US officials to help Thailand improve copyright protection

[webfact]

US officials to help Thailand improve copyright protection
Petchanet Pratruangkrai
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- After keeping Thailand on its Priority Watch List for intellectual-property violations for six consecutive years, the United States will soon send a team to help this country improve protection of intellectual-property rights.

Kulanee Issadisai, deputy director-general of the Commerce Ministry's Intellectual Property Department, said it had collaborated with the US Embassy on upgrading IPR protection in the Kingdom. The hope is to increase awareness on the issue and that Washington will upgrade Thailand's trade status next year.

The US has agreed to send officials from its IPR Coordination Centre to Thailand early next month. The project will entail six weeks of collaboration with Thai officials to improve the IPR protection system.

The American experts will suggest new techniques for suppressing IPR violators, who are always finding new methods of infringement. They will also work closely with the Department of Special Investigation and the Customs Department to inspect each area and suppress copycat goods.

The Intellectual Property Department also plans to work closely with the Cultural Promotion Department to protect IPR in the film industry. This is aimed at supporting Thailand as a centre of celluloid production and in-creasing filmmakers' confidence in the country.

The department reported that 243,457 pirated goods were seized in the first quarter of the year, with 2,430 copyright-infringement cases. To show that the country is serious about cracking down on copyright violations, the department recently destroyed more than 1.7 million illegal items worth almost Bt2 billion in Bangkok and Phuket. It says it will soon destroy more copied goods.

The department says it will continue to crack down on violations in many areas. It will also continue to educate young people to be more aware of IPR violations online.


-- The Nation 2014-05-07

[NongKhaiKid]

Sanks You 3 times and as soon as the Americans have left ... !

[zydeco]

"Hi, I'm from Hollywood, and I'm here to help you."

[klauskunkel]

The American experts will suggest new techniques for suppressing IPR violators, who are always finding new methods of infringement. They will also work closely with the Department of Special Investigation and the Customs Department to inspect each area and suppress copycat goods.

Thai Official 1: "I heard it thru the grapevine, the Americans are coming, again..."

Thai Official 2: "Gonna 'help' us, again..., huhn?"

Thai Official 1: "Yeah, 'helped' us sooo much last time, I am still counting my chickens, 5555!"

Thai Official 2: "God bless, what would we do without them?"

[Costas2008]

All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.

They are wasting their time..........

[noitom]

This is a scam on US taxpayers to fund a phony effort like this. How can a group from the US help Thailand if there is no political and legal will in Thailand to do so? The US should stay away from this issue until Thais exhibit the will to police their own backyard. The US group would be more well served to make periodic runs to Chinatown in New York and Fifth Avenue where counterfeit goods flourish everyday.

This IPR Coordination Center seems to be a Homeland Security organization designed to protect the security, health and safety of US citizens. We can assume that one of their main objectives is to protect the patent and copyright revenue of pharmaceutical, entertainment, and product companies in the US and its taxpaying citizens.

This reported initiative looks like a waste of US taxpayer money and will fund a lot of expense account travel, clubbing around, and Thai freeloading to serve no purpose in attacking the Thai counterfeit problem.

Here's the problem: Thais only want to get upgraded on the watch list. They don't really care if counterfeit goods and traffic is curtailed until otherwise evidenced by action not words. In fact numerous Thais make a living from counterfeit goods and its trafficking customers. Street prostitution and revenue would also be negatively impacted if counterfeit goods retail was curtailed on the sois. So they go together.

As soon as this US group goes away in six weeks, Thais will be up to their old tricks and now will have further insight into how to manipulate the US watch list at US taxpayer expense.

This is a complete waste of US taxpayer money and a waste of time. Thais have no will or desire to curb counterfeit goods. Congress will be interested to see some transparency on this group's activity and their results and observations of Thai activity and what the bill will be to US taxpayers.

[hidavey]

Things that makes you go hmmm...

[wandasloan]

This reported initiative looks like a waste of US taxpayer money and will fund a lot of expense account travel, clubbing around, and Thai freeloading to serve no purpose in attacking the Thai counterfeit problem.

Here's the problem: Thais only want to get upgraded on the watch list. They don't really care if counterfeit goods and traffic is curtailed until otherwise evidenced by action not words. In fact numerous Thais make a living from counterfeit goods and its trafficking customers. Street prostitution and revenue would also be negatively impacted if counterfeit goods retail was curtailed on the sois. So they go together.

Gee, you think so? Well, if every booth at Pantip were closed and every Silom road kiosk were bulldozed and every Gucci shop in the Sunday market were burnt down, guess what? Thailand would be top of the violators' list. It's nothing to do with any of that. That list does not mean what you think it means. The poster who wrote "We're from Hollywood and we're here to help you" has the right angle.

Thailand wouldn't even be on the list if it had not legally and above-board internationally done compulsory licensing on three Aids and heart drugs and made the US Big Pharma ever so angry. It did it eight years ago, and immediately was promoted to the Dirty Dozen violators' list, where it had not previously appeared. It has stayed there for 8 years because it sells these three (3) drugs cheaply to Aids and heart patients.

Repeat, they would not be on the top-10 list otherwise. EVERY year and every list, the US makes a big deal about medical patents, when Thailand has rigorously, carefully held to international law on them at all levels. The US doesn't care any more about Sukhumvit Road movies than it cares about Chiang Rai heroin. It cares that international law allows compulsory licensing and considers it a patent violation under US law that Thailand has three such cases.

Tough. Under international law it is specifically allowed and carefully monitored. There are already too many US laws in Thailand.

That's also the reason India is on the list. For heaven's sake, Canada was on the Dirty Dozen list for years. This is not a serious issue, and it is not a serious, objective list of violators.

If it weren't for Hollywood and drug companies financing and more importantly schmoozing the president and throwing movies stars at him, Thailand wouldn't even appear on that list. EVERY president including the next one, too.

.

[GuestHouse]

Perhaps someone could ask the US Delegation if their views on the use of other people's intellectual property by developing nations have changed since the US legal battles with Charles Dickens?

[quandow]

I nearly laughed my abundent ASS off yesterday - Walk into IT City, Pattaya, take the first escalator up to the telephonies section, then walk back to the elevators and look at the sign on the wall. I won't ruin the surprise for you, it's tooooooo funny!

[tingtongteesood]

What they need to do is arrest every idiot selling fake anything and destroy their stock. Simple. Never happen sadly....

[h90]

What they need to do is arrest every idiot selling fake anything and destroy their stock. Simple. Never happen sadly....

First need to build a jail big enough

[Somtamnication]

Copyright protection?

[belg]

and do those hollywood illegal movie busters have a WORK PERMIT ?

otherwise, any case brought up in court will just be VOID

[luanghans]

US officials go on holiday in Thailand