This workshop is a forum for scientists, policy makers, managers, publishing units in Vietnam and Southeast Asian countries to exchange experiences and solutions to enhance the effectiveness of book copyright protection.

This is an activity within the framework of the Annual Conference of the Southeast Asian Publishing Association (ABPA), organized by the Vietnam Publishing Association, the Southeast Asian Publishing Association, the Department of Publishing - Printing - Distribution of the Ministry of Information and Communications, and the Department of Information and Communications of Ho Chi Minh City.

The workshop focused on topics such as: Identifying copyright infringements on digital platforms; Assessing the status of book copyright infringement on digital platforms; Current status of book copyright protection on digital platforms in Vietnam and Southeast Asian countries; Sharing experiences and proposing solutions to protect book copyrights on digital platforms in Southeast Asian countries...

According to 2022 research data from Media Partners Asia, Vietnam ranks third in the region (after Indonesia and the Philippines) in terms of copyright infringement rates in the digital space. Per capita, Vietnam ranks first, with about 15.5 million illegal viewers, causing a loss of about 348 million USD.

Present at the conference, writer Nguyen Nhat Anh emphasized that pirated and fake books are social evils that have a very negative impact on the development of reading culture, overshadowing the value and beauty of books in the spiritual life of society.

According to the writer, books are a cultural treasure, a source of knowledge, nurturing the soul, inspiring and teaching people about the right things. "However, the "unscrupulous" origin of fake and pirated books has tarnished and erased the good meanings that books inherently have," he said.

The writer said that when he saw readers sad because they bought pirated books, he felt very sad. However, he affirmed that he would never sign a fake book, because that would be tantamount to him acknowledging the legality of counterfeiting.

Writer Nguyen Nhat Anh believes that counterfeit and pirated books tarnish the country's image and reading culture will find it difficult to develop if counterfeit and pirated books continue to prevail.

At the workshop, Mr. Nguyen Nguyen - Director of the Department of Publishing, Printing and Distribution, Vice President of the Vietnam Publishing Association - said that Vietnam has a relatively complete legal system with copyright protection regulations in the Publishing Law, Intellectual Property Law and related sub-law documents.

In addition, Vietnam has also built a system of copyright management and protection institutions at both the central and local levels. However, the situation of copyright infringement in Vietnam is still quite complicated.

Speaking at the workshop, Ms. Phan Thi Thu Ha - Director of Tre Publishing House - said that copyright infringement in digital space is manifested in many different forms and affects most cultural and artistic content such as: Literature, painting, music, cinema...

"The problem of copyright infringement of content on digital platforms has sounded the alarm not only for authorities but also for related individuals and groups," Ms. Ha confided.

When talking about solutions to protect book copyrights in cyberspace, Ms. Pham Thi Kim Oanh - Deputy Director of the Copyright Office - said that one of the things that needs to be focused on is perfecting the legal system, especially the law on intellectual property protection.

Besides, Ms. Oanh also emphasized the need to enhance the role and responsibility of agencies enforcing copyright and related rights protection in the field of book publishing and distribution.

In addition, it is necessary to promote propaganda, popularize education, as well as proactively implement preventive measures such as: Registering copyright; storing records and evidence proving creativity, proving ownership...

At the conference, delegates from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand also shared their countries' experiences and solutions in combating copyright infringement.

In general, delegates agreed that there should be policy intervention, mechanisms and technological measures to handle violations. However, the most important thing is still citizens' awareness of copyright protection.

"The government and industry players need to work together to raise awareness of copyright and intellectual property laws. In addition, stricter penalties for violators are also needed," said Sheikh Faisal Sheikh Mansor, Chairman of the Malaysian Publishers Association.