Landlords' help sought in piracy crackdown
As a serious attempt to destroy copycat goods in the country, the Commerce Ministry will work closely with landlords to expel illegal-goods traders from their buildings.
The move is aimed at getting rid of trading areas for pirated goods and helping to reduce copycat trading efficiency. The Intellectual Property Department will soon contact landlords asking for their cooperation to inspect their buildings.
If landlords decline to cooperate with the department, it would show that they may be involved in illegal trading and would be subject to punishment.
Pakpoom Dejsakulrit, secretary to Deputy Commerce Minister Siriwat Kachornprasart, said yesterday that the targeted shopping centres were Panthip Plaza, Fortune, MBK Centre and Fashion Island, as they are widely known for intellectual-property (IP) violations.
Many landlords of other buildings also show their sincerity to help prevent IP infringement. For instance, Central Department Store and Major Cineplex have reported that they regularly inspect their premises for illegal goods traders.
The Federation of National Film Associations has called on the government to enact the anti-camcording law urgently to punish those who copy movies at the cinema, which is a common type of infringement.
Pakpoom said Siriwat will soon hold talks with new Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom about speeding up the drafting of the bill for the Cabinet’s consideration.
The ministry will soon meet with the Information and Communication Technology Ministry to brainstorm ways to halt IP violations on the Internet.
Jaruek Kaljaruek, president of the federation, said stringent laws to punish IP violators needed to be passed soon, as the film industry has long suffered from the problem.
Normally the film industry should grow by 10 per cent a year. However, the industry has faced flat growth in the past five years because of high piracy. That not only destroys the country’s image, but also discourages creativity, he said.
