Blatant Theft Of Copywrite Material

[lannachiangrai]

Take a look at this http://www.lostinthailand.com/thailand-gui...eal-estate.html. Then take a look at this - http://lannarealty.com/faq.php #4. They are the same! I wrote the text for lannarealty.com but I now see it in lostinthailand's website. They copied it directly from me without giving any credit and when I contacted them I got the standard answer "we are looking into it and will get back to you" which they never did. Is there anything I can do?

I notice this isn't an isolated incident - http://www.lostinthailand.com/thailand-gui...chiang-rai.html and http://www.thailand-lawyer.com/land_purphase.html - probably lots more!

(Sorry, title should be copyright not copywrite)

Edited September 23, 2005 by lannachiangrai

[The_Moog]

You've been diddled.

But you may have an uphill struggle.

I got ripped off by outfits here called Zoom Bangkok and Biz Art. They commissioned a piece of written work, sent me a dud cheque for it (making my pregnant wife go halfway across Bangkok to her bank to collect it), then turned the phone off.

Of course the piece was published, they made a few tiny changes to it, and they kept all the money.

Edited September 23, 2005 by The_Moog

[khall64au]

Same thing has happened to me on numerous websites. But usually they give me a credit (byline) for what it's worth.

Moog... it's a bit hard putting a copyright on every single article if you are a professional writer and pump out several stories a week.

Would welcome any suggestions if anyone has an idea of web copyright legalities?

[meom]

Just out of curiosity does writing for a website require a workpermit?

[seonai]

kerrie looks like someone has even infiltrated your post here

check it out out dear

seonai

[seonai]

so Meom who are you???? to ask such questions?

[meom]

Something wrong with the question?

[seonai]

Meom, I only asked you who are you to ask such questions, you hiding something????

[seonai]

speak up Meom, where are you from? How come you don't know about work permits and such like???????

[khall64au]

The web is an international medium and copy can be written (and ripped off) from anywhere in the world. So not sure about your work permit question Meom.

[seonai]

so meom, state your case or leave

[OlRedEyes]

You'll find many discussions and advice on copyright and stolen content issues here:

http://www.webmasterworld.com

[bino]

Just out of curiosity does writing for a website require a workpermit?

I think it is a fair enough question!

I'm not an immigration lawyer, but I would guess that if you are writing for and being paid by a Thai company a work permit would be required, since "all work, paid or unpaid, requires a work permit."

But.... due to the global nature of the net, it is easily possible to be sitting in Thailand writing content for websites in other countries. Would this require a Thai work permit? A work permit from the country where the site is registered?

How would anyone ever know / catch you out?

[The_Moog]

Alright, so do our Moddies have to have Work Permits then....after all they're working on a Thai website

[meom]

The OP claims he wrote the text for Lannarealty.com. The other site copied his text. Now if he wants to claim something from the other site he probably has to prove that he wrote the original article. Assuming Lannarealty.com is a thai based site and he wrote the article for them while in Thailand wouldn't that be considered working and as such require the proper workpermit.

Maybe the OP has a workpermit I don't know but if he doesn't he better think twice before he start stirring the shit.

[bino]

Alright, so do our Moddies have to have Work Permits then....after all they're working on a Thai website

I think that .co.th would be the only sites that could be considered "Thai" as they are registered here. sites registered as .com are US registered, so I think that they would not fall under the jurisdiction of Thailand.

[seonai]

waiting to hear from Meom

[seonai]

come on Meom, answer the question

[Mr. Farang]

The OP claims he wrote the text for Lannarealty.com. The other site copied his text. Now if he wants to claim something from the other site he probably has to prove that he wrote the original article. Assuming Lannarealty.com is a thai based site and he wrote the article for them while in Thailand wouldn't that be considered working and as such require the proper workpermit.

Maybe the OP has a workpermit I don't know but if he doesn't he better think twice before he start stirring the pot

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Dear Khun Meom,

Excellent reply. I completly agree that before giving advise on this topic, there should be clear picture of the situation.

Often, many people bend, ignore or break laws to benefit their business, and then when someone does the same that effects their business, the "cry foul" and seek restitution from the same "system" they were bending, ignoring, or breaking rules, regulations or laws.

