BANGKOK, 2 May 2015 – The Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) has stressed Thailand’s continuous attempt in eradicating intellectual property infringement, and expressed disappointment to the verdict of the US PWL.
The DIP Director-General Malee Choklumlerd has said regarding the United States’ Priority Watch List (PWL) report that has kept Thailand on this list for the eighth year, that the DIP has been working closely with the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to provide knowledge for license inspectors and the inquiry for infringement on the internet. The DIP had also held a campaign that encouraged entrepreneurs to use genuine software.
She has said that the current government’s amendment of intellectual property laws are committed to the cause. However, the Unites Sates has not classified the current laws as imposed, due to the pending status, prior to the official announcement in the government gazette.
The DIP Director-General has mentioned that the United States wanted to participate and comment on Thailand’s intellectual property laws as the US sees them as insufficient, such as the punishment for venue owners who allow copyright infringed products to be put on sale, which is already a criminal offense under the Thai civil law. The punishment was not mentioned in the intellectual property law, in order to avoid redundancy in legal documents.
The DIP Director-General has said that suppression operations has been buffered in a more serious manner and has seen much progress during the past 7 years. She concluded that the decision to retain Thailand on the PWL is disappointing, and hopes that the country will be off the list soon.
The inclusion of Thailand on the list does not currently affect foreign investment, but might influence national image, said the DIP Director-General.
She has said that the DIP will discuss this matter with the Minister of Commerce to come up with guidelines on bringing Thailand out of the PWL in next year’s ranking.
13 countries have been listed on the PWL in 2015 including Algeria, Argentina, Chile, China, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Kuwait, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand, Ukraine, and Venezuela. Ecuador, Kuwait, and Ukraine have been moved from the Watch List (WL) to the Priority Watch List (PWL).
