Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) is seeking public feedback on a draft decree regulating copyright payments across several creative sectors, including film, visual arts, photography, performing arts, journalism and publishing. The proposal introduces detailed mechanisms for calculating royalties for creators in the film industry.
Under the draft, copyright payments for film creators will be based on the economic and technical norms of the film sector and a royalty rate table by creative role, determined by the film’s genre and quality. For feature films, screenwriters may receive 2.25–2.75% and directors 2.5–3% of the total production cost.
The ministry said filmmaking is a highly collaborative process involving numerous contributors, from screenwriters and directors to cinematographers, editors and art designers. Therefore, the royalty structure must align with the production, budgeting, appraisal and settlement procedures of each project, especially those financed by state funds or public procurement.
The draft shifts the royalty calculation basis from “production cost” to “film production price” to comply with pricing regulations. It also revises royalty shares for several roles — editors would see their share rise from 0.43–0.80% to 0.86–1.40%, while art designers’ share would drop from 1.00–1.50% to 0.57–0.90%. Despite these changes, the overall royalty ratio remains the same as stipulated in Decree No. 21/2015/NĐ-CP.
For adapted works based on literature, stage plays or other sources, the screenwriter of the adapted version will receive 70% of the original screenwriter’s royalty, with the remainder paid to the author or copyright holder of the original work. The draft also proposes an additional 5–10% bonus for films focusing on children or ethnic minorities.
Films requiring advanced technical methods, foreign locations or specialized materials would have royalties determined by mutual agreement or approved total production cost. For exploitation and commercial use of state-owned films, royalties must be settled through written agreements between the copyright representative agency and the user, based on usage scope and revenue.
The MCST said the new rules aim to improve transparency in royalty distribution and encourage artistic creativity in Vietnam’s film industry. The draft decree is currently open for public consultation on the ministry’s official portal.
*Sources: Vietnam Intellectual Property & Innovation Magazine; Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
