PM Prayut orders serious crackdown on counterfeit goods

[webfact]

PM orders serious crackdown on counterfeit goods


File photo. Source Internet

BANGKOK, 12 February 2016 (NNT) – Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed related officials to intensify their suppression of counterfeit products in a bid to protect intellectual property and improve the country’s credibility.

Gen Prayut convened with relevant ministers and agencies at the meeting of the National Intellectual Property Policy Committee, with a view to laying down effective ways to address IP infringement. He noted that the problem has been left unsolved for a long time due to a shortage of personnel and ineffective coordination between responsible units; thus improvements must be made.

After attending the meeting, Director-General of the Department of Intellectual Property Nuntawan Sakuntanaga made known that all related agencies were assigned by the premier to pay visits to border markets across the country in order to eradicate counterfeit goods while concurrently promoting residents’ awareness of IP protection. She voiced confidence that the IP violation problem will be alleviated within this administration.

So far, red zones, where special monitoring is to be conducted against IP infringement, have been declared in Bangkok as well as Chon Buri, Chiang Mai, Surat Thani, Krabi, Songkhla, Sa Kaeo and Phuket provinces.

-- NNT 2016-02-12

[jaywalker]

Not sure why anybody would buy fake stuff in Thailand.

Real, non fake stuff usually breaks within a couple days.

[shirtless]

Most markets will be empty , Thailand is the Hub of Fakes , fake democracy, fake rice , fake women fake goods fake police

[Nigeone]

That will be the unemployment figures go through the roof then...Half the country seems to be selling fake goods.!

[ezzra]

The PM will do well to concentrate his efforts to clean Thailand image on issues such

deplorable and rife humen rights violations that includes people smugglings and slavery,

next, solve the daily onslaught in the south, the humongous corruption problems of you own people

in government police and army.... counterfeit goods are the least of his problems......

[Whyamiandwhatamidoinghere]

Most markets will be empty , Thailand is the Hub of Fakes , fake democracy, fake rice , fake women fake goods fake police

You left out fake Boobies

[HooHaa]

That will be the unemployment figures go through the roof then...Half the country seems to be selling fake goods.!

it is certainly a serious issue.

beyond the counterfeiting issue, the government is closing markets, evicting street vendors, noodle seller etc, without any thought to the jobs they are killing.

[Thian]

And B-choice clothing with the label removed, where are they?

I bought some nice vests in the past in those export shops but lately they only have cheap quality there. No more brands with removed labels.

MBK will be empty is the general is serious about this. But he was also serious about closing sexparlours and taxi's and it didn't help.

[craigt3365]

Not sure why anybody would buy fake stuff in Thailand.

Real, non fake stuff usually breaks within a couple days.

Really? I don't think so. In my experience, the fake stuff only lasts a short time. But, it was cheap compared to the original. At times, you really do get what you pay for.

If it's sold as a cheap fake, then fine. It's when you don't know it's a fake that's a problem. They're even making fake Elixir guitar strings. Fake Shimano bike parts. All fail under heavy use.

[JeremyBowskill]

Serious enough for someone to walk down Suk road and actually stop people selling it? I have my doubts............

[Thian]

Not sure why anybody would buy fake stuff in Thailand.

Real, non fake stuff usually breaks within a couple days.

Really? I don't think so. In my experience, the fake stuff only lasts a short time. But, it was cheap compared to the original. At times, you really do get what you pay for.

If it's sold as a cheap fake, then fine. It's when you don't know it's a fake that's a problem. They're even making fake Elixir guitar strings. Fake Shimano bike parts. All fail under heavy use.

They also sell fake Makita sawblades, Rayban sunglasses, Fitflop slippers, "made with japanese technology" machines, "German technology products", fake medicines, in fact they just do as they like...like the rest of Thailand.

It's waiting for these products to show up in Europe and then it will be all over the newspapers again putting Thailand in the spotlight.

Yesterday i needed good sillicone caulking for the bathroom, went to homepro and took their most expensive ones in my hand....ALL of them were expired! If you use those you still have a leaking bathroom and have to get rid of it before you can fix it.

Edited February 12, 2016 by Thian

[Prbkk]

Why the focus on remote markets? much closer to home there are fake goods stores selling branded bags similar to those in the picture. One stall has been in the same location for 30 plus ears from my knowledge. But important people/institutions own that land, so expect it to be there until they want to build a mall on it.

[craigt3365]

Not sure why anybody would buy fake stuff in Thailand.

