Kingdom focuses on smuggling of pirated goods
Thailand will cooperate closely with neighbouring countries to step up border controls against smuggling as part of a four-year plan to stamp out trade in counterfeit goods in the region.
The Asean Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation has agreed to increase awareness of IP rights and suppress violations in the region from 2012-15.
Pajchima Tanasanti, director-general of the Intellectual Property Department of the Thai Commerce Ministry, said Thailand and other countries would stringently inspect cross-border shipments at checkpoints.
Member states will also share information and increase interaction among customs officials as part of preparations for full integration under the Asean Economic Community in three years.
The department has found more pirated products in neighbouring countries after Thailand cracked down on violations. Some manufacturers of illegal copies have moved their plants across the border to escape the severe anti-counterfeiting operations in this country, Pajchima said. Closer cooperation within the region is expected to help reduce infringements and increase Asean’s image as being highly aware of IP violations.
Asean countries will make available statistics on counterfeit and pirated products and their sources of origin to eliminate such goods from production-based areas.
Asean will increase the role of the private sector in protecting IP rights, preferably through associations of rights holders, IP associations and trade organisations, he said.
In 2015, Asean will also move to institute legal and judicial reforms to ensure effective, timely and adequate IP rights enforcement.
The legal reforms will be focused on the reduction of copyright violations, cyber-crime, cable and satellite piracy, and Internet piracy.
Asean will work on the establishment of specialised IP courts or commercial courts, as well as advocate alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, Pajchima said.
Thailand is expected to come up with two tough legal measures – an anti-camcording law and an amendment to the Copyright Act – to help promote this country’s status from the Priority Watch List to the Watch List during the United States’ trade status revision next year, he added.
