Chương 1 Luật xuất bản 2012: Những quy định chung

Chapter 1

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of adjustment

This law provides for the publishing organization and activities; rights and obligations of agencies, organizations and individuals involved in publishing activities.

Publishing activities, including the fields of publishing, printing and release of publications.

Article 2. Subject of application

This law applies to agencies, organizations, individuals and foreign organizations operating in Vietnam, foreign individuals residing in Vietnam related to publishing activities.

Article 3. Location, purpose of publishing activities

Publishing activities in the field of culture and ideology in order to disseminate and introduce knowledge in the fields of social life, national cultural values ​​and cultural essence of humanity, to meet the needs of people’s spiritual life, to raise the people’s intellect and moral development and good lifestyle of Vietnamese people, to expand cultural exchanges with other countries, socio-economic development and fight against all thoughts and behavior detrimental to the national interests and contribute to the construction and defense of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Article 4. Explanation of terms

In this Law, the terms below are construed as follows:

1. Publishing is the organization and development of manuscript to be edited into templates for printing and release directly through the electronic media.

2. Printing is the use of printing equipment to create publications from the template.

3. Release is the adoption of one or more forms of buying, selling, allocation, donation, leasing, lending, export, import, fair and exhibition to bring publications to users.

4. Publication is a work and documents on politics, economics, culture, society, education and training, science, technology, literature, art which are published through publisher or agency, organization is issued publishing license in different languages, images, sounds, and are expressed in the following forms:

a) Printed books

b) Braille books;

c) Paintings, photographs, maps, posters, flyers and leaflets

d) Types of calendar;

e) Audio and video recording with the content for substitution of book or illustration for books

5. Manuscript is handwritten, typed copy or created by electronic media of a work, document for publishing.

6. Editing is the review and improvement of the content and form of the manuscript for publication.

7. Non-business document is a publication is not intended to buy, sell

8. Electronic publishing is the organization and development of manuscript to be edited into templates and use of electronic media to create electronic publications.

9. Electronic publication the one specified at Points a, c, d, e, Clause 4 of this Article shall be formatted digitally and read, listened and viewed by electronic media.

10. Electronic media as media operating based on electrical, electronic, digital, magnetic, optical and wireless transmission technology or similar technology specified in Clause 10, Article 4 of the Law on electronic transaction.

11. Method of publication and release of electronic publication is the publishing and release of publications on the electronic media.

12. Legal deposit is the submission of publication for storage, comparison, examination and appraisal.

Article 5. Ensure the right of dissemination of work and protection of copyright and related rights

1. The State shall ensure the right of dissemination of work in the form of publications through the publisher and protection of copyright and related rights.

2. The State shall not censor works before publication.

3. No agency, organization or individual is allowed to abuse the right to disseminate works to damage the interests of the State, the legitimate rights and interests of agencies, organizations and individuals.

Article 6. State management on publishing activities

1. State management content on publishing activities includes:

a) Developing and organizing the implementation of strategy, planning, policy of publishing activity development; issuing under the competence the legal normative documents regarding publishing activities and copyright in the publishing activities;

b) Organizing the reading, examination and appraisal of legal deposit publications;

c) Issuing and revoking types of license in publishing activities;

d) Scientific research and technological application in publishing activities; training and fostering profession on publishing activities;

e) International cooperation in publishing activities;

f) Inspecting, investigating and settling complaints and denunciations and handling of violations of the law in publishing activities;

g) Implementing regulation on information, report, statistic, and the emulation and commendation in publishing activities; selecting and giving awards for publications of high value.

2. Government shall perform the unified state management of publishing activities nationwide;

The Ministry of Information and Communications is responsible before the Government for the implementation of state management on publishing activities.

The ministries, ministerial-level agencies shall coordinate with the Ministry of Information and Communications to perform the State management on the publishing activities within its authority.

People's Committees of centrally-affiliated provinces and cities (hereinafter referred to as provincial-level People's Committees) shall perform the State management on the publishing activities at locality.

Article 7. State policy for publishing activities

1. The State has strategy, development planning of network of publishers, printing and  establishment of publication release, support of training of human resources; tax incentives prescribed by law for the publishing activities, policies to attract social resources involved in publishing activities.

2. State policy for the publishing field:

a) Supporting investment fund for the construction and modernization of material facilities, application and transfer of advanced technology and technique to publishers to serve the tasks, subjects and areas as specified at Point b of this Clause;

b) Placing an order to have manuscripts and publish works and materials to serve the task of politics, security, national defense, external information and serve people in ethnic minority areas, the areas with socio-economic conditions of particular difficulty, the remote, mountainous, border and island area, the youngster, children, the blind and other critical tasks;

c) Buying manuscript for valuable works but the publishing time is not appropriate or restrictions of subject of use; supporting to buy copyrights for domestic and foreign works which have value for social, cultural and economic development;

d) Favouring loan interest in accordance with the law.

