the wish of Văn Cao when he was still alive. However, in 2015, the family of Văn Cao, registered the song with the Vietnam Center for Protection of Music Copyright, demanding royalties for all public performances except in certain situations like schools and "important state ceremonies". Văn Cao's eldest son Văn Thao said that his family "never reached consensus on 'gifting' the song, so they authorized the center to collect royalties on his father's songs". The copyright announcement has angered many veteran musicians. Nguyen Quang Long says the "anthem must belong to the public, and people should be allowed to sing it without worrying about royalties". Singer Ánh Tuyết, who is best known for her performance of Cao's songs, agrees that the anthem "long ago became a song of the people, so it should be gifted to the people". On 25 August 2015, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism sent an official letter to the music copyright agency to stop collecting royalties on "Tiến Quân Ca". On 8 July 2016, Văn Thao confirmed that he and his family were going to donate the song to their country and people as his father's last wish. A letter, signed by all the legal inheritors in the family, stated that the family would donate the song for free use. On 15 July 2016, The National Assembly Office held a ceremony in Hanoi to receive the national anthem, donated by family members of Văn Cao, and to bestow the composer with the Ho Chi Minh Order. Also at the ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam presented a certificate of merit from the Prime Minister to Nghiêm Thúy Băng, the composer’s widow, in recognition of her efforts in preserving the composer’s works. Copyright of different recording versions of the anthem There are still disputes over the copyrights of each recording versions of the anthem, for example during the broadcasting the football match between Laos and Vietnam on 6 December 2021, the sound of anthem music was muted using the reason of copyrights. The copyright claims met with huge backlash from the author's family, the government, and other opinions who considered national anthem should be free for all. Opposite opinions claimed that although the lyric and music sheet of the anthem is free, it is legal to claimed the copyright of specific recording versions of the anthem. The Government then announced a "free" recording