The Vietnamese translation of technical documents — installation manuals, operating procedures, machine dossiers — is something FDI companies use daily and share across projects. But a translator does more than retype in Vietnamese: a good translation embeds creative terminology and phrasing choices, and the law treats a translation as a derivative work with its own ownership.
Legal status of a technical translation
- Derivative work — Article 4(14) and Article 15 of the IP Law: a translation is a derivative work, protected provided it does not prejudice the original; the translator is the author of the translation.
- Translator’s rights — the translator keeps moral rights (Article 19) in the translation and economic rights (Article 20) in their creative contribution, unless the translation contract assigns them to the client.
- Original owner’s rights — translation is a derivative right of the original owner (Article 20(7)): translating another manufacturer’s documents without permission infringes, even if you paid for the translation yourself.
- Pure technical data is not protected — specifications, figures and standardised terminology are not copyright subject matter; what is protected is the creative presentation and phrasing of the translation.
Locking rights when commissioning translations
- State in the translation contract that the translation and all economic rights belong to the client, while the translator keeps moral rights but undertakes not to obstruct exploitation or revision.
- Attach the company’s glossary as a contract annex — it ensures technical consistency and delineates each side’s creative contribution.
- Before translating third-party documents (manufacturers, partners), check whether the distribution licence covers translation and internal circulation of the translation.
A good technical translation is an asset, not a one-off cost. Multi-project FDI operators should build a translation library with clear ownership: for every translation, know who the author is, who owns it, and which projects may use it.
Frequently asked questions
We pay for a technical translation into Vietnamese — who owns it?
The translation is the translator’s derivative work under Article 15 of the IP Law; economic rights pass to the client when the contract assigns them.
What rights does the translator have?
The translator is author of the translation: moral rights always, and economic rights in their creative contribution unless assigned by contract.
Can we reuse the translation across many projects?
Yes, if the company owns the translation’s economic rights and holds translation rights from the original owner; missing either condition creates risk.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council