Copyright in Thailand

Are you looking for a law firm to help you in applying for copyright protection? Sunbelt Asia Legal Advisors is the right choice. We have been working in the legal field for 15 years. We are always ready and willing to help you. But before you can apply for copyright protection, you must know about it.

What is Copyright Protection?

Copyright is the intellectual property right. It grants the ownership rights to the creator’s or authors of original work. Under the copyright protection, the author obtains an exclusive right to publish their work.
For the protection of intellectual properties in Thailand is the Copyright Act. The Act protects the works in various categories. The list of categories are:

• Literary work
• Artistic and music work
• Software
• Any work in the field of science, literature, and arts
• Dramatic work
• Sound and video broadcasting
• Audio-visual work

There are different conditions of copyrights for published work and unpublished work.

Published Work

The published work that is appropriate for the copyright protection must be first published in Thailand. The copyright protection is also offered to countries that are participants of Convention on the Protection of Copyright.
If the work was first published outside the qualified zone. The work in question must be published in Thailand or a member country of the Convention. This must be done within the 30 days of the first publication.

Unpublished Work

As far as unpublished work is concerned, the author must be a Thai national or reside in Thailand. The author can also be a national of a member country of the Convention on the Protection of Copyright. It is expected that the residence in Thailand or any eligible country is appointed to the creation of the work.

Validity of the Copyright

The creators of the published or unpublished work are protected for their lifetime. An extra 50 years after their death. In case the author is a juristic person, the protection can last up to 50 years from the date of creation. In the case of art, the protection lasts for 25 years.
Therefore, not everything is suitable for copyright protection. Creations that are not qualified for copyright protection includes:

• News
• Facts
• Announcements
• Laws
• Official reports
• Court judgments
• Legislation and constitution
• Notifications, orders or official correspondence from the Ministries or government departments.

Sunbelt Asia Legal Advisors can help both the nationals and foreigners register for a copyright protection. The reason is that it is a long and complex process making it hard for you to understand. We can help you and guide you through the process. First, we review your case and advise you accordingly what to do next. Our expert has extensive knowledge about the law practices. We can easily and quickly apply for the copyright protection. We will fill the form on your behalf and help you gather all the documents. For more information, you can call us on (+66) 02-662-7004.