Draft Decree on Cinematography Law Open for Consultation
On 1 January 2023, Vietnam’s new Law on Cinematography will enter into force, following its approval in the National Assembly on 15 June. The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (“MCST”) is now in the process of drafting its implementing legislation. To that end, on 6 October, MCST issued the third draft of the decree guiding the Cinematography Law (“the Draft Decree”).
The Draft Decree includes three important provisions:
First, it provides conditions for foreign entities which show and share films online to users in Vietnam: Pursuant to the Draft Decree, foreign entities wishing to show films online to Vietnamese consumers must establish a foreign-invested company in Vietnam or follow a BCC contract.
Second, it introduces the conditions applied to entities which disseminate films online regarding film classification: Regardless of whether entities are domestic or foreign-invested, they must follow the following film classification conditions:
- Have a named contact person, including their information and contact address, to receive and handle requests of the competent management agencies;
- Have a film classification council with members qualified in the classification of films according to Vietnamese regulations;
- Have a technical plan to amend and update film classification results, as well as a plan to pause and remove films, at the request of MCST or other competent state agencies;Have a plan to take technical measures and guide parents / guardians on how to protect their children and ensure that films are age-appropriate for them, and inform them how to report infringing films, and;
- Have a mechanism to receive and handle requests from state management agencies and to reflect and complain about service users.
Before disseminating films to Vietnamese audiences, entities must send a report on these conditions to MCST.
Third, it establishes a requirement for advance notification of films to be shown online: Before films are shown or shared online, entities must use an MCST-granted account to provide advanced notice of the films to be shown to the MCST film classification database.
The Draft Decree is available online at the MCST website, where it is open for public consultation. For more information about this Draft Decree, please contact our office on: contact@apflpartners.com
