According to the assessment of US trade Representative in accordance with the law “special 301” of the Trade Act of USA, which announced in the end of April 2010, Thailand still place in the Priority Watch List (PWL).

 

The United States’ Trade Representative’s office, in its annual Special 301 Report released on 30 April 2010, listed Thailand as one of the 11 countries with the worst record for preventing copyright violations.

 

Thailand and the other 10 countries - China, Russia, Algeria, Argentina, Canada, Chile, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Venezuela - were put on the Priority Watch List after the USTR completed its annual review of intellectual property rights protection and enforcement among its 77 trading partners.

All the listed countries will be the "subject of particularly intense engagement through bilateral discussions during the coming year", USTR said.

 

Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot said the government was displeased by the ruling to keep Thailand on the list for a second consecutive year despite the corrective and preventive measures it implemented last year to combat piracy. To protest USTR’s decision, Thailand plans to send a letter of protest to the United States, asking it to clarify Washington’s decision to keep the Kingdom on its Priority Watch List for intellectual property violations.

 

"We’re feeling disappointed, as the US’s ruling is not based on up-to-date information as it should be and the latest progress we have made in handling IP piracy here," said Mr Alongkorn.

 

He also readdressed that, in 2009, Thailand took legal action in 7,613 cases of IP piracy, a rise of 28.5%, and seized 5.31 million items, up 55.7% from a year earlier.

Under the action plan, Thailand proposed legislation to increase the liability of landlords for IPR violations that take place on their property , to address illegal filming in cinemas and to enhance the Customs Department’s authority relating to the matter. Thailand is also considering amending local and copyright laws so it can comply with the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s Internet Treaties.

 

Furthermore, last year, the government also increased IP awareness campaigns and enforcement efforts. However, according to the report, piracy and counterfeiting remain widespread, and industry reports a growing challenge to upholding copyright from the internet, cable TV and signal piracy. The International Intellectual Property Alliance, which represents US copyright industry groups, has estimated that US trade losses due to piracy in more than three dozen countries surpassed $15.8 billion last year.

 

korea copyright commission

Thailand correspondent