USTR still keeps close watch on movie copyright infringement practices in Thailand

[Jack Mountain]

I do not pay for propaganda ....

[Sydebolle]

Well, after Obama verbally cleaned up the act last week in North and Southeast Asia the copyright issue with China PR is solved - next in line is Thailääännnn!

[Theoutsider]

Well there are bigger problems in Thailand than watching a movie without paying America for it.....At the end it is just a movie...

A completely ignorant, uninformed comment.

Sigh, I guess I'll have to educate you. Movie productions cost MILLIONS (100's at times). DVD's help pay for this at the back end.

Also, royalties (same as the CD's you buy) of the artist' work are stolen by bootleggers.

If you ever produce a movie or write a song, you would feel quite different.

Or produce anything else for that matter, other than hot air...

So which movie did you star in, or what song lyrics did you write that were stolen ?

It isn't stolen it copied.

[kennypowers]

The US has said this every year for the past 5, and probably longer. Regardless of torrents and piracy in general I still get my payments from the PRS and am now accumulating royalties from the many streaming services like Spotify, Beats Music, iTunes, Rdio, etc. The reality is, those who steal will always steal. So we creators have to rely on ethical, honest people to keep supporting creativity by paying for it.

[hawker9000]

I have very little sympathy with global corporations that charge exorbitant prices for crucial medicine. As for the media giants that produce derivative music and sequels of clichéd movie concepts, I haven't bought a DVD or CD for over 10 years. Always downloaded them.

Don't feed the 1% any more of your hard-earned cash, guys. They don't lose sleep worrying about our well-being, so why cry for them?

You might be happier in a commune somewhere... "Property rights" are obviously not in your vocabulary.

Maybe you'll be one of those ones for whom that new lifesaving drug big pharma's been working on doesn't come in time (because R&D funding was cut).

[noodle]

It is difficult to understand why anyone would buy a copied CD or DVD.

It is easier to understand why someone would try to sell them.

[rickirs]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

"Besides, Thailand lacks tough enforcement and harsh punishment in the areas of local internet acts..."

It really doesn't. It's the only non-communist country I've ever been to that actually tried to block Hotmail.

Yep, they should ban Yingluck's Facebook account.

What, and cut you off from your Facebook friend?

[belg]

who gave these people power all over the world anyway ? it is just a movie and it does not flop because people download it or buy a pirate version anyway

[Andre0720]

Well there are bigger problems in Thailand than watching a movie without paying America for it.....At the end it is just a movie...

A completely ignorant, uninformed comment.

Sigh, I guess I'll have to educate you. Movie productions cost MILLIONS (100's at times). DVD's help pay for this at the back end.

Also, royalties (same as the CD's you buy) of the artist' work are stolen by bootleggers.

If you ever produce a movie or write a song, you would feel quite different.

Or produce anything else for that matter, other than hot air...

Rightly so.

If Leonardo de Caprio would find himself not able to afford his regular lobster, shame on the poor countries who do not enforce the IP regulations...

[Fullstop]

The USTR also demands that Thailand urgently seek solutions

Sorry. They don't give a damn. You'll have to invade and colonise. It's the only way.

[charliebru]

Well there are bigger problems in Thailand than watching a movie without paying America for it.....At the end it is just a movie...

A completely ignorant, uninformed comment.

Sigh, I guess I'll have to educate you. Movie productions cost MILLIONS (100's at times). DVD's help pay for this at the back end.

Also, royalties (same as the CD's you buy) of the artist' work are stolen by bootleggers.

If you ever produce a movie or write a song, you would feel quite different.

Or produce anything else for that matter, other than hot air...

Yes, just the thought of someone in Hollywood having to get by with a Mercedes instead of a Rolls is just too much. Greed is alive and well in the movie industry. I like to think this is payback for the stupid political commentary coming out of Hollywood.

[wandasloan]

A completely ignorant, uninformed comment.

Sigh, I guess I'll have to educate you. Movie productions cost MILLIONS (100's at times). DVD's help pay for this at the back end.

Also, royalties (same as the CD's you buy) of the artist' work are stolen by bootleggers.

