Translation:Copyright Act (No 4), 2561 BE

by National Legislative Assembly of Thailand (2014)

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Seal of the Royal Command

Copyright
Act (No 4),
2561 BE

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Somdet Phra Chaoyuhua Maha Vajiralongkorn
Bodindradebayavarangkun
Given on the 8th day of November 2561 BE
Being the 3rd year of the present reign

Somdet Phra Chaoyuhua Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun gives a royal command by which He orders with His pleasure that it be announced as follows:

Whereas it is appropriate to amend the law on copyright;

This Act contains certain provisions relating to the restriction of rights and freedoms of persons, which section 26, in conjunction with section 37, of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand permits to be done through the powers under the provisions of law;

The grounds and necessity for the restriction of rights and freedoms of persons according to this Act are to enable disabled persons who are incapable of access copyrighted works on account of vision, hearing, movement, intellectual, or learning impairment or other impairments to enjoy equal opportunities to access copyrighted works as other persons, thereby making the enactment of this Act compatible with the conditions provided in section 26 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand;

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

Section1.This Act is called the Copyright Act (No 4), 2561 BE.

Section2.This Act shall come into force upon expiry of the period of one hundred and twenty days from the day of its publication in the Royal Gazette onwards.

Section3.(9) of paragraph 2 of the Copyright Act, 2537 BE, which has been amended by the Copyright Act (No 3), 2558 BE, shall be repealed.

Section4.The following text shall be inserted in the Copyright Act, 2537 BE as section 32/4:

“Section32/4.The conduct of any of the following acts by an authorised or recognised entity in the interest of a disabled person who is incapable of access a copyrighted work under this Act on account of vision, hearing, movement, intellectual, or learning impairment or such other impairments as designated and published in the Royal Gazette by the Minister, shall not be deemed to be infringement of copyright, if it has no objective for seeking profit and paragraph 1 of section 32 is complied with:

(1)reproduction or adaptation of a copyrighted work which has been published or communicated to the public already and has been obtained lawfully;

(2)communication to the public of a copy of a copyrighted work which has been reproduced or adapted in accordance with (1), as well as a copy of a copyrighted work which has been obtained from an entity domestically or internationally authorised or recognised.

The authorised or recognised entities, the forms of reproduction or adaptation as necessary for disabled persons, as well as the criteria and formalities for the carrying out of the reproduction or adaptation and communication to the public according to paragraph 1, shall be as designated and published in the Royal Gazette by the Minister.”

Section5.The text of section 53 of the Copyright Act, 2537 BE, which has been amended by the Copyright Act (No 2), 2558 BE, shall be repealed and replaced by the following text:

“Section53.Sections 32, 32/2, 32/3, 32/4, 33, 34, 36, 42, and section 43 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the performers’ rights.”

Countersignature
General Prayut Chan-o-cha
Prime Minister

Note: The grounds for promulgation of this Act are as follows: As Thailand is to become a party to the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled, which requires the parties to enact internal laws supporting exceptions to copyright infringement in favour of persons blind, persons visually impaired, and persons print disabled so that they would enjoy equal opportunities to access copyrighted works as other persons, it is appropriate to amend the exceptions to copyright infringement under the Copyright Act, 2537 BE for the sake of disabled persons in line with the said treaty. It is therefore necessary to enact this Act.