Copyright law in Thailand governs the legally enforceable rights of creative and artistic works under the Copyright Act BE 2537 (1994).

Copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...

is automatically protected for 50 years after the death of a known author or 50 years after publication in the case of an unknown author. It does not need registration; however, it can be filed with the Department of Intellectual property (DIP). Disputes are first heard in the

Intellectual Property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

and International Trade Court. The Copyright Act BE 2537 (1994) governs the subject of copyright law in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Copyright term

The

copyright term The copyright term is the length of time copyright subsists in a work before it passes into the public domain. In most of the world, this length of time is the life of the author plus either 50 or 70 years. Length of copyright Copyright subsists f ...

is the life of the author plus 50 years. When the author is a

legal entity In law, a legal person is any person or 'thing' (less ambiguously, any legal entity) that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, sue and be sued, own property, and so on. The reason for ...

or an anonymous person, the copyright term is 50 years from the date of publication. Works of applied art (defined as a work which takes a composition of works such as

drawings Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, c ...

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

, prints,

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

, drafts, or models for utility or functional use) have a copyright term of 25 years from publication.

Public domain

Republication of works after the expiration of the copyright term does not reset the copyright term. Thai state documents are

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

, though creative works produced by or commissioned by government offices are protected by copyright.

Types of work protected

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

ship in the form of

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

, dramatic,

artistic Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wh ...

, musical,

audiovisual Audiovisual (AV) is electronic media possessing both a sound and a visual component, such as slide-tape presentations, films, television programs, corporate conferencing, church services, and live theater productions. Audiovisual service pr ...

cinematographic Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to foc ...

, sound recording, sound and video broadcasting work or any other work in the literary, scientific or artistic domain. The following are not deemed copyrightable by the 1994 copyright act: * news of the day or facts which are not work in literary, scientific, or artistic domain * constitution and legislation * regulations, by-laws, notifications, orders, explanations and official correspondence of the ministries, departments, or any other government or local units * judicial decisions, orders, decisions

Infringement of copyright

Any of the following acts against a copyrighted work (including audiovisual work, a cinematographic work or a sound recording, and

computer program A computer program is a sequence or set of instructions in a programming language for a computer to execute. Computer programs are one component of software, which also includes documentation and other intangible components. A computer program ...

) without permission, would be considered an infringement of copyright: # Reproduction or adaptation of the work # Communication to the public # Letting of the original or copies of the work # Rebroadcasting whether whole or in part # Making a work to be heard or seen in public by charging money or another commercial benefit # Selling, occupying for sale, offering for sale, letting, offering for lease, selling by hire purchase or offering for hire purchase # Distribution that may cause damage to the owner of a copyright

Exception from infringement of copyright

An act against a copyrighted work by virtue of the copyright act which does not conflict with a normal exploitation shall not be deemed an infringement of copyright: # Research or study of the work without profit # Use for personal benefit or for the benefit of herself and other family members or close relatives # Comment, criticism or introduction of the work with an acknowledgement of the ownership of copyright in such work # Reporting of the news through mass media with an acknowledgement of the ownership of copyright in such work # Reproduction, adaptation, exhibition, or display for the benefit of judicial proceedings or administrative proceedings by authorized officials or for reporting the result of such proceedings # Reproduction, adaptation, exhibition, or display by a teacher for educational purposes with no profit motive # Reproduction, adaptation in part of a work, or making a summary by a teacher or an educational institution for distribution to students in a class or in an educational institution without gaining any profit # Use of the work as part of questions and answers in an examination # Reproduction for use in a library # Reasonable reproduction for the benefit of research or study

Penalties

Whosoever infringes copyright or the performers shall be punished with a fine from 20,000-200,000 baht. If the offence is committed for commercial purposes, the offender shall be punished with imprisonment for a term from six months up to four years or a fine from 100,000-800,000 baht or both imprisonment and fine. Whosoever infringes copyright by selling the work for profit, distribution which may cause damage to the owner of copyright, or communicating the work to the public by knowing that the work is made by infringing the copyright of another person shall be punished with a fine from 10,000-100,000 baht. If the offence is committed for commercial purposes, the offender shall be punished with imprisonment for a term from three months up to two years or a fine from 50,000-400,000 baht or both imprisonment and fine.

Thailand on the priority watch list

In 2014, Thailand remains on the US Priority Watch List. Thailand has stated its commitment to improve

intellectual property rights Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

(IPR) protection and enforcement. With the help of the National IPR Center of Enforcement, launched in March 2013, Thailand is expected to be able to improve coordination and allow more effective enforcement actions among Thai enforcement. The US urged Thailand to take action against widespread piracy and counterfeiting in the country, and to engage with all relevant stakeholders, including IPR owners, to address Thailand's public health challenges, while maintaining a patent system that promotes innovation.