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Thailand became
a signatory to the Berne Convention for the Protection of
Literary and Artistic Works effective July 17, 1931. Our copyright
law is embodied in the Copyright Act of B.E. 2537 (1994) which
follows the principles of the Berne Convention and TRIPs.
There
is no formal registration process. However, a copyright owner
may deposit copies of his work with the Copyright Office of
the Department of Intellectual Property, Ministry of Commerce,
to serve as public notice that he is the copyright owner of
the work.
To
deposit copies, we would need:
1. A signed a notarized Power of Attorney from the copyright
owner.
2. Three (3) copies of the work.
3. Name and address of the copyright owner.
4. Name and address of the creator of the work (if not the
copyright owner).
5. An original of any copyright assignment or a copy of such
assignment certified by a Notary
Public to be a true and
correct copy of the original
(if any).
6. Date the work was created.
7. Date the work was first published.
Note:
Because the Copyright Office does not make any inquiry as
to whether or not the depositor’s claim to copyright
in the work is valid, the act of depositing copies with the
Copyright Office does not conclusively prove that the depositor
is the copyright owner. Evidence of such deposit may not be
introduced in court to prove that he is the copyright owner.
Rather, it merely shows that he has deposited copies to serve
as public notice that he claims to be the copyright owner.
The
term of copyright protection is defined by Sections 19-26
of the Copyright Act, summarized as follows:
Section
19:
If
the creator is a natural person: Life of the creator plus
50 years.
Work
created by more than one natural person: Life of the last
surviving creator plus 50 years.
If
the creator or creators die before publication: 50 years.
If
the creator is a juristic person: 50 years from the date
of creation or, if published, 50 years from the date of
first publication.
Section
20:
If the creator is anonymous or uses a pseudonym: 50 years
from the date of creation or, if published, 50 years from
the date of first publication. If the identity of the creator
becomes known, Section 19 applies.
Section
21:
Photographic,
audio-visual, cinematographic or, sound and video broadcast
work: 50 years from the date of creation or, if published,
50 years from the date of first publication.
Section
22:
Work
of applied art: 25 years from the date of creation or, if
published, 25 years from the date of first publication.
Section
23:
Work
created during course of employment or under direction or
control: 50 years from the date of creation or, if published,
50 years from the date of first publication.
Section
24:
"Publication"
as used in Sections 19-23, shall mean publication with the
consent of the copyright owner.
Section
25:
When
the term of protection comes to an end, the term of protection
shall continue to the last day of that calendar year.
Section
26:
Publication
of a copyrighted work after the term of protection expires
shall not give rise to copyright in that work anew.
Penalties
for Infringement
Depending
on the facts, penalties may include a fine of up to 800,000
Thai baht and 6 months to 4 years’ imprisonment.
Civil
remedies, including injunctive relief, may also be available.
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