Landlords, websites to be targeted for pirated

The department has been conducting public hearings on the proposal. The final draft law should be completed next month before it is proposed to the Cabinet for ratification by Parliament.

Pajchima Tanasanti, director-general of the department, said it would seriously attempt to eliminate counterfeit goods from the country. If landlords do not allow their trade, it will seriously limit the ability of illegal traders to sell their products.

The new law would encourage landlords to inspect their buildings and expel illegal traders. It would target any building including department stores, as well as open-air markets. 

Pajchima said her department had cracked down seriously on the sale of pirated goods but after traders had been caught, some got right back into business in the same places. This was because landlords failed to monitor what was going on in their buildings. If the new law is enacted, owners of buildings will have to cooperate with officials in suppressing intellectual-property violations.

Moreover, some websites have been found selling counterfeit brand-name clothes, handbags, watches and sunglasses. The department will also stringently suppress such online violations, she said.

The department will ask Internet service providers to monitor each website closely for the sale of illegal goods.

She said the department was closely monitoring illicit sales on Facebook after finding that many traders had used that medium to deal in pirated goods. The legal unit of the department is studying ways to punish those using social media for such activities.

Pajchima said the incidence of online goods piracy had increased rapidly. 

Overall, according to the department, there were 5,191 cases of intellectual-property infringement, with 1.57 million items seized, in the first five months of this year. The number of cases increased by 9.4 per cent year on year, while the number of goods seized dropped by 59 per cent.