Under a new decree that will take effect on July 1, individuals who provide or share journalistic, literary, and artistic works or publications without the consent of the intellectual property rights holder will be fined between VND20-30 million (US$760-1,140).

Speaking to VnExpress on Wednesday to clarify the new rule, Le Quang Tu Do, director of the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information, said whether a particular act constitutes copyright infringement depends on the specific circumstances of each case.

Simply sharing a news article's link on social media does not constitute copyright infringement, he clarified. "A link is not a journalistic work; it is merely a pathway leading to that work."

However, sharing a link together with part or all of the article's content is a different matter, and doing so without obtaining permission would be copyright infringement, he said.

If someone does not copy an article verbatim but instead uses its main ideas and rewrites them would be assessed on a case-by-case basis, he said.

Le Quang Tu Do, Director of the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information. Photo by VnExpress/Minh Son

"If it is original information that only one news organization possesses, then it is certainly a copyright violation."

On the other hand, if it has been reported by multiple news organizations or shared broadly by the public, it would not necessarily be an infringement, he said.

For instance, information such as "Hanoi reaches 40 degrees Celsius" is widely available data that anyone may share, but if a report includes interviews with meteorologists explaining the causes of a heat wave, it means someone had to go out and do interviews to obtain that information, he said. Plagiarizing such information could be considered copyright infringement, he warned.

He said copyright is a complex field in which it is impossible to enumerate every potential violation because real-world situations vary greatly, but the fundamental principle is that creators possess complete rights over their work.

"Regardless of whether we use the material for commercial or non-commercial purposes, we must obtain permission from the rights holder."

The latest decree is part of the government’s effort to clamp down on copyright violations in the country. In recent months it has conducted a nationwide takedown of websites broadcasting pirated films, music, and video games. Earlier this month, authorities instructed businesses to stop using pirated software.