Advertisers are not yet accustomed to paying attention to whether newspapers, online news sites and social networks which they use for their ad campaigns infringe copyrights or intellectual property rights.
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| Advertisers care little about copyright issues in media |
The idea was shared by representatives of numerous foreign-invested companies in interviews with the Daily after Coca-Cola and Samsung had removed their advertisements from the online music website Zing Mp3 of VNG Co. given concerns about music copyrights on the site.
According to these companies, especially multinationals operating in Vietnam like Toyota and Sony, as leading brands worldwide, they always choose prestigious newspapers with big circulation or websites with high traffic to advertise their products. However, they also admitted failing to check if these media violate copyrights or intellectual property rights or not.
Administrators of websites and news sites are responsible for the copyrights they use. Only when certain copyright violations are detected, advertisers will seek solutions for the problems, representatives of a number of enterprises having their products advertised on websites said.
Regarding the moves of Coca-Cola and Samsung, Truong Van Quy, general director of EQVN Technology and Media Co. specializing in online marketing, said both companies had wise solutions. Both had successfully protected their brands in the local market and in the business community, Quy explained.
“The problem has also changed the mindset of other local brands when they look for channels for promoting their products,” Quy told the Daily.
Similarly, Do Kim Dung, vice chairman of the Vietnam Advertising Association, described the decisions of Coca-Cola and Samsung as very lucid at this time. The two giants have rung an alarm bell regarding intellectual property rights infringements in the nation, he said.
“Other popular brands like Tan Hiep Phat, Vinamilk and MobiFone might have to follow the example of Coca-Cola and Samsung; otherwise, they will face objections from intelligent consumers and media,” said Dung, who is also director of the Advertising Research and Training Institute of Vietnam. He advised local people not to tolerate fraudulent business activities and he even called for competent authorities to get tough on the copyright issue.