Copyright law to ban internet plagiarism

– Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community

PHUKET: Social network scribes should be wary of a new intellectual property law due to take effect on August 4 that outlaws the copying of other people’s work and using it for commercial purposes, deputy government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said yesterday.

The government is confident the new law will work well with the nation’s digital economy road map. The aims of the new copyright law are to protect creators of content published on the internet and to catch up with changes in how creators and exploiters use media content, since the old law did not find fault with improper use of other people’s original content.

The new law clearly defines copying of other’s work as posting images and videos from the internet to be used for commercial purposes without the consent and knowledge of the creators or improperly citing and cutting credit in order to impersonate the real creator of the content.

“The law determines that wrongdoers will be fined from 10,000 baht to 100,000 baht and if it is an illegal act for commercial purposes they face a jail sentence from three months to two years and a fine of 50,000 baht to 400,000 baht, or both,” Mr Sansern said.

“Pirated goods can be destroyed upon a court order and transgressors will have to pay for that.

“This new law will incentivize internet innovators and pave the way for new digital products and innovations, which will coincide with the government’s digital economy plans,” Mr Sansern added.

Information on the new copyright law can be accessed via www.ipthailand.go.th or the government’s 1368 hotline.

Nakrop Niamnamtham, managing director of nForce Secure, said the copyright law will enhance the competitiveness of the country and boost the digital content industry since digital content developers will have the confidence to develop products and services under the protection law.

It will encourage international businesses to come to spend money and invest much more in Thai businesses.

The copyright law will promote and support the IT industry in the long term. It will also increase transparency for businesses in the private and public sectors.

— Phuket Gazette Editors