Real, non fake stuff usually breaks within a couple days.

Really? I don't think so. In my experience, the fake stuff only lasts a short time. But, it was cheap compared to the original. At times, you really do get what you pay for.

If it's sold as a cheap fake, then fine. It's when you don't know it's a fake that's a problem. They're even making fake Elixir guitar strings. Fake Shimano bike parts. All fail under heavy use.

They also sell fake Makita sawblades, Rayban sunglasses, Fitflop slippers, "made with japanese technology" machines, "German technology products", fake medicines, in fact they just do as they like...like the rest of Thailand.

It's waiting for these products to show up in Europe and then it will be all over the newspapers again putting Thailand in the spotlight.

Yesterday i needed good sillicone caulking for the bathroom, went to homepro and took their most expensive ones in my hand....ALL of them were expired! If you use those you still have a leaking bathroom and have to get rid of it before you can fix it.

The sad part with many of these items are the safety issues they create. I got sunscreen in Myanmar a few months ago. The only thing I could get was a knockoff brand, made in Russia. Didn't work. I got massively burned. SPF 50. Right....but, at least it was cheap!

[Nigeone]

I bought 2 Breitling watches maybe 2001 and I still have them to this day and still keep perfect time..They weren't the normal ones you get on the stalls but better ones that are dearer kept elsewhere...And yes if you compare the two there is a difference in quality big time...and weight etc and all the dials and timing etc work...I payed maybe 1500 baht each for them and they've been a bargain !!A few new batteries over the years and good to go...It was 70 baht to the pound in those days mind !!

[anon467848]

The 'hiso' Thai ladies must be upset that there so many copy Louis Vuitton handbags in circulation.

Apparently last year, Heathrow lost luggage had more claims for LV bags, than LV had ever manufactured.

[DM07]

Interesting to see, that all previous "crackdowns" have obviously not been serious!

[anon467848]

The BIB will have a serious drop in revenue if the crackdown ever happens. No more looking the other way. in exchange for a donation to their favourite charity.

Edited February 12, 2016 by merlin2002

[jacky54]

will this include copy CD's ? I have even seen them on sale outside Police stations and in shopping malls. Copy albums are detrimental to the Thai music industry and people who buy them are not music fans, seen even rich people buy this crap just to save a few baht. Nothing will be done, they are on every single market so the profits must be enormous, it's theft of course

Edited February 12, 2016 by jacky54

[Hawk]

Crackdown on corruption, crackdown on all foreigners, crackdown on Phuket, crackdown on foreign teachers, crackdown on the Poipet market, crackdown on the street mafia, crackdown on all government critics, crackdown on fake stuff, crackdown on golden triangle drugs, crackdown on airport taxi scams, crackdown on farmers, crackdown on tax evaders, crackdown on the reds, etc, etc.

[kkup]

A few more bribe payments get made today after that headline. Another bonus for the BIB.

[Thian]

Crackdown on corruption, crackdown on all foreigners, crackdown on Phuket, crackdown on foreign teachers, crackdown on the Poipet market, crackdown on the street mafia, crackdown on all government critics, crackdown on fake stuff, crackdown on golden triangle drugs, crackdown on airport taxi scams, crackdown on farmers, crackdown on tax evaders, crackdown on the reds, etc, etc.

Sabaai sabaai, nothing will change....next month it's all back to how it was before the clackdown.

[toybits]

Fake everything. Fake women, fake men, fake persons in orange garb. Fake BIBs, Fake protesters near train station. Fake cosmetics, bags, wristwatches. But aren't those produced by their neighbors up north of the border? Won't this crackdown hurt their cozy relationship? Hmmmm.... I wonder what this knee-jerk reaction is all about?

[asdecas]

Some things never change.

[webfact]

PM orders stricter control on pirated goods



BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday ordered tougher actions be taken to crackdown on the problem of counterfeit goods.

But he also admitted that critical obstacle however is the fact that there are only 20 copyright inspectors for the entire country to do the job.

The order came from Gen Prayut chaired a meeting of the Policy Committee of the National Intellectual Property.

The meeting placed priority on the problem of counterfeit goods in the country and also difficulties with regards to intellectual property copyrights.

A decision was reached where stringent checks will be continuously made at all major markets along the country’s borders to make certain that no counterfeit goods are sold in the country.

At the meeting a startling fact was revealed that in the entire country, there were only 20 copyright inspectors.

In light of this, an agreement was reached to increase the number of these officials to facilitate the national effort to eradicate counterfeit goods.

