Act tough on IP protection
ASINA PORNWASIN THE NATION
THAILAND’S AMENDED Copyright Act will provide stronger protection to owners of intellectual property rights, especially movies and other digital content, it is claimed.
The act comes into effect today.
Paiboon Amornpinyokait, an expert on cyber and computer law, said violators will face imprisonment and hefty fines under the law, ranging from three months to two years’ imprisonment and a fine of between Bt50,000 and Bt400,000.
Mana Treelayapewat, dean of the School of Communication Arts at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said the stronger copyright law will help create a culture of respecting other people’s creative work, especially at a young age.
Jakrapong Kongmalai, head of |content business at Sanook.com, said Thailand’s creative industries will get |a boost from this law in the long run |as more people will be encouraged to |produce work if they are certain |their ownership right will be better |protected.
“This law will promote the growth of original-content creators as the ecosystem becomes more favourable. For |example, if you are a very good |photographer, your work will be fully protected online so that you can earn a reasonable income from the work,” Jakrapong said.
“I think we will have a new habit of giving credit to owners of creative work and identifying the sources of online content. If you are a blogger, you may have to pay slightly for the photos you use on your blog. This will help reduce counterfeits and unverified data on the Internet.”
Ease international pressures
Paiboon said the new law should also ease international pressures on Thailand’s protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), especially with regard to movies from the United States and other countries whose owner rights have been violated when they are screened here.
“Under the new law, copying motion pictures is punishable with both a jail term and hefty fines,” he said, adding that the country has been facing international pressures to eradicate these illegal practices for several years.
In the latest April 2015 report of the US Trade Representative, Thailand remained on its Priority Watch List |for the eighth year due to various IPR |violations, including selling illegal copies of US movies and the unauthorised distribution of digital content on the Internet.
Paiboon said the new copyright law’s imprisonment clause is much stronger than that of the computer law’s six-month jail term provision, reflecting the government’s intention to stamp out copyright violations.
However, the mass and social media as well as individuals may use all forms of digital content, namely, texts, photos, videos and graphics posted online, with prior permission from their owners, he said.
“As long as they cite the source of digital content and do not alter the mark of ownership, they may legally use the content for non-commercial purposes. However, a commercial arrangement may be required if the digital content is used on Facebook or Tweeter for commercial benefit via sharing, page views or ‘Likes’,” he added.
For those whose privacy is violated, they can remove the content from websites, mobile sites and the Internet with a court order.
Mana said the government will have to step up its public relations campaign on this law as many people still do not know about it while others are confused over what to do with copyrighted digital content.
“Now, the sources of many online content are not identified or the copyright owners are not informed when their work is used. You have to change that habit to comply with the new law,” he said.
