Copyright law of Thailand

Copyright law in Thailand governs the legally enforceable rights of creative and artistic works under the Copyright Act BE 2521 (1978), as amended. Copyright is automatically protected for 50 years and does not need registration, however it can be filed with the DIP. Disputes are first heard in the Intellectual Property and International Trade Court. ^[1][2]

Copyright term

According to Thai copyright law, the copyright term is the life of author plus 50 years.^[3] When the author is a legal entity or an anonymous person, the copyright term is 50 years from the date of publication. Works of applied art (defined as a work which takes a composition of works such as drawings, paintings, sculpture, prints, architecture, photography, drafts, and models for utility or functional use) have a copyright term of 25 years from publication.^[4]

Public domain

Republication of works after the expiration of the copyright term does not reset the copyright term. Thai state documents are public domain,^[5] though creative works produced by or commissioned by government offices are protected by copyright.^[6]

References

1. ^ "IP System of Thailand" (HTML). IP System of Thailand. Department of Intellectual Property. 2009-01-01. http://www.ipthailand.org/ipthailand/index.php. Retrieved 2009-01-03. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ "Law of the Land" (HTML). Thailand Legal Basics. Thailand Law Reform Commission. June-Jul 2007. http://www.tillekeandgibbins.com/Publications/thailand_legal_basics/law_of_the_land.pdf. Retrieved 2009-01-03. 
3. ^ พระราชบัญญัติลิขสิทธิ์ พ.ศ. ๒๕๓๗. Copyright Act of B.E. 2537 (1994 A.D.), from Wikisource, in Thai. Section 4 governs copyright expiration terms
4. ^ พระราชบัญญัติลิขสิทธิ์ พ.ศ. ๒๕๓๗. Copyright Act of B.E. 2537 (1994 A.D.), from Wikisource, in Thai. Section 4, Article 22 states the copyright term for applied art works
5. ^ พระราชบัญญัติลิขสิทธิ์ พ.ศ. ๒๕๓๗. Copyright Act of B.E. 2537 (1994 A.D.), from Wikisource, in Thai. Article 7 governs works not copyrightable. The law refers specifically to Thai state rules, regulations, announcements, orders, explanations, and correspondence, and includes the constitution, laws, court decisions, examinations, and reports.
6. ^ พระราชบัญญัติลิขสิทธิ์ พ.ศ. ๒๕๓๗. Copyright Act of B.E. 2537 (1994 A.D.), from Wikisource, in Thai. Article 14 states that any government office receives a copyright on creative works produced by it or produced for it under contract, unless other arrangements regarding copyright have been previously agreed to by those involved.