The prime minister stated that the current effort to crackdown on counterfeit goods was part of a preparatory effort prior to the International Intellectual Property Convention which will be held in April of this year which Thailand will be attending.

He went on to say that there is a vital need for the country to step-up its efforts with regards to intellectual property protection and thus he has ordered three courses of action to be taken.

The first of these is to foster greater consciousness among the public for preference for authentic products, he said.

This must be followed closely with an integrated effort from every sector so that a clear and concise solution to the problem can be achieved, he stated.

Finally, Gen Prayut stressed that there was a pressing need for a more effective management of intellectual copyrights of which there are at present more than 10,000 registrations waiting to be approved in the country.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/150659


-- Thai PBS 2016-02-12

[anon467848]

At the meeting a startling fact was revealed that in the entire country, there were only 20 copyright inspectors. Amazing Thailand..

[Krataiboy]

I cannot seriously believe anybody is really fooled by fake goods which cost a fraction of the price of the real thing and fall apart very quickly. But these typically cheap and cheerful artifacts at least bring a gleam of temporary "happiness" to the humdrum lives of those who buy them.

They also, more importantly, provide employment for the people who make them, a living for those who distribute and sell them and are clearly no threat to the hugely profitable big brand name companies whose (often mis-spelt) logo they bear. Anybody who can afford to buy the real thing can instantly tell Stork from butter.

Hardly worth the cost of another crack-down, I would have thought. And something else occurs.

The present caretaker government is (as one might expect from its military ethos) enthusiastic about enforcing rules and regulations, and particularly those which mostly seem to affect the lives of people scraping a living at the bottom end of the social scale - railway and, national forest squatters, beach and street vendors, , pavement stall operators, etc.

Goodness knows how many thousands of these unfortunate souls have already been robbed of their livelihoods and/or land by the sudden and swingeing application of dubious laws studiously ignored by previous administrations - presumably in the mai pen rai spirit for which Thailand is justly renowned (and, of course, with an eye on the next elections).

Thailand has little in the way of social welfare, which probably explains why so many people unable to find regular jobs end up as mini entrepreneurs, setting up a little business wherever they can. Surely a nation of mini-entrepreneurs, even if they do bend the rules a little, is preferable to one full of than state-dependent layabouts?

One can't help wondering whether Thai people generally would really benefit from swapping their relatively laissez-faire lifestyle for something more akin to that in the over-regulated, bureaucratic West. Maybe they should ask themselves why so many foreign "refugees" escape to the Land of Smiles!

Edited February 12, 2016 by Krataiboy

[arrowsdawdle]

Most markets will be empty , Thailand is the Hub of Fakes , fake democracy, fake rice , fake women fake goods fake police

All presented with the trademark fake smile.

[WhizBang]

Not sure why anybody would buy fake stuff in Thailand.

Real, non fake stuff usually breaks within a couple days.

It sure does if it's a made in Thailand product. But a quality import is always a quality import. If you are a bargain hunter and really think you are getting a genuine Rolex watch for 500 baht, think again.

The thing I do not understand, is why not just sell these items AS copies, and at copy prices. Then no harm, no foul. It is the selling of fakes/copies as genuine that is illegal and should be severely punished.

[WhizBang]

The PM will do well to concentrate his efforts to clean Thailand image on issues such

deplorable and rife humen rights violations that includes people smugglings and slavery,

next, solve the daily onslaught in the south, the humongous corruption problems of you own people

in government police and army.... counterfeit goods are the least of his problems......

That's too difficult and it would mean upsetting some very important applecarts. Much easier to go after the low hanging fruit. It is no wonder that there are VERY STRONG undercurrents of discontent with Prayut and the junta amongst the common working folk.

Edited February 12, 2016 by WhizBang

[WhizBang]

I bought 2 Breitling watches maybe 2001 and I still have them to this day and still keep perfect time..They weren't the normal ones you get on the stalls but better ones that are dearer kept elsewhere...And yes if you compare the two there is a difference in quality big time...and weight etc and all the dials and timing etc work...I payed maybe 1500 baht each for them and they've been a bargain !!A few new batteries over the years and good to go...It was 70 baht to the pound in those days mind !!

The real point is that you would never get a real Breitling for 1500 baht, and I am sure you never thought it was the real thing. And that's ok, in my book. Sell them AS copies, at copy prices. They are novelty items, plus a half decent souvenir from Thailand. See, TAT could make a great marketing campaign out of this, and it would boost employment.