
Clearing the composer but forgetting the label still infringes. That is why people who believe they "bought the music" still receive claims — buying a right to listen is not buying a right to use commercially.
Conversely, if you re-record the song yourself, only the first layer needs clearing. The other two are yours.
Terms
All three run 50 years, from different starting points: performances from the year following fixation; recordings from the year following publication, or fixation if unpublished; broadcasts from the year following transmission. The 24:00 on 31 December rule applies throughout.
Registration
As with copyright, related rights arise automatically and registration is evidentiary only. The Copyright Office issues certificates, with fees by type: VND 200,000 for a performance fixed in a sound recording or for a sound recording; VND 300,000 for an audiovisual recording; VND 500,000 for a broadcast.
International basis
Vietnam is party to the Rome Convention (in force 1 March 2007), the Geneva Phonograms Convention (6 July 2005), the Brussels Satellite Convention (12 January 2006) and WIPO's WPPT (1 July 2022). The WPPT modernised the regime for the digital environment and underpins royalty collection from streaming.