Severe Penalties For Copyright Violations In Works: Thailand

[CWMcMurray]

Doesn't this just mean that the protection money paid to the cops that filter up to the politicians will increase due to higher penalties?

[pacovl46]

What's the fuss all about? Let's face it, people who buy fakes either aren't rich enough to buy the originals or too stingy. Either way they DON'T buy originals, especially in Thailand where there's 200% tax on all luxury goods. Therefore companies don't lose any money over people buying fakes.

[anterian]

I have been using computers since before the Internet existed, I have never yet bought any software, Bill Gates will not miss my money. Microsoft goes against the trend, most software manufacturers operate a two tier policy, a free functional package, and an enhanced package for a fee. For many people the free package is adequate, and with anti virus software this helps everyone. Microsoft and their constant updates and security patches are a joke.

[bigbamboo]

The goverment should be applauded for this latest crackdown although it won't help the inflation figures when the price of Rolex goes up to 1500 baht a kilo.

[khunkeith]

Fake goods are just that, fake. They don't seem to last very long, that's for sure. They are usually very inferior quality I have found. Inthe past, I have bought some things just for a laugh. Like that saddle bags for my Harley that had the Harley Shield but said "Harley-Davison". I got a good laugh from that and so did my riding buddies. Same with the Converse "Chuck Tailors" with the plastic soles, not rubber, but plastic. THe fake Rolex that stopped working after about a week but, hey, it's still right twice a day. My wifes Louis Vuitton hand bag made of plastic that started to peal in a few weeks. The most recent laugh was a copy of the new movie "Battleship" I got on the street in BKK. got home and it was some cheesy Japanese movie named "Battleship" that was Star-Warsesque.

But, what's really amusing is the farang tourists that buy a suitcase full of these inferior products. a dozen shirts, etc. I wonder how much will end up in the trash inside of 6 months. But, on the other hand, the no name brands you get here seem to wear pretty well. People that buy the fakes, get what they pay for.

[metisdead]

This topic is about severe penalties for copyright violations and we have members discussing the perpetuation of illegal activities:

16) Not to post about gambling, betting, pornography, illegal drugs, fake goods/clothing etc and other activities that are officially illegal in Thailand.

A number of posts and replies have been removed.

[bkk_mike]

My fully legitimate copy of Windows on my kids PCs, (family pack bought from Amazon because you can't buy the family pack in Thailand), on the other hand...

Complains that it's not legitimate (because the hard drive was replaced after it crashed and wouldn't reboot- on both PCs - same day - I think it was a power spike... - they both got UPSs along with the new hard drives), and it won't re-register in Thailand without me dialling the UK and going through the manual process of explaining that the hard drive crashed.

Alternatively I can buy an illegal copy of Windows here that would work with no complaints whatsoever for less than the cost of the phone call to the UK. (The copy protection is just there to piss off the people who have paid for the software when they run into problems with it).

[tingtongfarang]

If a person wanted to buy a legal and legit copy of windows here in bkk...would it be possible and if where? till now i only ever found ilegal copies of all software and really would,nt know where to look if i wanted to find legit software.

[uty6543]

the only "Severe penalties for copyright violations" will be for those that have not paid the correct amount of tea money to the proper authorites

Edited April 12, 2012 by metisdead
Bold font removed.

[chooka]

I laughed so hard that some wee came out!

I guess half of MBK and most of Pantip and other places as well have to close

Where will all the tourist go

Just pop down to the local Police Station where they will be having a sale on the confiscated goods.

[TommoPhysicist]

Laughable! Really! Notice they are increasing penalties, not enforcement! If they were serious a simple sweep of any outdoor street market anywhere in Thailand or MBK will produce enough fines to run the country and pay off all the MPs for the next 20 years! My wife just bought a nice fake designer name purse yesterday right across from Siam Paragon.

You sound like you are proud of her committing a crime.

