Film body wants pirated video websites banned
THE NATIONAL Federation of Thai Film Associations has put 36 video-on-demand websites on a blacklist for allegedly offering pirated content and has asked the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) to ban them from major Internet service providers (ISPs).
Choakchai Chayawatto, director of the federation, said the 36 websites it had named had the most frequent use, but the group believes there are many more pirate sites offering either subscription-based or free-view services.
The blacklist includes doo-hd.com, moviehd-free.com, mastermovie-hd.com, ohohd.com, nungonline-hd.com and zabaydee.com.
“This problem [of pirated videos online] has caused more than Bt10 billion in damage to the film industry over the past decade,” Choakchai told The Nation after a meeting with NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith.
Accompanied by film directors, actors and Vicha Poolvaraluck, chairman of Major Cineplex Group, Choakchai told Takorn that the federation was seeking help from the NBTC to take legal action against pirate websites to protect the copyrights of their content and ban them from Thai ISPs.
The availability of pirated online video-on-demand services has |been mushrooming over the past couple of years. The federation in collaboration with cable-TV operators and copyright holders and |content owners has formed a working committee to monitor and take legal action against these illicit providers.
“Unfortunately, our team cannot deal with the mushrooming of illegal websites, as it is quite easy to establish a new website once the previous one has been shut down,” Choakchai said.
Apart from Web-based addresses, pirated content is also available on social media, such as closed Facebook groups, which collect subscription fees, and YouTube for free viewing, he added.
Takorn suggested that content owners or distributors notify the police and make reports to the NBTC for further processing.
“Through our licence-based regulation, we will notify all relevant ISP providers to shut down illegal [sites],” he said.
As Thailand is being transformed into the digital era, the government has prioritised intellectual property as one of the key components of promoting a creative economy.
The NBTC says it is committed to helping the industry to protect copyright infringement and support its industry’s growth.
The NBTC met yesterday with 13 ISPs including CAT Telecom, CS Loxinfo, DTAC Broadband, Advanced Wireless Network, iNet and True Internet to seek a proper solution to this problem.
