Translation:Copyright Act, 2521 BE

Therefore, He grants with His gracious pleasure, by and with the advice and consent of the National Legislative Assembly, the enactment of the following Act:

Section1.This Act is called the Copyright Act, 2521 BE.

Section2.This Act shall come into force from the day following the day of its publication in the Royal Gazette onwards.

Section3.The Protection of Literary and Artistic Works Act, 2474 Buddhist Era shall be repealed.

Section4.In this Act—

“author” means one who produces a work or brings a work into existence on his own initiative;

“work” means a work of authorship in the form of a literary work, dramatic work, artistic work, musical work, audiovisual material, film, broadcast, or any other work in the literary, scientific, or artistic domain;

“copyright” means the exclusive right to do anything in relation to a work produced by an author;

“literary work” means work of composition of every kind as may have been produced, whatever may be the mode or form of its expression, such as book, pamphlet, written material, printed material, lecture, sermon, address, speech, or other sound and/or picture recording;

“dramatic work” means a work relating to ram, ten,^[1] gesturing, or acting which forms a story, and also includes an entertainment in dumb show;

“artistic work” means a work with one or more of the following characteristics:

(1)work of painting, that is, a work of creating a figure composed of a kind or combination of several kinds of line, light, colour, or other things on one or more kinds of material;

(2)work of sculpture, that is, a work of creating a figure in relation to a sensible and tangible volume;

(3)work of printmaking, that is, a work of creating a picture through a printing process, including also a printing plate or printing form used in printmaking;

(4)work of architecture, that is, a work of designing a building or construction, a work of designing or decorating the interior or exterior of a building or construction as well as its vicinity, or the creation of a replica of a building or construction;

(5)work of photography, that is, a work of creating a picture by a picture-recording device which allows light to pass through a lens to a film or glass and is developed with a specific formula of chemical liquid or by any process which brings a picture into existence, or [a work of] recording a picture by a different device or method;

(6)work of illustration, map, structure, sketch, or work of creating a three-dimensional figure in relation to geography, topography, or science;

(7)work of applied art, that is, a work in which a kind or combination of several kinds of the works under (1) to (6) is utilised for any purpose other than the appreciation of their value, such as for practical use, for decoration of an object or item of utensil, or for commercial benefit;

irrespective of whether or not they are of artistic value; and shall also include their photographs and diagrams;

“musical work” means a work relating to music which is composed for playing or singing, whether having both melody and lyrics or having melody only, and shall include a musical book, musical notation, or musical chart which has already been transcribed and harmonised;

“audiovisual material” means a sound recording, gramophone record, audio tape, video tape, or any other sound and/or picture recording which can be replayed, whether or not through the use of another device;

“film” means an audiovisual material composed of a sequence of pictures, whether or not accompanied by any sound, recorded on an object of any kind which can be—

(1)screened as a film; or

(2)recorded on another object for screening as a film;

“broadcast” means a work released to the public by transmission of sound through radio broadcasting, transmission of sound and picture through television broadcasting, or by any other similar means;

“reproduce” includes copying by whatever means, imitating, duplicating, producing a printing plate of, recording the sound of, recording the picture of, or recording the sound and picture of an original, copy, or publication in the essential part, whether in whole or in part;

“adapt” means to reproduce an original work by transforming, improving, editing, or replicating it in the essential part with no characteristic of producing a new work, whether in whole or in part;

(1)in relation to a literary work, it shall include translating a literary work, transforming a literary work, or compiling literary works by means of selection and rearrangement;

(2)in relation to a dramatic work, it shall include transforming a non-dramatic work into a dramatic work or transforming a dramatic work into a non-dramatic work, whether in the original language or in a different language;

(4)in relation to an artistic work, it shall include transforming a two-dimensional or three-dimensional work into a three-dimensional or two-dimensional work, or producing a replica of an original work;

(5)in relation to a musical work, it shall include rearranging, reharmonising, or changing the lyrics or melody;

“publish” means to make a produced work available to the public by means of display, narration, recitation, playing, expression through sound and/or picture, construction, distribution, or any other means.

Section5.The Minister of Education shall be in charge of the execution of this Act.