If you are going to educate, then please use proper language. In all this piracy of intellectual property, nothing is stolen. No copyright, no disk, certainly no royalties. If you know enough to educate, then you know this, and are just using this word emotionally. Legally, nothing is, was or will be stolen. Every court agrees with that. The LAW agrees with that, all the laws in Thailand, America, Europe and elsewhere.

Copyright violation for purposes of this thread is no more an act of theft than cloning a dog and stealing it. The owner of the dog still has his dog; you have not stolen the dog. You can steal *a* DVD of course, pick it up from the vendor's display and run away with it. But nothing in this thread involves theft. Nothing is stolen, including royalties. One can infringe copyrights, one can illegally make copies, one can profit illegally - on and on. But nothing is stolen, and forget common sense - there is not a law in the world that says it is.

The only thing different with the DVD's is that here in Thailand, the format is Region 3. I have both Region 1 (US format) and Region 3 DVD's. The quality of the Region 3 DVD's is the same quality as what I would buy in the US.

If you are in Thailand, you should have a region-free DVD player and not even think about that side of censorshi... er, copy protection.

.

Edited May 2, 2014 by wandasloan

[Suradit69]

"Besides, Thailand lacks tough enforcement and harsh punishment in the areas of local internet acts..."

It really doesn't. It's the only non-communist country I've ever been to that actually tried to block Hotmail.

Couldn't agree more RogueLeader.

Most betting websites are banned and they also banned bitcoin, so enforcement doesn't seem to be a problem. Surely the profits from the piracy industry here in Thailand fill the pockets of some, hence the lack of will to do anything.

they also banned bitcoin

On August 12, 2013, while waiting for its petition to be approved, Bitcoin.co.th pivoted into a Bitcoin mining site.

On January 31 this year, the Bitcoin exchange showed a letter (dated Decemeber 12, 2013) from the Bank of Thailand stating that “After further consideration, Bitcoin exchange operations do not fall under the scope of Ministry of Finance regulation, unless foreign currencies are also offered for exchange. Considering that Bitcoin Co. Ltd. only offers Bitcoin trades using Thai Baht and operates only within Thailand, we will restart our trading operations.

... on February 15, Bitcoin.co.th started buying and selling Bitcoins again. From the Bank of Thailand’s letter (PDF in Thai), the current situation is that Bitcoin can be traded in Thailand so long as it’s only converted to/from Thai baht.

So Bitcoin cannot be used as a way of converting foreign currencies in the nation. The country’s top bank says it has no plans to expand the laws to regulate Bitcoin

Read more: Bank of Thailand says country’s top Bitcoin exchange can resume operations http://www.techinasia.com/bank-thailand-countrys-top-bitcoin-exchange-resume-operations/

[CanInBKK]

It is difficult to understand why anyone would buy a copied CD or DVD.It is easier to understand why someone would try to sell them.

Really? You don't understand why someone would want to pay a fraction of the price for a product of very similar technical quality? Do you understand why people buy things "on sale" more than they do at full price? (no, this is not about MSRP vs. Retail price)

[unanimosity]

Well there are bigger problems in Thailand than watching a movie without paying America for it.....At the end it is just a movie...

Somebody invested serious money to make that movie, lad, and if you had ever created anything in your life you wouldn't take so kindly to somebody else stealing it.

[Jingthing]

Well there are bigger problems in Thailand than watching a movie without paying America for it.....At the end it is just a movie...

Somebody invested serious money to make that movie, lad, and if you had ever created anything in your life you wouldn't take so kindly to somebody else stealing it.

I get your point well but on the other hand the bean counters funding these projects factor in the leakage rate just as restaurant businesses factor in food wastage. On the other hand, I really feel for small time producers, like small time authors. That might make the difference on whether they can keep doing that or become an aged bagboy at the grocery store.

[ggt]

Once the criminals are located...watch for news of drone strikes...quiet...efficient...no drawn out legal battles...and no pardon or parole...any collateral damage will be brushed aside as..."well, they should not have been there buying those illegal copies"...

