Piracy crackdown targets IT malls, centres

“Software piracy is costing Thailand billions of baht in lost tax revenue each year, harming the country’s reputation and hindering trade opportunities for the whole nation,” said Pol Colonel Chainarong Charoenchainao, deputy commander of the Economic Crime Division (ECD). “Inclusion of Thailand in the United States’ Priority Watch List, or PWL, has long been a major issue. That’s why we need to take serious action on copyright infringement crimes.”
The ECD will launch a nationwide crackdown on software piracy from April-June in cooperation with IT mall managers, who will be encouraged to take part to show their responsibility as landlords.
ECD raid teams have made significant progress in reducing the use of unlicensed software among businesses. Now, police are putting an equal focus on computer retailers who flout the law.
According to a recent police survey, of the 1,200 personal-computer outlets nationwide, 450-500 are in IT malls and shopping complexes in Bangkok and major cities, accounting for about 80 per cent of PC sales. The ECD plans a major campaign to halt trade of unlicensed software among hundreds of IT suppliers, which are now under the spotlight.
The police recently held a meeting with managers of major IT malls and shopping complexes to discuss their responsibility and liability as landlords in relation to protection of intellectual property (IP) rights for computer programs, movies and luxury goods.
The pilot project takes shape at Pantip Plaza Pratunam, where the ECD will install police mannequins called “Ja Choey” at various spots in arcades as a symbolic reminder for IT traders and consumers to refrain from breaking IP laws. Every year, tens of thousands of consumers pay as little as Bt300-Bt500 for pirated software illegally loaded at the point of purchase.
Many imported PCs are shipped without any uploaded software. Purchasers at IT malls get what they perceive as a bargain because the hardware is generally much cheaper than at legitimate outlets.
“What the consumer quite often doesn’t realise is they are stealing software, some of it made in Thailand by Thai developers. The sellers are fully aware of the criminal aspects of selling pirated software and should not be surprised to find themselves prosecuted,” Chainarong said.
“Some of the genuine ‘Made in Thailand’ software retails for as little as Bt250, yet employees at IT malls sell pirated versions for Bt100.”
With the advent in 2015 of the Asean Economic Community, Thailand will come under pressure to eradicate IP crime. The ECD was committed to making the country free of software piracy, he said.
There will be numerous stealth raids on IT malls and no vendor in possession of pirated software would be spared prosecution, he said.
Last year, nearly half a billion baht worth of illegal software was seized. Under the Copyright Act, infringement of a copyrighted computer program either by selling, possessing for sale or offering for sale carries punishment of up to four years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of up to Bt800,000. Entire retail outlets could be closed by order of the courts, he said.
PCs, many of them manufactured in China, are imported into Thailand with no operating software, making their sticker prices relatively low. IT vendors then install pirated software, which enables the customers to operate their new PCs, albeit illegally, he said.
“Unlicensed software is apparently cheaper. But consumers are buying themselves a whole lot of trouble by paying for illegal software. The malware and viruses contained in much of the software also create havoc,” he said.
The ECD’s efforts to lower software piracy have put Thailand at the second-top for software piracy reduction in Asia-Pacific, trailing only Hong Kong by 1 percentage point, for the period 2006-10.
It has set the goal for Thailand to be the fastest in the region in software piracy reduction, in line with the government’s Thai Creative Economy policy, which leverages innovation to create sustainable economic growth, opportunities for entrepreneurs and job growth.