Chapter 1
Copyright

Section6.The author shall enjoy copyright over the work he has created, subject to the following conditions:

(1)in the event that the work has not yet been published, the author must have been a Thai national or have resided in the Kingdom throughout or for most of the time of creation of such work;

(2)in the event that the work has already been published, the work has been published for the first time in the Kingdom or the author is of the characteristic designated in (1) at the time of the first publication.

In the event that the author is required to be a Thai national, if the author is a juristic person, such juristic person must have been set up in accordance with the law of Thailand.

In paragraph 1(1) and (2), publication means issuing replications of the work for distribution with the consent of the author, irrespective of whatever form or nature they may have, provided that those replications are made available to in a considerable quantity according to the nature of such work. However, this does not include the display or making available of a dramatic work, musical work, or film, the giving of a narration or lecture on a literary work, the transmission of sound and picture in relation to any work, the exhibition of an artistic work, and the construction of a work of architecture.

Section7.As regards a work created by an author in his capacity as a staff member or employee, copyright over such work shall belong to the author, save where otherwise agreed upon in writing. However, the employer has the right to publish the work when permissible under the objectives of such hire of service.

Section8.As regards a work created by an author on account of being hired by another person, the hirer shall enjoy copyright over such work, save where otherwise agreed upon by the author and the hirer.

Section9.When any work bears a characteristic of having been adapted from a copyrighted work under this Act with the permission of the copyright owner, the person who has carried out such adaptation shall enjoy copyright in accordance with this Act without prejudice to the rights of the copyright owner over the work of the original author which has been adapted.

Section10.When any work bears a characteristic of having been compiled or assembled from copyrighted works under this Act with the permission of the copyright owners, the compiler or assembler shall enjoy copyright in accordance with this Act without prejudice to the rights of the copyright owners over the works of the original authors which have been compiled or assembled.

Section11.Sections 6, 7, and 8 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the enjoyment of copyright according to section 9 or 10.

Section12.Ministries, subministries, departments, or any other state or local agencies shall enjoy copyright over the works created on account of having been hired or ordered by them or under their control, save where otherwise agreed upon.

Chapter 2
Protection of copyright

Section13.Subject to sections 7, 8, and 12, the copyright owner shall have the following exclusive rights:

(1)reproduction or adaptation;

(2)publication;

(3)granting of benefits accruing from copyright to other persons;

(4)granting of permission to use the right under (1) or (2) with or without any conditions.

Section14.In the event that a copyright owner under this Act permits any person to use a right according to section 13(4), it shall be deemed that such permission is granted without excluding the right of the copyright owner to permit another person to use such right also, save where a written agreement has been adopted to impose any specific conditions.

Section15.Copyright is transferable.

The copyright owner may transfer his copyright in whole or in part to another person and the transfer may be subjected to a time limit or may be for the entire term of copyright protection.

Transfer of copyright by any other way than succession must be done in writing.

In the event that copyright has been transferred in accordance with paragraph 2, the author still has the exclusive right to prohibit the transferee from misrepresenting, abridging, adapting, or doing any other thing to the work in question to the extent causing injury to the reputation or credit of the author.

Chapter 3
Terms of copyright protection

Section16.Subject to sections 18 and 19, copyright under this Act shall last for the lifetime of the author and shall continue to exist for a period of fifty more years from the death of the author.

In the event of joint authorship, copyright over the work in question shall last for the lifetime of the joint authors and shall continue to exist for a period of fifty more years from the death of the last [surviving] joint author.

If the author or all of the joint authors die prior to publication of the work, the said copyright shall last for a period of fifty years from the publication.

In the event that the author is a juristic person, copyright shall last for a period of fifty years from the creation of the work by the author, but if the work is published during the said period of time, copyright shall continue to exist for a period of fifty years from the first publication.

Section17.As regards a copyrighted work under this Act which has been created by a pseudonymous or anonymous author, copyright shall last for a period of fifty years from the creation of such work, but if the work is published during the said period of time, copyright shall last for a period of fifty years from the first publication.

In the event that the author is known, section 16 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

Section18.Copyright over a work of photography, audiovisual material, film, or broadcast shall last for a period of fifty years from the creation of such work, but if the work is published during the said period of time, copyright shall last for a period of fifty years from the first publication.

