Background

Thailand copyright law generally protects the rights of the authors of original literary, musical and artistic works including poetry, movies, songs, novels, computer software and architecture. It is not possible to copyright Concepts, ideas, facts and news in Thailand, although the modes in which these ideas and facts are expressed may be protected by copyright.

Under the Thailand Copyright Act work is recognized as copyrighted as soon as it is created. Registration of a copyright at the Copyright Office is still recommended as the record will be important evidence of the author's ownership in the event of a dispute.

Thailand Law and Foreign Works

Thailand copyright law recognizes copyrighted works recorded in foreign jurisdictions provided that the creator is a national, resident or first published the work in a member country of the Berne Convention or the Trade Related Aspects of International Property Rights (TRIPs).

Foreign copyright holders still may wish to register the work in Thailand as a registration certificate at the Department of Intellectual Property Department will assist in any future enforcement actions.

Prosecution of materials published without permission

If you are seeking to have material removed, an infringement notice may be sent to the internet service provider publishing the offending material, as well as popular search engines such as Google and Yahoo, requesting the removal of the pages containing the infringing material from their search results.
If the offense was committed in Thailand, you may also be able to seek damages and criminal prosecution of the infringing party in Thail courts for a violation of the Thailand Copyright Act.

Are violations of copyrights a criminal offense in Thailand?

Thailand law protects the rights of owners of copyrights, trademarks and patents.  The violation of intellectual property is a criminal offense and violating parties may be subject to prison sentences or fines.  Disputes over intellectual property are heard in the Court of Intellectual Property and International Trade