PM Prayut warns people against copyright protection scams

 

FILE photo

   

BANGKOK(NNT) - The Prime Minister and Defense Minister, Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha, has warned people not to infringe copyright protection regulations, after a 15-year-old girl was recently fined 5,000 baht for making floating baskets, ordered by undercover copyright police, featuring copyrighted cartoon characters.

 

Speaking of the 15-year-old girl’s case, the Prime Minister said investigators will have to see whether it was actually a sting operation or a copyright scam. A sting operation is conducted to gather evidence or identify witnesses. However, law enforcers must not entrap people into violating the law.

 

The Prime Minister said the Department of Intellectual Property has clarified that the girl had been extorted. He instructed the Department of Intellectual Property, the Royal Thai Police and relevant agencies to carry out their work more transparently. Some victims may not take the proper precautions. Therefore, people should understand the law more thoroughly. At present, there are many types of frauds and scams online, such as Ponzi schemes. He warned the general public to be cautious, and there are laws in the country to help prevent such illegal practices.

 

Gen. Prayut also called on website and social media developers to check the news and information to prevent the dissemination of fake news, as they have caused problems and affected the country’s progress.

 

The Deputy Director-General of the Department of Intellectual Property, Nusara Kanjanakul, said her agency is now collecting evidence relating to the 15-year-old girl’s case and will summon everyone involved for questioning. If the copyright holder ordered the girl to make the cartoon-character floating baskets, the girl is not guilty since it was not her intention to violate the copyright law. The girl is entitled to take legal action if extortion was involved. The official warned that copyright holders or their representatives should not use legal loopholes to take advantage of others.

 

-- © Copyright NNT 2019-11-07

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BKK is loaded with copied fake purses from designer brands...but they had to get a 15 year old girl for that? What a joke! 

 

What about places like Kao Sarn road...loads of copy copy adidas there....And in Pattaya's restaurants there's an annoying Rolex vendor every 5 minutes, they even come to annoy us inside the restaurants.

 It's not like Disney is making their own Loi Krathong baskets. What did the girl do, hand draw mickey mouse and stick it on a basket, or print out something on her printer?

Just about every clothing shop in Thailand has merchandise that has unlicensed cartoon characters and company logos on it. And Disney does sell clothes. Why not go after actual businesses that are actually infringing instead of an inventive and industrious child.

 

56 minutes ago, webfact said:

.....a 15-year-old girl was recently fined 5,000 baht for making floating baskets, ordered by undercover copyright police......The Prime Minister said the Department of Intellectual Property has clarified that the girl had been extorted. He instructed the Department of Intellectual Property, the Royal Thai Police and relevant agencies to carry out their work more transparently

Seems like a case of entrapment of a teenager who was oblivious of the need to pay unofficial commissions to the bully boy extortionists working within the agencies involved. 

We dont want to hear worthless empty lip service....We want action....They wanted the 15 year old girl to pay 50,000 baht.....How about they pay the girl 50,000 baht with in one week or their house or car gets repossessed and sold at auction..

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Prime Minister said investigators will have to see whether it was actually a sting operation or a copyright scam

It was a scam. Clear and simple. Disgusting officials trying to exploit a 15-year-old girl. Just more law enforcement who don’t understand, nor care, what their job is. Mafia if you will. 

An off topic post has been removed. 

Tell TAT to stop stealing photos online.

Buy a pair on Nike shoes from Lazada and see the poor copy fakes you get.

 

...but catching a 15-year old girl making floating baskets is about their limit.

 

I worked with the BSA many years ago in copyright cases in Singapore. We came to Thailand for some preliminary work and had hours of pinhole camera footage on Pantip plaza counterfeit products being purchased, even by Police and Monks. 

 

This was submitted to the Thai Government, who subsequently did a raid and found nothing.

 

They don't want to find anything. In their pea brain, if you can't see it, it never happened....so don't see it.

3 hours ago, webfact said:

15-year-old girl was recently fined 5,000 baht for making floating baskets, ordered by undercover copyright police, featuring copyrighted cartoon characters.

As is possible, the girl takes it with a method that encourages violating the law, and the greats who copy thousands of software, video games and more are still free to continue!
Great, really great!

3 hours ago, Youlike said:

What about places like Kao Sarn road...loads of copy copy adidas there....

Dont forget Driving Licenses 

3 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

Dont forget Driving Licenses 

Is Thailand one of the largest copiers in the world, copyright? What is that?

2 minutes ago, 30la said:

copyright? What is that?

Is it the right to copy things ? ????????

4 hours ago, webfact said:

ordered by undercover copyright police, featuring copyrighted cartoon characters.

I thought it was illegal to speak like this about the current Thai Government!

Maybe check the software on any of the government’s pc’s for licenses. Pot/kettle, stones/glass house...

2 hours ago, canuckamuck said:

It's not like Disney is making their own Loi Krathong baskets. What did the girl do, hand draw mickey mouse and stick it on a basket, or print out something on her printer?

 

Disney and/or Doraemon had nothing to do with this. Lets be clear about that. This is nothing more than a scam/extortion by the copyright police on thai people, while copyright infringement takes place on a massive scale here in LOS.

 

Reminds me I need a new battery for my Rolex.

 

 

In how many other countries of the world would the prime-minister get involved in a matter like this?

4 hours ago, webfact said:

If the copyright holder ordered the girl to make the cartoon-character floating baskets, the girl is not guilty since it was not her intention to violate the copyright law.

That's a false premise for the girl's innocence.

A copyright law protects the owner of the copyright. It is the responsibility of the owner to enforce its copyright through legal action when and where the owner deems appropriate. In a previous TV article it was stated that the copyright owner of the said cartoon characters was unconcerned (to paraphrase) and DID NOT make any legal referral to the Thai authorities to investigate the girl's use of their cartoons.

As it is, the owner is getting free and valuable advertising from Thai authority involvement that I'm sure far outweighs its lost revenues from her sales. Any teen that didn't know about these cartoon characters now does know which will make the copyright more valuable. And frankly for the Thai authorities involved in this investigation, these characters might become a symbol of teenage protest against a "dinosaur" government.  

Telling her off would have been enough.   "Finesse" is in the bugs bunny vocabulary but not in the junta's.  Bugs pronounces it "finesseeeee", as he is a master comedian, not unlike  cha cha.

1 hour ago, madmitch said:

In how many other countries of the world would the prime-minister get involved in a matter like this?

He's a small man who involves himself with small problems that become big news. 

Sounds like entrapment of a 15yo minor, trumped up charges and then a 5k Bht fine as well.. 

 

These goons need to be named and shamed. I forgot, TIT, strong defamation laws.. Cannot do.. 

You can be sure that the watches Prawit has behind his closed doors are not copies.  

4 hours ago, fforest1 said:

We dont want to hear worthless empty lip service....We want action....They wanted the 15 year old girl to pay 50,000 baht.....How about they pay the girl 50,000 baht with in one week or their house or car gets repossessed and sold at auction..

Unless they turn out to fake houses and fake cars.

These kratong baskets usually cost 30 baht. Sometimes less. 

 

Congrats to Thailand cops for crushing a hardworking entrepreneur teen. 

 

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