Section19.Copyright over a work of applied art shall last for a period of twenty-five years from the creation of such work, but if the work is published during the said period of time, copyright shall last for a period of twenty-five years from the first publication.

Section20.Copyright over a work created on account of being hired or ordered or under control according to section 12 shall last for a period of fifty years from the creation of such work, but if the work is published during the said period of time, copyright shall last for a period of fifty years from the first publication.

Section21.Publication of a work under section 16, 17, 18, 19, or 20 which starts the term of copyright protection refers to issuance of the work for publication with the consent of the copyright owner.

Section22.When a term of copyright protection completes in any year, if the date of completion of the term of copyright protection does not correspond to the final day of the calendar year or in the event that the exact date of completion of the term of copyright protection cannot be ascertained, copyright shall continue to exist until the final day of that calendar year.

Section23.Issuance of any copyrighted work for publication after termination of the term of copyright protection does not result in revival of copyright over such work.

Chapter 4
Infringement of copyright

Section24.The conduct of any of the following acts upon a work copyrighted under this Act shall be deemed to be infringement of copyright:

(1)reproducing or adapting;

(2)publishing without the permission under section 13.

Section25.The conduct of any of the following acts upon an audiovisual material or film copyrighted under this Act, whether relative to the sound, the picture, or both, shall be deemed to be infringement of copyright:

(1)reproducing or adapting;

(2)publishing without the permission under section 13.

Section26.The conduct of any of the following acts upon a broadcast copyrighted under this Act shall be deemed to be infringement of copyright:

(1)producing a film, audiovisual material, or broadcast, whether in whole or in part;

(2)rebroadcasting, whether in whole or in part;

(3)enabling the public to listen to and/or view the broadcast, with a demand for money or other commercial benefit.

Section27.Whoever conducts any of the following acts upon any work with the knowledge that the work has been produced in a manner infringing copyright of another:

(1)selling, letting, selling by hire purchase, or offering for sale, hire, or hire purchase;

(2)publishing;

(3)distributing in such a manner that may cause injury to the copyright owner;

(4)bringing or ordering to be brought into the Kingdom for any purpose than personal use; shall also be deemed to infringe copyright.

Section28.In a copyright infringement case, it shall be presumed that the work for which the case is instituted is copyrighted under this Act and the instituting party owns the copyright over such work, save where the defending party objects that no one owns copyright or objects to the rights of the instituting party.

When any work bears the name or thing representing the name of any person who claims to be the copyright owner, it shall be presumed that the person who owns such name or the thing representing such name is the author.

When any work bears no name or thing representing a name, or bears the name or thing representing the name [of any person who] does not claim to be the copyright owner and bears the name or anything representing the name of another person who claims to be the printer, the publisher, or the printer and publisher, it shall be presumed that the person who is the printer, the publisher, or the printer and publisher owns copyright over such work.

Section29.No copyright infringement case shall be instituted upon expiry of the period of three years from the day the copyright owner learns of the infringement and of the identity of the infringer. In addition, it must not be instituted later than ten years from the day of the copyright infringement.

Chapter 5
Exceptions to infringement of copyright

Section30.The conduct of an act upon a work copyrighted under this Act shall not be deemed to be infringement of copyright if it has any of the following objectives:

(1)research or study;

(2)use for one’s own benefit or for the benefit of one’s own and members of one’s family or one’s relatives and friends;

(3)expression of comments, criticisms, or recommendations as to the work with acknowledgement of the ownership of copyright over the work;

(4)presentation of news reports through mass media with acknowledgement of the ownership of copyright over the work;

(5)reproduction, adaptation, exhibition, or making available for the benefit of the consideration of a court or competent official empowered by a law or for the reporting of the outcomes of such consideration;

(6)reproduction, adaptation, exhibition, or making available by a teacher for the benefit of his own teaching;

(7)copying, duplication, adaptation in part, abridgement, or summarisation by a teacher or educational institution as appropriate and in a quantity necessary for apportion or distribution amongst learners in a class or educational institution, without a view to seeking profit and without causing immoderate injury to the copyright owner, taking into account also the social justice with respect to the granting of benefits to the copyright owner and the educational necessity of the public;

(8)use of the work as part of questions and answers in an examination.