Just to inform you that most countries consider the purchaser of counterfeit goods as an innocent dupe, who has been defrauded of their money by a criminal, the seller.

[Baerboxer]

Fake goods are just that, fake. They don't seem to last very long, that's for sure. They are usually very inferior quality I have found. Inthe past, I have bought some things just for a laugh. Like that saddle bags for my Harley that had the Harley Shield but said "Harley-Davison". I got a good laugh from that and so did my riding buddies. Same with the Converse "Chuck Tailors" with the plastic soles, not rubber, but plastic. THe fake Rolex that stopped working after about a week but, hey, it's still right twice a day. My wifes Louis Vuitton hand bag made of plastic that started to peal in a few weeks. The most recent laugh was a copy of the new movie "Battleship" I got on the street in BKK. got home and it was some cheesy Japanese movie named "Battleship" that was Star-Warsesque.

But, what's really amusing is the farang tourists that buy a suitcase full of these inferior products. a dozen shirts, etc. I wonder how much will end up in the trash inside of 6 months. But, on the other hand, the no name brands you get here seem to wear pretty well. People that buy the fakes, get what they pay for.

Not always. Many years ago I bought a Rolex and two Gucci watches for the equivalent of about US$30. These all lasted 10 years plus and a jeweller friend said the watches were actually good quality. Also, bought some nice polo shirts in Malaysia (which also seems to have a thriving but somewhat understated copy industry). Again, these were well made and outlasted originals bought in Europe. Buying originals or fakes, you get what you look closely at.

[Baerboxer]

ps - the certifcates and warranties for the watches must have got lost in the post,lo!

[chrisinth]

If a person wanted to buy a legal and legit copy of windows here in bkk...would it be possible and if where? till now i only ever found ilegal copies of all software and really would,nt know where to look if i wanted to find legit software.

Thailand

The Thailand office supports: Thailand and Myanmar

Microsoft Thailand Home Page

Microsoft (Thailand) Limited

37th Floor, Unit No. 1-7, CRC Tower, All Seasons Place

87/2 Wireless Road, Lumpini

Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330

Thailand

Phone: 66-2257-4999

fax: 66-2257-0099

[Dekchaimong]

It isn't that many years ago that the Thai government and ministers were using "@hotmail.com" for government e mails!

http://www.thailandq...p-using-hotmail - Is this not illegal if you look at Hotmails agreement?

[unanimosity]

This is like the carnival, where you hammer the popup gophers with a mallet and as fast as you bop one, another has popped up in its place. This is the logic of IP and drugs campaigns focused on penalizing the supply source. It is smoke and mirrors. It is too profitable for law enforcement and the perpetrators and the key players never get touched. They put new lieutenants in place and keep up business as usual. The lieutenants don't have a choice. They do as commanded or their loved ones begin to disappear. Drug "kingpins" have been busted and tons of drugs have been intercepted in Mexico and the USA. Has it stemmed the flow of drugs? Not a bit.

Source (supply) containment is the method of choice in all countries for law enforcement and regulators. It is highy visible, good press. It empowers them, whether directly through tea money or indirectly through increased departmental funding or both, to escalate their power and budgets. It is all political power and funding grabbing. Anybody that can read and think can see the fallcy of this tried and true charade.

You want to solve this problem? Legislate possession illegal with a six month amnesty. Turn in your illegal goods and go free during the first six months. After that, on the first offense, you fine every person found in possession of fake goods, software, or entertainment $10,000 per piece of contraband or a year in jail if they can't pay the fine. The second offense doubles the penalties. If anybody is stupid enough to get to a third offense, 20 years in jail plus the second offense fines. Problem solved.

[unanimosity]

If a person wanted to buy a legal and legit copy of windows here in bkk...would it be possible and if where? till now i only ever found ilegal copies of all software and really would,nt know where to look if i wanted to find legit software.

