The legal effect of a copyright in Thailand is to protect the owner’s creation or works form infringement by giving the owner the power to file a civil or criminal complaint to enforce his copyright. According to the Thai Copyright Act B.E. 2537 (1994), there are 8 categories of works, which may be protected:
1. literary works, including computer programs;
2. dramatic works;
3. artistic works;
4. musical works;
5. audio-visual works,
6. cinematographic works, recorded material;
7. sound and video broadcasting works; and
8. any other works in the fields of literature, science or fine arts.
The Copyright Act protects computer software against reproduction or adaptation, publicity and rental of such software.
A copyright belongs to the creator of a work, under the following conditions:
• In the case of unpublished work, the creator must be a Thai national or reside in Thailand or be a national of or reside in a country which is a member of the Convention on the Protection of Copyright, of which Thailand is a member, provided that the residence at all times or most of the time is spent on the creation of the work
• In case of published work, the first publication must be made in Thailand or in a country which is a member of the Convention on the Protection of Copyright. In the case where the first publication was made outside Thailand or in a country which is not a member of the Convention, of the public of the sound work is subsequently made in Thailand or in a country which is a member of the Convention within 30 days from the first publication or the creator has the qualification as prescribed above at the time of the first publication.
• In cases where the creator is required to be a person of Thai nationality, and the creator is a juristic person, such juristic person must be established under the Civil and Commercial Code of Thailand.
Copyright Infringement
The Copyright Act includes a comprehensive list of the types of infringement covered by law:
• Infringement by reproduction regardless of whether made in whole or in part
• Infringement by adaptation without the appearance of creating a new work whether wholly or partly
• Infringement by publicizing without permission
Copyright Law and Regulations