Section31.Reasonably quoting, copying, imitating, or referring to certain parts of a work copyrighted under this Act with acknowledgement of the ownership of copyright over such work shall not be deemed to be infringement of the copyright.

Section32.The following are not deemed copyrighted works under this Act:

(1)news of the day and facts characteristic of mere information, when they are not works in the literary, scientific, or artistic domain;

(2)constitutions and laws;

(3)regulations, rules, announcements, orders, explanations, and correspondences of ministries, subministries, departments, or any other state or local agencies;

(4)judgments, orders, rulings, and official reports;

(5)translations and compilations of those under (1) through (4) produced by ministries, subministries, departments, or any other state or local agencies.

Section33.Reproduction of a copyrighted work under this Act by a librarian of a library in the following events shall not be deemed to be infringement of copyright if it has no objective of seeking profit:

(1)reproduction for use in the library or for another library;

(2)reasonable reproduction of certain parts of the work for another person for purposes of research or study.

The quantity of the reproduction under (1) and (2) must not exceed that which is necessary, taking into account the appropriateness also.

Section34.Reasonably publishing an audiovisual material or film produced or carried out not for the seeking of profit therefrom shall not be deemed to be infringement of copyright, if in the following events:

(1)making available for listening or viewing for entertainment of people who are service users within a place for selling of food and drink, place for lodging, place of recreation, transport station, or vehicle;

(2)making available for listening or viewing for entertainment, when done by an association, foundation, or other organisation with objectives for public charity, education, religion, or social work.

Section35.Drawing, painting, constructing, engraving, sculpturing, carving, printing, taking photographs or films of, transmitting pictures of, or conducting any similar action to any artistic work which is openly and permanently situated in a public place shall not be deemed to be infringement of copyright over such artistic work.

Section36.Drawing, painting, engraving, sculpturing, carving, printing, taking photographs or films of, or transmitting pictures of any work of architecture shall not be deemed to be infringement of copyright over such work of architecture.

Section37.Taking photographs or films of or transmitting pictures of any work which contains any artistic work as an element shall not be deemed to be infringement of copyright over such artistic work.

Section38.In the event that copyright over any artistic work is also owned by another person in addition to the author, the fact that the same author subsequently produces the same artistic work again in a manner partially reproducing it or using the plates, sketches, plans, models, or data obtained from study that were used in producing it shall not be deemed to be infringement of copyright over it, if the author does not appear to have reproduced or copied its essential part.

Section39.When any building is a work of architecture copyrighted under this Act, restoration of such building in its original form shall not be deemed to be infringement of copyright.

Section40.In the event that the term of copyright protection governing any film has come to an end, publication of such film shall not be deemed to be infringement of copyright over the literary works, dramatic works, artistic works, musical works, audiovisual materials, or works used in producing the film.

Section41.Reproduction of a copyrighted work under this Act in possession of the public sector by a competent official or by virtue of an order of a competent official for any person for the benefit of the public sector shall not be deemed to be infringement of copyright.

Chapter 6
International copyright

Section42.Copyrighted works under the law of a country being a party to a convention on protection of copyright to which Thailand is also a party when the law of such country also provides the same protection to copyrighted works of other parties to the said convention, or copyrighted works of an organisation of which Thailand is also a member, shall enjoy protection under this Act, subject to the conditions designated by a royal decree.

Chapter 7
Penal provisions

Section43.Whoever commits infringement of copyright according to section 24, 25, or 26 shall be punished with a fine from ten thousand baht to one hundred thousand baht.

If the offence under paragraph 1 is committed for a commercial purpose, the offender shall be punished with a fine from twenty thousand baht to two hundred thousand baht or with imprisonment of not more than one year and a fine from twenty thousand baht to two hundred thousand baht.

Section44.Whoever commits infringement of copyright according to section 27 shall be punished with a fine from five thousand baht to fifty thousand baht.

If the offence under paragraph 1 is committed for a commercial purpose, the offender shall be punished with a fine from ten thousand baht to one hundred thousand baht or with imprisonment of not more than six months and a fine from ten thousand baht to one hundred thousand baht.

