VietNamNet Bridge – Ha Noi People’s Court determined that director Viet Tu has author’s rights while Tuan Chau Ha Noi JSC retains property rights over the stage show Quintessence of Tonkin at a trial yesterday.

A scene from Quintessence of Tonkin. — VNA/VNS Photo Dinh Thuan

In the lawsuit, the company said that they signed a contract valued VND7.3 billion (US$313,900) with director Viet Tu’s DS Company in 2017 to develop the show Once Upon a Time. The company, therefore, claimed property rights to the show and accused the director of falsely registering the show as his intellectual property.

Meanwhile, the director sued the company for violating intellectual rights by staging Quintessence of Tonkin, which he claimed was based on his show Once Upon a Time.

Ha Noi People’s Court accepted part of Tuan Chau Ha Noi’s petition, asking DS Company to transfer the property rights for Once Upon a Time.

However, the company’s request for compensation for the cost of producing and hiring lawyers was not approved.

The trial board also determined that Quintessence of Tokin is a derivate work of Once Upon a Time yet did not agree to DS Company’s request for compensation of VND6 billion ($258,000) from Tuan Chau.

According to the contract, DS designed the stage and composed the screenplay with funding from Tuan Chau Ha Noi Company.

When the contract was signed, the show had not been named Once Upon A Time.

“Author’s rights to Once Upon a Time belong to stage director Viet Tu while Tuan Chau Ha Noi Company has property rights over the show. DS Company violated regulations by registering property rights to the work,” the judgment reads.

Therefore, Viet Tu has the right to stop others copying and adjusting the play.  

Property rights, which Tuan Chau Ha Long Company retains, include rights to create a derivative work, to perform the work to the public, to reproduce the work and to circulate the original or copies of the work, according to Vietnam’s intellectual law.

Once Upon a Time was first staged in June 2016 but quickly stopped without any explanation. Quintessence of Tonkin, a show with many similarities to Viet Tu’s, was first staged in October 2017. 

Source: VNS