US embassy cable - 04HOCHIMINHCITY606

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HO CHI MINH CITY 000606 
 
SIPDIS 
 
State for EB/IPC:DRBEAN, EAP/BCLTV, and EB/ODC 
State pass to USTR Burcky/Alvarez and Elena Bryan 
State also pass to USPTO for Urban and Fowler 
State also pass to Library of Congress for Tepp 
USDOC for 6500 and 4431/MAC/AP/OPB/VLC/HPPHO 
USDOC also for ITA/TD/OTEA/JJANICKE and ITA/TD/SIF/CMUIR 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR, ECON, ETRD, VM, IPROP 
SUBJECT: SAME OLD IPR SONG IN VIETNAM -- BUT ARE THOSE SOME NEW 
LYRICS? 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
1.  In stark contrast with Vietnam's usual indifference to IPR 
violations, press and public opinion have turned on a local 
composer who apparently plagiarized a song written by a Japanese 
composer.  After front-page play in the local press, the Musicians 
Association of Vietnam is mulling action and the government is 
considering tighter IPR regulations to cover such plagiarism. 
Nonetheless, there is still no legal recourse for the song's true 
composer. 
 
NOT JUST ANOTHER COPY 
--------------------- 
2.  Most Ho Chi Minh City consumers - as well as local law 
enforcement officials - are indifferent to the counterfeits and 
copies in their midst.  Venues for buying pirated DVDs, CDs, and 
VCDs number in the thousands, and range from tiny, decrepit 
storefronts to well-stocked counters in downtown shopping centers. 
Pirated discs are merely the tip of the iceberg.  Clothing of 
dubious origin, counterfeit motorcycle parts, knock-off medicine, 
and books hot off the photocopier abound. 
 
3.  All the more surprising then is the recent public condemnation 
of a Vietnamese composer, Bao Chan, who allegedly stole a melody 
from a Japanese composer and passed it off as his own.  Since the 
mid-1990s, a piece of music entitled "Tinh Thoi Xot Xa" (Love is 
No Longer Bitter) and "composed by Bao Chan", has been familiar to 
ietnamee audiences.  Its most famous version was  a 1996 release 
by Vietnamese pop star Lam Truong. 
 
4.  In early April, Vietnamese newspapers began running front-page 
stories detailing the claims of Japanese composer Keiko Matsui, 
who said "Love is No Longer Bitter" was musically identical to her 
song "Frontier", published in 1991.  "Frontier" had been used for 
a Super Mario Brothers/Nintendo game in 1991, and later released 
on Ms. Matsui's album "Cherry Blossom" in 1992.  Bao Chan 
countered that he wrote "his" song in the 1980s, but could not 
remember exactly when.  Nor could he produce the original draft. 
No one has come forward to vouch for the song's existence in 
Vietnam prior to the release date claimed by Keiko Matsui.  At 
last report, Bao Chan, who describes himself as disorganized, was 
searching his papers for an early version of "Love is No Longer 
Bitter." 
 
CASE SEEMS TO HAVE STRUCK A CHORD 
--------------------------------- 
5.  The "Ai Copy Ai" (Who Has Copied Whom) controversy has 
generated intense public interest.  Major daily newspapers have 
published letters from Ms. Matsui and her producer, devoting 
significant space to the topic.  A letter to one  daily, Nguoi Lao 
Dong (The Worker), even described a mathematical analysis of the 
songs to determine the odds that they could be coincidentally 
similar.  The odds that two composers each wrote this particular 
song independently are 1 in 282,475,249 per single verse of music. 
Forget an entire song.  The same newspaper convened a panel of 
three highly-respected music professors to review the songs. 
Unfortunately for Bao Chan, the panel and the court of public 
opinion concluded he stole the music. 
 
NOTHING FOR THE TRUE COMPOSER 
----------------------------- 
6.  Vietnam is not yet a signatory to the Berne Convention, and 
Japan and Vietnam do not have bilateral agreements covering IPR. 
As Ms. Matsui's producer wrote to a local paper, "If this had 
happened in the U.S., our management company and publishers would 
take it to court, (where) we could win easily."   Not in Vietnam, 
however.  The National Copyright Office has publicly stated that 
the case does not fall under their jurisdiction, presumably 
because Ms. Matsui never registered her song in Vietnam. 
 
GOVERNMENT MAY TAKE ACTION, BUT NOT MUCH 
---------------------------------------- 
7.  Still, the GVN or at least a government-sponsored organization 
may take some action.  Newspaper accounts and ConGen contacts 
familiar with the case have suggested that the Communist Party- 
controlled Musicians Association of Vietnam (whose membership 
includes most professional composers) would probably handle the 
case.  These contacts say the Association might demand Bao Chan 
publicly admit his guilt and apologize to the Japanese composer. 
The Association could also strip him of professional memberships. 
Whatever the sanctions, it appears that if his peers deem Bao Chan 
guilty, his career as a composer will be seriously damaged. 
 
8.  The GVN is also considering new legal sanctions against future 
offenders.  The Deputy Minister of Culture and Information (MOCI) 
has condemned "creative" piracy, and publicly stated that MOCI 
would unveil a new administrative penalty proposal this month. 
However, the head of MOCI's legal department told ConGen that this 
proposal, which would be vetted by the Ministry of Justice before 
going to the Prime Minister for approval, does not increase 
penalties for IPR violators above their current nominal levels. 
It simply expands the scope of current regulations to include 
categories such as Bao Chan's alleged music plagiarism. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
9.  The fact that a Vietnamese composer took credit for another's 
original work has offended local sensibilities far more than 
millions of copies of pirated Microsoft software.  Yet in a city 
where IPR violations are rampant, it is a positive sign that this 
case has drawn so much public attention and coverage in the 
government-controlled media -- particularly since the rights 
holder is a foreigner.  The move to expand the universe of 
punishable IPR violations is also encouraging, though the 
miniscule penalties are scant disincentive.  But it still leaves 
Ms. Matsui with no legal recourse in Vietnam. 
 
YAMAUCHI