The company owned the copyright in a comic series, yet it still lost a lawsuit brought by an illustrator who had left. The “Thần đồng Đất Việt” (“Vietnamese Child Prodigy”) case shows where the line falls between a business’s economic rights and the author’s moral rights. It also shows which clauses you need when you give creative work to employees.
1. The case in 60 seconds
Illustrator Lê Linh drew the 4 characters of the comic “Thần đồng Đất Việt” while working for Phan Thị Company. After he left, the company hired other artists to continue and changed the way the characters were drawn.
Can the copyright owner modify the work as it wishes? Is the person who “came up with the idea” a co-author?
Set out clearly in the contract the economic rights, the right to modify and the right to create derivative works. Keep full records of the creative process.
2. What happened?
- Creative work is assigned. Illustrator Lê Linh worked for Phan Thị Company under a labour contract and personally drew the series from volume 1 to volume 78.
- The 4 characters take shape. He designed and drew Trạng Tí, Sửu Ẹo, Dần Béo and Cả Mẹo. The company was granted a copyright registration certificate.
- The author leaves. The company hired other artists to continue the series from volume 79 and to produce spin-off series (E Khoa Học, E Mỹ Thuật).
- The characters are changed. The new drawings changed the lines and expressions of the characters without the author’s consent. The company’s Director claimed to be a co-author.
- The court rules. Appeal Judgment No. 774/2019/DSPT (People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City) upheld the first-instance judgment and recognised Lê Linh as the sole author.
3. Where is the legal issue?
Who is the author?
The author is the person who directly creates the work. A person who only contributes ideas, gives support, provides materials or invests money is not an author.
What does the business own?
When it assigns the task or signs a contract, the business can be the owner of the economic rights. The moral rights that belong to the author remain.
Can the characters be changed?
The author has the right to protect the integrity of the work and to stop others from altering, cutting or distorting it. The owner must also respect this right.
Did the contract plan for further development?
Without an agreement on the right to adapt, rework and develop derivative works, a business can easily be sued when it keeps exploiting the work.
4. From the facts to the management lesson
| Fact | Analysis | Lesson |
|---|---|---|
| Phan Thị Company held a copyright registration certificate for the comic series. | The certificate confirms who owns the economic rights. It does not make the company the author and does not remove the illustrator’s moral rights. | Distinguish clearly between the author and the owner in your records and contracts. |
| After the illustrator left, the company had others continue the series and change the lines and expressions of the characters. | Modifying and distorting the work without the author’s consent infringes the right to protect the integrity of the work. | Agree in writing in advance on the scope of changes allowed and the right to create derivative works. |
| The company’s Director claimed to be a co-author because she had come up with the story ideas. | An idea that has not been expressed in a material form is not protected. The court rejected her claim to be a co-author. | Keep drafts, task assignments and acceptance records to prove where the work came from. |
Fact: facts stated in the judgment · Analysis: FC Legal’s view · Lesson: what businesses should do.
5. What did the court decide?
In Appeal Judgment No. 774/2019/DSPT, the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City upheld the first-instance judgment:
- It recognised illustrator Lê Linh as the sole author of the 4 characters and rejected the claim of Ms Hạnh (the company’s Director) to be a co-author.
- It found that Phan Thị Company owned the economic rights but had infringed the author’s moral rights (the right to protect the integrity of the work).
- It ordered the company to stop creating and using, without permission, versions of the characters that departed from the original drawings, to make a public apology in the press and to pay the author’s lawyers’ fees.
Under the Law on Intellectual Property, copyright only arises when an idea is expressed in a certain material form. A person who only gives support, contributes opinions, provides materials or invests money is not an author. The right to protect the integrity of the work is one of the author’s moral rights.
6. What should businesses do now?
- Set out the position clearly in labour and work-assignment contracts. For works that employees create as part of an assigned task, the economic rights belong fully to the business.
- Agree on the scope of changes and derivative rights. When you hire creative staff, designers or outside specialists, include a clause that allows the business to adapt, rework and develop derivative works.
- Keep all creative records. Draft sketches, task assignment documents and acceptance records help prove where a work came from if there is a dispute.
- Review the position when creative staff leave. Complete the handover of source files and confirm each party’s rights before you hire someone else to continue.
Businesses usually only ask “who owns it?”, but disputes break out over “what are we allowed to do with the work?”. For logos, characters, brand identity sets and content created by employees and freelancers, the contract should state the right to modify and develop the work from the start, before the asset becomes valuable.
Ask a lawyer →7. Frequently asked questions
If the company pays the salary of a creative employee, is the company the author?
No. The author is the person who directly creates the work. The company can be the owner of the economic rights if it assigned the task or there is a suitable agreement.
Can the copyright owner modify the work itself?
It may not alter, cut or distort the work without the author’s consent. It is best to have a written agreement on the scope of changes allowed.
Can the person who came up with the idea be named as a co-author?
Only if they directly took part in creating the form in which the work is expressed. Contributing ideas, providing materials or investing is not enough to be an author.
Review your contracts and in-house copyright with an FC Legal lawyer
For logos, characters, content and designs created by employees and freelancers.
- Review of copyright clauses in labour and services contracts
- Drafting transfer agreements and derivative rights
- Copyright registration for core assets
Please do not send confidential documents or personal data through the form.
Sources
People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City: Appeal Judgment No. 774/2019/DSPT, copyright dispute over Thần đồng Đất Việt.
National Assembly: Law on Intellectual Property, consolidated text including the amendments of 2009, 2019 and 2022.
This article is for reference. It analyses published judgments and does not replace legal advice on a specific case. Some parties’ names are abbreviated as in the published judgments. For detailed advice, please contact the FC Legal legal team.
Prepared by the FC Legal legal team and reviewed by FC Legal’s managing lawyer. Updated 30 September 2026.