Thailand

The Thailand office supports: Thailand and Myanmar

Microsoft Thailand Home Page

Microsoft (Thailand) Limited

37th Floor, Unit No. 1-7, CRC Tower, All Seasons Place

87/2 Wireless Road, Lumpini

Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330

Thailand

Phone: 66-2257-4999

fax: 66-2257-0099

Microsoft and other companies have refused to show an interest in pirated software users abroad. Multiple inquiries as to their interest in violators have been ingored. It isn't costing these corps hard dollars, only lost revenues, so they seem content to let American and European end users operate under the legal side of the double standard.

[rheinwiese]

I'm just wondering how may computers in the Thai public institutions and offices contain pirated software.

Someone can make an educated guess?

[pacovl46]

If a person wanted to buy a legal and legit copy of windows here in bkk...would it be possible and if where? till now i only ever found ilegal copies of all software and really would,nt know where to look if i wanted to find legit software.

Just ask at the shops that sell the illegal copies. They usually can get you the real deal, too.

[bobl]

Thai Visa, you owe me a new keyboard.

May I make a suggestion, that as well as the little dots and stars and stuff you have beside the stories you add a "NSFC" (Not Safe For Coffee) icon for stories such as these?

[ozzieman05]

Laughable! Really! Notice they are increasing penalties, not enforcement! If they were serious a simple sweep of any outdoor street market anywhere in Thailand or MBK will produce enough fines to run the country and pay off all the MPs for the next 20 years! My wife just bought a nice fake designer name purse yesterday right across from Siam Paragon.

You sound like you are proud of her committing a crime.

Problem is in Thailand they do not see it as a crime

But the Thai price

Time you learnt a little more about Thai Ladies

[ozzieman05]

Laughable! Really! Notice they are increasing penalties, not enforcement! If they were serious a simple sweep of any outdoor street market anywhere in Thailand or MBK will produce enough fines to run the country and pay off all the MPs for the next 20 years! My wife just bought a nice fake designer name purse yesterday right across from Siam Paragon.

You sound like you are proud of her committing a crime.

Selling counterfeit goods is a crime. Buying them is not.

I think your thai wife comes from the same school mine did

Black is black unless worn with a red dress

disagree and you might as well keep you pants on for a week

[stormstereo]

The same was supposed to have happened in Eastern Europe, twenty years on and they still haven't stopped it, if i had 10Baht from every time my songs were down loaded illegally, well, no more said....

Well, then you would have several Baht...

[metisdead]

A personal attack post has been removed.

[Grumbles]

Laughable! Really! Notice they are increasing penalties, not enforcement! If they were serious a simple sweep of any outdoor street market anywhere in Thailand or MBK will produce enough fines to run the country and pay off all the MPs for the next 20 years! My wife just bought a nice fake designer name purse yesterday right across from Siam Paragon.

You sound like you are proud of her committing a crime.

The crime is the prices put on the originals.

If they seriously clamp down on all the people selling knock off goods, the jails would be overflowing & the economy shredded. End result =

[tombkk]

If a person wanted to buy a legal and legit copy of windows here in bkk...would it be possible and if where? till now i only ever found ilegal copies of all software and really would,nt know where to look if i wanted to find legit software.

I have bought my legal copies of Windows XP at Panthip. True story. And friends have assured me that I must be owning the only home PC in in Thailand with a legal Windows version... well, so be it. Makes me feel more relaxed.

All our office computers run only legal software, and that's a matter of policy. Easy to do when the company pays, though. Any additional employee costs THB 50,000 in set-up costs, that's desk, chair, computer, software, stationary. That's just a fact of doing business.

[tombkk]

Laughable! Really! Notice they are increasing penalties, not enforcement! If they were serious a simple sweep of any outdoor street market anywhere in Thailand or MBK will produce enough fines to run the country and pay off all the MPs for the next 20 years! My wife just bought a nice fake designer name purse yesterday right across from Siam Paragon.

