HCMC singer, media executive probed over YouTube music copyright infringement

The Investigation Police Agency under the municipal Public Security Department announced on August 5 that it had prosecuted and placed Nguyen Thi Hien, owner of the YouTube channel Phuong Diem Huyen, and Nguyen Thanh Hiep, Director of Unicorn Vietnam Media and Entertainment Co., Ltd., in temporary detention for investigation into the charge of infringing copyright and related rights under Article 225 of Vietnam's Penal Code. According to the investigation, Hien cooperated with BH Media to manage the Phuong Diem Huyen YouTube channel, which boasts hundreds of thousands of subscribers and features thousands of Bolero and lyrical music videos. The investigation found that she had uploaded and exploited numerous copyrighted musical works over a long period without obtaining permission from copyright holders or paying royalties as required by law. Several of the videos attracted millions of views. According to the investigation agency, the violations caused copyright holders losses of hundreds of millions of Vietnamese dong while generating unlawful profits of hundreds of millions of dong for Hien through YouTube monetization. In a separate case, Nguyen Thanh Hiep was also prosecuted. His company operates the "liveshowunicorn2988" YouTube channel in cooperation with BH Media, hosting nearly 1,000 videos and attracting hundreds of millions of views. Preliminary findings showed that between 2021 and 2026, Hiep uploaded hundreds of copyrighted musical works by composers represented by the Vietnam Center for Protection of Music Copyright without authorization or royalties. More than 200 videos were found to have infringed copyright. According to the investigation agency, the violations caused copyright holders losses exceeding VND100 million (approximately $3,800) while generating hundreds of millions of Vietnamese dong in unlawful profits from YouTube. The agency stated that a license to organize a live performance does not automatically grant the right to record, reproduce, or upload musical works to online platforms. Under Vietnamese law, performance rights, reproduction rights, and the right to communicate works to the public are separate property rights. Each requires authorization from the copyright holder, the owner of related rights, or an authorized collective management organization, unless otherwise provided by law. Authorities also urged media companies, event organizers, content producers, and digital platform operators to verify the copyright status of works, sign licensing agreements, keep documentation proving their rights to use protected content, and fully pay royalties before publishing material online. The Ho Chi Minh City's Investigation Police Agency said investigations into the cases are continuing in accordance with the law.