3. State policy for the field of printing of publication:

a) Supporting fund for the construction investment and modernization of infrastructure, application and transfer of advanced technology and technique to printing facilities in service of tasks of politics, security, national defense, external information and printing facilities in remote, mountainous, border and island areas;

b) Favouring land lease rent for workshop building and loan interest rates for the printing facilities in service of the politics, security, national defense, external information and printing facilities in remote, mountainous, border and island areas,.

4. State policy in the field of publishing of publication:

a) Priority is given to the investment in land fund and expenditure to build infrastructure for the system of  establishment of publication release in the areas with socio-economic conditions of particular difficulty, the remote, mountainous, border and island areas,

b) Supporting freight charges of publications in service of tasks, subjects and areas specified at Point b, Clause 2 of this Article;

c) Supporting fund for organization, operation and promotion of Vietnamese culture and people through publication, organization of exhibitions, fairs of publications in the country and abroad;

d) Favouring land lease and house rent under state ownership, loan interest rate for establishment of publication release.

5. State policy for the publishing and release of electronic publications:

a) Supporting fund for the construction investment, modernization of infrastructure and application advanced technology and technique for publishing electronic publications;

b) Developing the specification data information system of electronic publications in order to create favorable conditions for searching, accessing, managing and archiving electronic publications.

6. The Government shall detail this Article in accordance with each stage of development of publishing activities.

Article 8. Establishment of representative office in Vietnam of foreign publishers and publication release organizations

1. Foreign publishers and publication release organizations (including enterprise and organization established abroad with multidisciplinary and multi-sector operation including publishing and publication release) are allowed to establish representative office in Vietnam after the Ministry of Information and communication issue license.

2. The Government shall specify the conditions for the establishment and operation contents and procedures for the issuance, renewal, re-issuance and extension of establishment license of representative office in Vietnam of foreign publishers and publication release organizations

Article 9. Complaints and denunciations in publishing activities

The complaints and denunciations in publishing activities shall comply with the provisions of law on complaints and denunciations.

Article 10. Contents and behaviors prohibited in publishing activities

1. Seriously prohibiting the publishing, printing and release of publications with the following contents:

a) Conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and destroying the unity of the whole nation;

b) Conducting propaganda and incitement war of aggression, causing hatred between nations and peoples; conducting incitement of violence; spreading reactionary ideology, obscence and depraved lifestyle, criminal acts, social evils, superstition and destruction of habits and customs;

c) Disclosing the state secrets, personal secrets and other secrets prescribed by law;

e) Distorting historical truth, denying revolutionary achievements; offending nation, well-known persons, national heroes; failing to express or properly express sovereignty; slandering and insulting the reputation of the agency, organization and dignity of the individual.

2. It is strictly forbidden to perform the following acts:

a) Publishing without registration and publishing decision or publishing license;

b) Changing, distorting the content of the manuscripts which have been signed for approval by or non-business document manuscript with the seal of the publishing licensing agencies;

c) Illicit and false printing, illegal re-printing of publications

d) Releasing publications without legitimate origin or failing to submit copyright deposit

e) Publishing, printing and releasing publications which have been suspended from release, recovering, confiscating, banning from circulation, destroying or illegally importing publications;

f) Other prohibited acts as prescribed by law.

Article 11. Handling violation in publishing activities

1. Organizations having violations of the provisions of this Law and other provisions of the relevant law, depending on the nature and seriousness of their violations, shall be administratively sanctioned, if causing damage, they must pay compensation as prescribed by law.

2. Organizations having violations of the provisions of this Law and other provisions of the relevant law, depending on the nature and seriousness of their violations, shall be administratively sanctioned or prosecuted criminal liability, if causing damage, they must pay compensation as prescribed by law.

3. Publications with violations shall be suspended from release with definite time and depending on the nature and seriousness of the violation, correction must be performed and then released or recovered, confiscated, banned from released or destroyed.

4. Electronic publications in violation shall be removed from the electronic media and depending on the nature and seriousness of their violations shall be handled under the provisions of clause 3 of this Article.

5. Organizations and individuals committing acts of infringement of intellectual property rights in the publishing activities shall be handled as prescribed by the law on intellectual property.

6. State management agencies on publishing activities must take responsibility for their decisions. In case of wrong decisions causing damage, they shall pay compensation as prescribed by law.