You sound like you are proud of her committing a crime.

Just to inform you that most countries consider the purchaser of counterfeit goods as an innocent dupe, who has been defrauded of their money by a criminal, the seller.

There is a difference between software (needs copying) and goods (needs manufacturing).

There is a theory that goods copying does not really hurt the copyright owner. I am not saying that I agree, I am just reporting.

The theory says that those people who buy the fakes (THB 500 for a Rolex) couldn't afford the real thing anyway. Those who can afford the real thing, wouldn't be seen dead with a fake. So, these are different markets, and the counterfeit product market isn't hurting the real product market a bit.

However, the counterfeit product market creates jobs, as the products are made somewhere. Therefore, they contribute positively to the economy. If no counterfeit products are produced, may labourers would lose their jobs, while the copyright owners wouldn't increase their revenue at all.

So what is the point of confiscating and destroying 10,000 fake Cartier watches, if no actual customer of Cartier would have bought them anyway? A publicity stunt of of the brand-name owner, I'd say.

Someone recently told me that he was happy when he saw his jeans brand copied in Thailand (we were walking down Silom Road in the evening). He considered it very flattering.

[Puccini]

My fully legitimate copy of Windows on my kids PCs, (family pack bought from Amazon because you can't buy the family pack in Thailand), on the other hand...

Complains that it's not legitimate (because the hard drive was replaced after it crashed and wouldn't reboot- on both PCs - same day - I think it was a power spike... - they both got UPSs along with the new hard drives), and it won't re-register in Thailand without me dialling the UK and going through the manual process of explaining that the hard drive crashed...

The way I read the news article in the OP, the proposed amendment of the Copyrights Act is aimed at traders (sellers) of fake goods and would not affect you in any way.

Edited April 12, 2012 by Puccini

[chrisinth]

If a person wanted to buy a legal and legit copy of windows here in bkk...would it be possible and if where? till now i only ever found ilegal copies of all software and really would,nt know where to look if i wanted to find legit software.

Thailand

The Thailand office supports: Thailand and Myanmar

Microsoft Thailand Home Page

Microsoft (Thailand) Limited

37th Floor, Unit No. 1-7, CRC Tower, All Seasons Place

87/2 Wireless Road, Lumpini

Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330

Thailand

Phone: 66-2257-4999

fax: 66-2257-0099

Microsoft and other companies have refused to show an interest in pirated software users abroad. Multiple inquiries as to their interest in violators have been ingored. It isn't costing these corps hard dollars, only lost revenues, so they seem content to let American and European end users operate under the legal side of the double standard.

If you went to Microsoft and asked for pirated software, then they probably would refuse to show an interest. The question from tingtongfarang was where could he buy a legal copy of Windows.

It is not necessarily Microsoft who hunt the pirate software (Adobe are pretty ruthless when it comes to that) in Thailand but the BSA (Business Software Alliance). These are the guys who raid businesses, based on tip-offs (up to 500,000 Baht rewards for grassing I believe now). Any registered business in Thailand is taking big risks if they are using pirate software.

As for the home PC/laptop/netbook, rule of thumb is that you should be quite safe using Pantip specials. That is my understanding anyway.

Not trying to scare anyone, but if this is the path you plan to take, make sure your copy is a good one and nobody has written or embedded any little "gifts" into the operating system. You could become a botnet member before you know it. How can you tell? That is the risk of the gamble. (Seriously, if it is the only thing that you purchase, get a legit anti-virus programme that includes anti-spyware/malware/botkit/etc/etc)

Edited April 12, 2012 by chrisinth

[Geekfreaklover]

The fines/penalties go straight into the government purse. The owners of the original intelliectual rights don't get a baht. For example. If microsoft want to sue a vendor for selling ilegal copies of their product it would cost them far more money and time to make it viable. So the government pick out who they want to fine and make sure that the commerce continues so they can continue to enjoy the benefits. Nice.