The artistic and the creative works are protected by the Copyright Law in Thailand since 1994, under the name of Copyright Act BE 2537. Photography, literature, sculpture, art, TV and radio shows, drawings and paintings are among the most important works or artworks which cannot be reproduced without the authors’ consent. Our Thai lawyers can offer you details and information about the Copyright Law in Thailand.
What you need to know about the Thai Copyright Law
In simple words, the copyright grants the ownership of the original works of somebody, more of moral and exclusive rights to use, to publish and to sell the artworks. People who do not consider such rights and are trying to fraudulently copy someone’s works can be punished according to the rules and regulations of the country.
In Thailand, the artwork refers to:
• artistic work – sculpture, paintings, lithography, architecture, photography, etc.;
• cinematographic work – moving pictures accompanied by music;
• broadcasting work – public transmission via the radio and TV;
• recorded sounds – sounds and music which can be reproduced with special devices;
• publication – the distribution of copies of an artwork with the agreement of the author;
• reproduction – the imitation or the duplication of the works with the author’s consent;
For all mentioned above, the author has exclusive rights to his works and any reproduction must be created with his signed consent, no matter the domain involved. As a reminder, you can receive legal services from our Thai law firm for your company in Thailand or for personal matters like obtaining the proper visas to enter the country.
The acquisition of copyright in Thailand
If some individual wishes to reproduce or to adapt a certain work and then to release it to the public by distributing or selling it on Thailand’s territory or any other place in the world, he needs to receive the consent of the author and to pay a particular amount of money. One should know that the copyright belongs to the author in any situation where it was created under a work contract or under employment. If such contract has ended, the copyrights of a former employee will be transferred to the company in Thailand. Our lawyers in Thailand can offer specific information about the Thai Copyright Law. Furthermore, our immigration lawyers can also guide you on how to apply for a residency permit in Thailand. You need to keep this fact in mind that prior to submitting the application, the applicant is required to have had a Thai non-immigrant visa for at least three years. Multiple non-immigrant visa holders are not eligible to apply. Consult with our lawyers for more details on this matter.
Infringement of the copyright in Thailand
An infringement of the Thai copyright means any act against the copyrighted artworks in the country, without the legal consent of the author, and implies parts of the original work in a new one, rebroadcasting an entire work, reproducing works which can be considered plagiarism.
Make sure to contact our law firm in Thailand for additional information and guidelines about the Thai Copyright Law.