In the past years, counterfeited goods are rampant across Thailand. The Thai Copyright Act BE 2537 had been unchanged since its creation and implementation, resulting into numerous and largescale piracy and imitation of goods. Businesses from different industries were hurt significantly by these activities, citing the lack of action and countermeasures taken by the authorities to battle such activities and copyright infringers. Many law firms in Thailand were consulted by small to large businesses to attend to their concerns regarding copyright infringement.

With the amendment of the Copyright Act, new hopes for battling copyright infringement grew among the business community

With the amendment of the Copyright Act, new hopes for battling copyright infringement grew among the business community especially in the industries where most of the products are counterfeited. The amended law was updated to catch up to new laws in Asia and the technological age where piracy of movies and infringement of copyright properties across several digital channels are widespread. It had been implemented this 2015, the same year it’s been passed into law.

Protection for businesses and their works

The Intellectual Property law provides the legal rights to any person for his creations. This may refer to any products in the fields of literature, science, and arts. Any person can register their creations as Intellectual Property, in which is divided into four principal types: patent, trademark, copyright and trade secrets. The act of infringement of Intellectual Property law will entail punishment and penalties for the       offender.

The Copyright Act law will protect the owner’s work by granting special rights over the creation for a certain amount of time. According to Intellectual Property law, the owner will be given full power over the use of his work. These may include literary, musical, audio recordings, audio-visual architectural, graphic, and motion pictures. With the new amendments, this will also cover protection of Intellectual Properties across digital mediums and the internet. Unlawful recording of movies in cinema houses are also strictly prohibited and penalties may amount to as much as THB 800,000 (US $24,000).

According to business law and commercial law, Trademarks are used to guard names, symbols, sounds, or even colours that may differentiate brands and products by any businesses from being used by other people for commercial purposes. This is frequently infringed by people who copy trademarks such as logos, brand designs or services for their own.

For inventions such as any machine, product, tool or any process, the Patent will be granted to the inventors. This will protect them from infringers who may use, remake, or distribute the inventions without their approval.

Nevertheless, there are exemptions for certain activities that may infringe the right of creators. If the infringement is done for the benefit of a disabled person and is not for any moneymaking purpose, then the act is not considered a copyright infringement. The first-sale doctrine will apply to acts such as distribution of original works by entities who have lawfully acquired the ownership rights of said works.

To ensure the protection of your copyright assets in Thailand, you can trust our law firm, SBC Interlaw to guide you. We are composed of expert Thailand lawyers who have extensive experience in legal counsel in litigation, and dispute resolution related to copyright infringement. Our professional background in international business law, is a guarantee that we will only deliver the quality service that our clients deserve. You may contact us by giving us a call or drop your inquiries here to know more of our legal services.

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Sources
Managing IP
IP Watch
Ananda IP