After rumours about the lack of transparency in voting results of the 2nd Gala, Vietnam Idol 2013 was accused of using a song without asking permission from the artist.

The recent third Gala of the fifth annual Vietnam Idol contest themed as “Nhung ca khuc cua nam 2000” or “Songs of 2000”. Although it seemed to delight the audience, the holder of the copyright was not so amused.  

The contest, in fact, is seems to be something of a magnet for legal troubles and accusations.  Singer Thao Trang claimed that her song, “Noi ay binh yen” or “Peaceful place there” was used without her permission by a contestant.

“That is my song which is part of my new album which has not been released, but nobody at the show seemed to care about that,” the clearly angry singer posted on her fan page.

Singer Thao Trang accuses Vietnam Idol of copyright infringement

  Vietnam Idol’s organisation board, however, said that they have strictly complied with all the required procedures for a television game-show.

Contestant Ngan Ha performing “Noi ay binh yen” on Vietnam Idol’

Also, during the eighth Gala of Vietnam Idol 2010, a contestant named Uyen Linh performed the song “Duong cong”, and was lauded by both the audience and the jury. However, when owner of the copyright for the tune, Nguyen Hai Phong, told the public that no permission was asked for or granted. Threats of a lawsuit against the contestant were announced, and Uyen Linh made an apology.

The organisers seem to be sticking to their guns, however. “According to intellectual property law, a TV programme that uses published works for broadcasting that attracts sponsorship, advertisement or revenues of any kind would not have to ask permission, but would have to pay royalties to the copyright holder,” they said.