[Mot Dang]

_{I have bought or been given more than 400 rip-off DVDs over the past 10 years. Almost always they are bad copies. You see I'm a movie nutter, and I like quality, which you very rarely get with rip-offs. If I don't like the movie I'll toss it, if I like it I'll go buy a legit copy, these days a Blu-ray copy. I wont pay the full price for a movie that I may not like. If I didn't buy the counterfeit copy I probably may not have bought the legit copy. The way I look at it I'm giving Hollywood moguls their just dues plus putting a bit of money in the pocket of some poor Thai who have to put up with the whining of righteous wealthy falang (some who don't live in Thailand anyway).}

_{I think marketeers have a name for what I do. "Buying on spec" ?, or something like that.}

[ajarnmarc]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Well there are bigger problems in Thailand than watching a movie without paying America for it.....At the end it is just a movie...

A completely ignorant, uninformed comment.
Sigh, I guess I'll have to educate you. Movie productions cost MILLIONS (100's at times). DVD's help pay for this at the back end.
Also, royalties (same as the CD's you buy) of the artist' work are stolen by bootleggers.

If you ever produce a movie or write a song, you would feel quite different.
Or produce anything else for that matter, other than hot air...

U
So you are so sweet and innocent that you NEVER downloaded a movie or a song or magazine or book or anything that didnt have a copyright?
It is just a movie. There are not many places you can buy the real thing here in Thailand in english
In some cases you can buy them at all in some cities so that is the only way to get them. I am not justifying the legality of it. But it is impossible to stop here when there is so much demand for it.

Sent from my GT-S5310 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

"There are not many places you can buy the real thing here in Thailand in english"?

There is this thing called the internet. On this internet, there are companies that will send you movies (and many other things) right to your door! Worldwide. Isn't that grand!? I hope this helps in your search...

P.S. If the internet is too confusing for you, they have these places called "Malls" too. You can get all sorts of cool stuff there as well.

Oh so now you working on your humor are you?

There might be several places that ship items bought over the internet,

but in serval cases Thailand isn't on their shipping list.

This is true more times than not FYI.

Shopping Malls...

hmm, does every city have one?

Do you think the things you buy in the shopping mall are original?

Do you ever purchase anything from the Shopping Mall vendors?

The more important point here is, the media industry continues to report record breaking profits year over year,

even in a time when several parts of the world & especially the U.S. are suffering just to make it by.

Most would have to wonder how the media industry can accomplish record profits in today economy?

Especially when you consider all the people in tiny Thailand who are infrigning on the copyright protected material.

I say tiny, since here is only 67 million people, compared to over 650 million in the U.S. alone.

And we can't forget about newest economy leader, due to be announced later this month, possibly...

China!

Now we can all guess that they never infringe on copyright protected material...?

While you were on your shoe box screaming your heart out, did you ever get a chance to answer the true question presented to you?

What did you ever write, make, or star in or direct?

Clearly you must of done something, as we can all see this has touched a nerve in your busy life,

and compiled you to reach out not just once but at least twice that I've seen thus far.

Several people commented not to long ago, that they thought Thailand was fine just the way it was,

and those that didn't like it should leave....

Yet here we are on a new day/evening whatever,

and it's the same old song....yeah we should change this or that,

and assist the grand U.S. in their pursuit of policing the world of all wrong doing,

no matter where it is.

Never stop spending countless trillion along the way,

what matters is that there's justice for all the wrong doing,

and especially for the ones that are the richest of rich... they need more money to count.

What might be a better pursuit and I use the word might loosely;

is chasing some of the businesses down that generate profit on the U.S. soil

but have their headquarters in another country, which is tax free.

I don't know, people might consider this a silly idea,

but since the U.S. have more time & money on their hands to Police the world,

they should consider chasing the truly wealthy scapegoats from the governments tax system.

Copyright material downloaded after all is just used mostly for personal use,

not on the end as a profit or terms of.

It's an endeavor we choose to partake in,

and plenty of us have before, with all the copied cassettes,

and VHS takes we got from our friends.

I believe we can all remember those day, yes?

So at the end of the day/evening there's truly nothing to be disturbed about,

or worth trying to protect. People will share whatever they wish,

and you can rant all you want, but it won't make much difference,

to how people feel about sharing.

Life will just go on & on as it always has....

Keep sighing if you think it makes you feel better,

but I'd be more inclined to recommend breathing exercises,

and early morning yoga.

[Mentors]

I just wondering if all vendors at Sukhumvit Road, whose sells movie and music pirate discs, have a proper work permit visa.

Most looks like Bangladeshi, Pakistani, middle eaestern.

Same for the fake watch sellers.

