Legal
Environment
| Piracy | Intellectual Property Laws | IP Court |
There are many obstacles that make it difficult for a company to establish a presence in Thailand. The lack of legal infrastructure is one of the most difficult issues that foreign companies must face. Software patents are difficult to enforce in Thailand and the high rates of piracy make the market an unappealing one to anyone who seeks a new location to set up shop as a software developer.
Even though Thailand does have laws that protect the rights of copyright, patent and trademark holders, the laws are in much need of improvement. Enforcement is still a major cause for concern and a significant bilateral issue.
The black market in Thailand thrives and within its underground boundaries, piracy activities are abundant. In Bangkok, one can walk into stores that specialize in pirated software. All one has to do is make a selection from a catalogue, pay the small price and leave their address for the salesperson so the store can ship it to the buyer. Despite the high circumstances of piracy in Thailand, in 1999 the country’s piracy rate fell 1% during to 81 percent. However, there was still a dramatic increase in the financial loss from software piracy in Thailand and in 1999, the revenue that was lost from pirated retail software was US$82.2 million, which is up from US$48.6 million in 1998. In 1999, worldwide piracy losses exceeded$12 billion and during the past five years, the total amount exceeded $59 billion. 1
“Software piracy continues unabated, robbing the industry of thousands of jobs, billions in wages, tax revenues and critical investments in new technologies,” according to Mr. Robert Holleyman, president and CEO, Business Software Alliance. “No industry would or should tolerate such a high rate of theft. The explosive growth of the Internet is making piracy even more prevalent, since pirated copies of software can be distributed and downloaded quickly and globally, with the click of a mouse. Faced with this threat, BSA has stepped up its education and enforcement efforts, while also asking governments worldwide to show leadership in tackling this very serious, growing problem,” concluded Mr. Holleyman.2
Business Software Alliance Vice President Thailand, Mr. Huey Tan did not congratulate Thailand on improving its piracy rate, but instead expressed concern about the dramatic loss of revenue. “The increase in lost revenue has serious implications for the Thai software industry as it inhibits jobs growth and the fostering of innovation in local software. Even though the piracy rate in Thailand decreased 1% from last year the loss in total revenue was a result of increased software usage and a more effective legal sales presence” he said.3
Corporate end-user piracy, which is when companies
make multiple unauthorized copies of business software for their internal
operations, also occurs at extremely high rates in Thailand. The enforcement
response to this problem historically has been minimal, but because of some
exceptional raids in 1998, against two multi-national corporations, which
resulted in out of court settlements, these rates have been also improving.
Intellectual Property Laws back to top
Thailand has an adequate legal framework in place. The country has a civil law system and all laws are embodied in statutes or codes that have been legislated by the government.
In 1994, Thailand, implemented a new Copyright Act that expanded on the original act of 1978 by specifying that computer programs be considered as literary works under copyright. This issue was discussed on an international level during the World Trade Organization’s Uruguay Round of negotiations. The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) was finally implemented in January 1995.4
Most enforcement activities remain under the jurisdiction of the Economic Crimes Investigation Division (ECID) of the Royal Thai Police. According to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), ECID has inadequate resources, it is unable to maintain operational security on a consistent basis, and it is reluctant to commit to aggressive enforcement against piracy on the retail level.5
The Intellectual Property and International Trade court (IP&T Court) in Thailand is considered to be the best in Asia. The Court employs specialists that concentrate on specific issues, whether it be patent law, copyright law, trademark law etc. This court has the power to hear both civil and criminal cases regarding intellectual property and international trade.6
The number of cases being filled with the IP&T Court increased by more than 200% during the last year. Even though most of the events took place between 1996 and 1997, during the recession, they were still filed with the court this year - this is because the IP&T Court is a new institution in Thailand.7 Because this is a new Court, it must base most of its decisions on established international practices and eventually, develop their own legal framework that will adapt to improvements in technology.
Kogod School of Business American University Other Country Reports
Sources:
1 The survey was conducted by an independent research firm and commissioned by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA).
2 “Thailand,” http://www.iipa.com/html/rbc_thailand_301_99.html
3
Business
Software Alliance Press Room, Bangkok, Thailand (May 27, 2000), http://new.bsa.org/asia-eng/press/newsreleases/2000-05-27.66.phtml
4 “Thailand,” http://www.iipa.com/html/rbc_thailand_301_99.html
5 Boonruang, Sasiwimon, "IP, Trade Disputes up rapidly this year," Bangkok Post, November, 2000
6 Ibid
7 Ibid