BANGKOK, May 2 – Thailand will remain on the United States government’s Priority Watch List (PWL) despite its unrelenting crackdown on violations of intellectual property rights, a senior Commerce Ministry official said today.
Patchima Tanasanti, Intellectual Property Department director general, said the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced Tuesday that it would retain Thailand on the PWL for the sixth consecutive year given its failure to amend the copyright law to impose harsher punishment on intellectual property (IP) infringements, especially on the Internet and in cinemas.
The American intellectual property watchdog agency set a condition that Thailand will not be upgraded to the less-stringent Watch List (WL) until the copyright law is rewritten.
A revised law to add penalties for IP infringement on the Internet and in cinemas is scheduled for parliamentary approval later this year.
The Intellectual Property Department is holding an IP Fair at Queen Sirikit Convention Centre on May 17-19 to encourage business negotiations on IP innovations and create understanding among the general public on intellectual property protection. (MCOT online news)