Section45.Whoever, having been punished for an offence committed in accordance with this Act, commits an offence under this Act during the period not yet over five years after release from the punishment, shall have the punishment doubled.

Section46.In the event that a juristic person has committed an offence under this Act, it shall be deemed that all the directors or managers of the juristic person have participated with the juristic person in the commission of the offence, save where they successfully prove that the acts of the juristic person were committed without their knowledge or consent.

Section47.All the things produced or brought into the Kingdom in a manner infringing copyright according to this Act and still owned by the offender under section 43 or 44 shall devolve upon the copyright owner. As regards the things used in the commission of an offence, all of them shall be confiscated.

Section48.The offences under this Act are compoundable.

Section49.Half of a fine paid in accordance with a judgment shall be given to the copyright owner without prejudice to his right to claim civil damages for the part not covered by the fine he has received.

Transitory provisions

Section50.The works already copyrighted under the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works Act, 2474 Buddhist Era on the day of coming into force of this Act shall enjoy copyright protection under this Act.

The works produced prior to the day of coming into force of this Act and not copyrighted under the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works Act, 2474 Buddhist Era but eligible for copyright under this Act shall enjoy copyright protection under this Act.

Countersignature
General Kriangsak Chamanan
Prime Minister

Note: The grounds for promulgation of this Act are as follows: The Protection of Literary and Artistic Works Act, 2474 Buddhist Era should be improved and revised to enhance its appropriateness due to the facts that it has been in force for a very long time and its provisions on copyright protection have become obsolete and failed to provide wide enough protection, whilst the rate of punishment originally designated by it is considerably low, leading to frequent violations of law. It is therefore necessary to enact this Act.

↑ The Royal Institute Dictionary, 2493 BE, the prescriptive dictionary in force at that time, defined ram (Thai: รำ) as a synonym of fon (Thai: ฟ้อน) (Royal Institute of Thailand, 1950, p 774), defined fon as a synonym of krai (Thai: กราย) (idem, p 677), and defined krai as “to walk rhythmically” (idem, p 80). It defined ten (Thai: เต้น) as “to move a leg [or legs] up and down rhythmically” (idem, p 422). In general, both ram and ten are translated as “to dance”. In modern usage, the difference between ram and ten is that the former is often used to refer to a traditional or classical dance, and the latter, a modern one. (Wikisource contributor note)
Reference: Royal Institute of Thailand (1950). Photchananukrom chabap ratchabandittayasathan phoso song phan si roi kao sipsam [Royal Institute Dictionary, 2493 BE] (in Thai). Bangkok: Rongphim Borisat Khana Chang Chamkat.

This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content.

Original:

This work is in the public domain worldwide because it originated in Thailand and is a work under section 7(2) of Thailand's Copyright Act, 2537 BE (1994) (WIPO translation), which provides:

7. The following shall not be deemed copyright works under this Act:

news of the day and facts having the character of mere information, not being works in the literary, scientific or artistic fields;

the constitution and legislation;

regulations, bylaws, notifications, orders, explanations and official correspondence of the Ministries, Departments or any other government or local units;

judicial decisions, orders, decisions and official reports;

translations and collections of the materials referred to in items (1) to (4), made by the Ministries, Departments or any other government or local units.

Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse

Translation:

I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. This applies worldwide.

In case this is not legally possible:

I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse

[ten-1] The Royal Institute Dictionary, 2493 BE, the prescriptive dictionary in force at that time, defined ram (Thai: รำ) as a synonym of fon (Thai: ฟ้อน) (Royal Institute of Thailand, 1950, p 774), defined fon as a synonym of krai (Thai: กราย) (idem, p 677), and defined krai as “to walk rhythmically” (idem, p 80). It defined ten (Thai: เต้น) as “to move a leg [or legs] up and down rhythmically” (idem, p 422). In general, both ram and ten are translated as “to dance”. In modern usage, the difference between ram and ten is that the former is often used to refer to a traditional or classical dance, and the latter, a modern one. (Wikisource contributor note)
Reference: Royal Institute of Thailand (1950). Photchananukrom chabap ratchabandittayasathan phoso song phan si roi kao sipsam [Royal Institute Dictionary, 2493 BE] (in Thai). Bangkok: Rongphim Borisat Khana Chang Chamkat.

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