This is often called the doctrine of "clean hands"..... and it is actually very important to understand the answer to your excellent question before "stirring the pot" on this topic.

May I repeat your question:

Is the original poster a farang, working in Thailand, with a valid work permit?

Yours sincerely,

Mr. Farang

Edited September 23, 2005 by Mr. Farang

[seonai]

Wouldn't that also be percievied as a huge land owner conglomorate as exploiting the profession of a writer in a difficult situation???

The person who asked for the writing to be done in the first place is in the wrong if anyone.

[lannachiangrai]

married, kids, work permit . . . got it all

so, can we get back to the question if there is any recourse?

[daveh]

The OP claims he wrote the text for Lannarealty.com. The other site copied his text. Now if he wants to claim something from the other site he probably has to prove that he wrote the original article. Assuming Lannarealty.com is a thai based site and he wrote the article for them while in Thailand wouldn't that be considered working and as such require the proper workpermit.

Maybe the OP has a workpermit I don't know but if he doesn't he better think twice before he start stirring the shit.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The real question is, who owns the rights to what was written. Even if he wrote it, does it means he has the copyright? I would imagine, as a layman, that if a company hires a writer to write something and they publish it on their site, then the company owns the rights to it, not the author. If that is the case, there's nothing he can do about it.

[lannachiangrai]

for clarification, my wife owns the business

[Mr. Farang]

married, kids, work permit . . . got it all

so, can we get back to the question if there is any recourse?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Dear Khun Lannachiangrai.

Excellent, thank for clarifying.

If I was in your situation I would spend a few hundred Baht and visit a Thai attorney who specialized in intellectural property (IP) rights in Thailand.

Ultimately these types of situations condense down to economic considerations... is the IP in question worth considerable more than the legal costs to enforce.

I spend many thousands of dollars each years on an IP attorney, a very good one, to enforce my trademark rights, BTW. I consider this a core cost of doing business.

Best Wishes and Good Luck.

Yours sincerely,

Mr. Farang

Edited September 23, 2005 by Mr. Farang

[ThaiPauly]

Wow, this post is getting to damed heavy.

I was ripped off loades of times in the UK, especially for artworkk I designed and published in my magazines only to see the same advert in a rival publication.

Court action was too time consuming so a letter got fired off, then another company would do the same thing, it was a never ending circle, so what do you do, if you cant beat em, join em, so thats what I did, ripped some of theirs off.

thats the way it goes

[seonai]

Absolutely, me too married, kids, work permit, blah blah so what the ###### was MR ######ING FARANG on about. Where the ###### do you come from Mr Farang?

What are your philosphies in life? I feel sorry for you.

[Mr. Farang]

/ignore list - many posts  by this poster are forum rule violations.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Let' try to stay on topic...

Intellectual property and the law in Thailand.....

Edited September 23, 2005 by Mr. Farang

[khall64au]

From my understanding, any re-print whether hard copy or web - requires the consent of the author.

[bino]

The real question is, who owns the rights to what was written.

A WHOIS search reveals that lostinthailand.com is registered to a company in London, England. They would be responsible for the content displayed on their site, regardless of who wrote it / where it came from.

A friend of mine who lives in the UK and runs a .co.uk website was successful in having stolen content removed from another .co.uk website by sending them a cease and desist letter from a UK barrister. Maybe the OP has some recourse in a similar fashion?

[Mr. Farang]

The real question is, who owns the rights to what was written.

A WHOIS search reveals that lostinthailand.com is registered to a company in London, England. They would be responsible for the content displayed on their site, regardless of who wrote it / where it came from.

A friend of mine who lives in the UK and runs a .co.uk website was successful in having stolen content removed from another .co.uk website by sending them a cease and desist letter from a UK barrister. Maybe the OP has some recourse in a similar fashion?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Dear Khun Bino,

Excellent reply.

International IP enforcement can be very expensive. Cease-and-desist letters work, about 1 in 10 times in domestic situations, rarely in cross-border, cross-culture matters, but it is worth a try and is the normal "first action" to take.

Yours sincerely,

Mr. Farang

Edited September 23, 2005 by Mr. Farang