[tingtongteesood]

Been here 7 years, bought over 1000 movies, all properly legal discs. No excuses not to. Bought 2 yesterday, 47 baht each. Hate booters, hate people who buy boots instead of the real deal and hate people who try to justify them. I admit there are a number of foreign language films with no English here - that drives me a little nuts !! But more than enough for me to be going on with and the others will be bought from other countries in due course.

[Jingthing]

Been here 7 years, bought over 1000 movies, all properly legal discs.

...

So you're the one!

[Stradavarius37]

The US has said this every year for the past 5, and probably longer. Regardless of torrents and piracy in general I still get my payments from the PRS and am now accumulating royalties from the many streaming services like Spotify, Beats Music, iTunes, Rdio, etc. The reality is, those who steal will always steal. So we creators have to rely on ethical, honest people to keep supporting creativity by paying for it.

Kenny Rogers Loggins is right!

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[Loles]

[CanInBKK]

Been here 7 years, bought over 1000 movies, all properly legal discs. No excuses not to. Bought 2 yesterday, 47 baht each. Hate booters, hate people who buy boots instead of the real deal and hate people who try to justify them. I admit there are a number of foreign language films with no English here - that drives me a little nuts !! But more than enough for me to be going on with and the others will be bought from other countries in due course.

The 2 discs you bought at Bt47/each, were they Thai dubbed (i.e. 7-11 VCDs) or English language? What were the titles (i.e. are wetalking about movies older than a year)?

[h90]

Been here 7 years, bought over 1000 movies, all properly legal discs. No excuses not to. Bought 2 yesterday, 47 baht each. Hate booters, hate people who buy boots instead of the real deal and hate people who try to justify them. I admit there are a number of foreign language films with no English here - that drives me a little nuts !! But more than enough for me to be going on with and the others will be bought from other countries in due course.

hate, people who watch copied movies, lol....

I hate people who hurt children.

I hate people who start wars.

I hate people who beat animals

you heat people who watch copied movies......

[deepcell]

Copy me, because I will copy you!

[mogy]

Well there are bigger problems in Thailand than watching a movie without paying America for it.....At the end it is just a movie...

A completely ignorant, uninformed comment.

Sigh, I guess I'll have to educate you. Movie productions cost MILLIONS (100's at times). DVD's help pay for this at the back end.

Also, royalties (same as the CD's you buy) of the artist' work are stolen by bootleggers.

If you ever produce a movie or write a song, you would feel quite different.

Or produce anything else for that matter, other than hot air...

So which movie did you star in, or what song lyrics did you write that were stolen ?

"So" is conclusive. In conclusion. You need to make a statement first before you use it.

So wrong.

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/so_5

[IBoldnewguy]

The reason they keep close watch on a dated, soon to be dead, technology.... is job protection.... I mean if the problem were solved who would the watch dogs.... watch? The reason their efforts are are ineffectual in Thailand is because they don't know how to operate within a society they don't understand. The industry spends pennies chasing small time thugs in Thailand, rather than spending dollars on innovation that might create a technology that was copy proof.

Since 9/11 an entire US industry has grown out of security.... I doubt if they even know or remember what it is they are protecting. On my last trip I was yelled at a young security guard at check in.... he patted me down.... then yelled "I told you everything out of the pockets." I had left my cough drops in my pocket.... on previous trips it was remove anything metal... So evidently this authority wanna be thought a cough drop was a security threat.

We can buy protection to protect us when the protection fails.... in the US all of the major credit bureaus sell a product that allows you monitor the personal information that they accrue on you.

Most all of these protection efforts are after the fact.... your ID is hacked.... a plane disappears.... a ferry sinks.... and then the protectors show themselves as being what they really are.... ineffectual.

Security.... copyright protection.... a deity's blessing.... life (or death) insurance.... whatever.... these are all illusions.

[Thai at Heart]

Been here 7 years, bought over 1000 movies, all properly legal discs. No excuses not to. Bought 2 yesterday, 47 baht each. Hate booters, hate people who buy boots instead of the real deal and hate people who try to justify them. I admit there are a number of foreign language films with no English here - that drives me a little nuts !! But more than enough for me to be going on with and the others will be bought from other countries in due course.

You think they were all fully licensed copies at 47 baht each?