“Ebook is becoming a trend and it will develop strongly in the future. Vietnamese publishers have to seek ways to catch up with this trend and to protect their copyright,” says Mr. Nguyen Minh Nhut, director of the Tre Publishing House.

Saving themselves

Some publishers have kept pace with the international tendency: producing ebooks. This is also the measure to combat illegal ebooks.

Translator Uong Xuan Vy, from the New World Publishing House, said that his publishing house had to digitalize the book “I’m Gifted So Are You” in 2007, when the book was just published, to better serve the online community than illegal ebook versions.

Since April 2011, Chibooks Company has launched dozens of ebooks, which are exclusively distributed on Alezaa.com. The prices of these ebooks are 30-60 percent less than printed books.

Chibooks’ representative, Mr. Nguyen Minh Nhut, says that this company will open an ebook center, which will provide thousands of ebook titles to the market.

The Tre Publishing House has bought the copyright of many works by famous writers. This publisher has also purchased modern technology to protect ebook copyright.

Dr. Quach Thu Nguyen, former director of the Tre Publishing House, says that ebook will become a new reading trend in Vietnam in the very near future.

Online literature

Besides the development of ebook and Internet, online literature has also formed and developed in Vietnam.

Ms. Nguyen Le Chi, director of Chibooks, says that thanks to online literature, publishers have discovered many talented writers. Some online works have become best-seller products.

Some writers have effectively used the Internet to “test” readers and to advertise their works, for example Di Li with “Red Flower Camp,” Tran Thu Trang with her own website to sell her own books, or Canadian man Joe Ruelle who has had two best-seller books in Vietnamese--which gather articles from his blog.

However, online literature of Vietnam needs management because many people consider themselves as “writers” to hurt others or stir up useless pen wars.

Rules needed

Many publishers say that the government needs to make rules on e-publication right now to prepare for the boom of ebook and e-publication in the future.

Experts say that the current Law on Publications lack specific regulations on e-publication, while by-law documents do not mention measures to punish violation of e-book copyright.

Experts say that Vietnam should learn from the world and consult with IT experts before make amendment to the Publishing Law.