PM not surprised Thailand is on PWL

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• Pascale

  Discussion 10 : 01/09/2009 at 05:15 PM10

  Hi. The excellence of a gift lies in its appropriateness rather than in its value.
  I am from Panama and know bad English, please tell me right I wrote the following sentence: "Their complaint makes promotion, profit, manager, and entire known comparisons."
  
  Thanks :o. Pascale.

• Michelle

  Discussion 9 : 03/05/2009 at 09:43 AM9

  The ones who are at fault are the multi-national companies who are gouging customers with ridiculous prices. A CD or DVD costs less than $2 to produce, and this includes the royalties they pay to the performers, yet they charge $15 to $20 per CD or DVD.
  
  People in most countries of the world cannot afford these and, if Thailand stopped the sale of pirated products, they'd lose 30% of their income overnight!
  
  Until American companies stop stealing from people all over the world and then stop complaining that THEY are being stolen from, nothing will ever change.

• Mike

  Discussion 8 : 03/05/2009 at 08:24 AM8

  Linux on all government computers is a good idea, as is implementing free software like Open-Office from Sun Micro systems to replace the Windows Office suite of products, 'the Gimp' to replace photoshop, 'coffee cup' to build webpages, spybot search and destroy for security, AVG for virus protection the list goes on and on. This doesnt even consider the fact that most applications you need will be rented and used over the internet soon, and that cloud computing will change the way we think.
  
  
  Open-source software is protected by intellectual property rights too....but you can use it for free, you can develop the application and then share it.

• Ron

  Discussion 7 : 03/05/2009 at 07:54 AM7

  It is not a case of what countries did or did not make it to the US PWL top 12. But what permanent actions are these countries taking to ensure that they don't make it again. Countries that continue to flaunt US law year after year have been given notice. Should the US decided to impose punitive action they have no recourse for their failure to act. Previous US administrations have failed to follow through on this continual problem and the current one will not.

• TRYTHAI

  Discussion 6 : 03/05/2009 at 06:07 AM6

  Many people told me that they love this singer, that star, these movie, soft ware, and so on. They are telling me to get a copy or copy from them, even buy from pirated product. There are many advertising to convince people to stop buy pirated product by telling them it's illegal. I just want to tell them if you love the performer, and love there works then don't rob their income from the work that they works so hard to entertain you. Especially Thai actors, and singers whom only get pay by jobs not too many of them get residual income, and the Thai people in USA just rent their copy out with out pay them any thing. This got nothing to do with the price, but how to respect other people knowledge, and hard works. Simplify said “if you love them pay them”

• Richy

  Discussion 5 : 02/05/2009 at 09:55 PM5

  Many well to do nations have made it onto the US elite PWL list.
  
  Even Canada made it onto the list. But when I looked up Canadian news websites, this news didnt even make it to the front pages. I really had to dig very deep to find it even mentioned.
  
  Its nothing to fret about.

• Somboon

  Discussion 4 : 02/05/2009 at 08:46 PM4

  I am not in favor of piracy, but look from different point of view.
  
  Let us say a CD costs on the average of $20.00, a DVD costs $30.00, and a Blue Ray DVD costs $40.00, who can afford to buy them beside the Americans, Canadians, Europeans, Australians, and New Zealanders? The Asians, Africans, Central and South Americans who made up of the majority of the world consumers cannot afford them. Each CD or DVD costs more than a day of their wage, most may be more than a week. How can these big corporations expect piracy to stop. They expect/want to sell their products at the maximum profits, but the vast majority of consumers do not have the means to do so. Big companies can buy those softwares, but they are a tiny portion compare to the others products. You go to Pantip Plaza, what do you see people buy? Do you see just the Thais? There are a lot, I mean a lot, of foreigners buying the pirated products. Even Europeans and Australians, they would rather buy them in Thailand, China, etc. because they ae much cheaper than the pirated copies in their own countries.
  
  Until the world wages are more comparable, which I cannot see it in my lifetime, piracy will perpetuate.

• simon

  Discussion 3 : 02/05/2009 at 08:08 PM3

  err.. I love how people say 'switch to Linux, it's free!' like that will solve all the world's problems.
  
  to the poster below me, switching to Linux is hardly a quick-fix and in all likelihood would make matters worse - open-source software is protected by intellectual property rights too.
  
  This is not about foreign companies trying to secure more profits, it is about boosting the long-term future of the Thai economy by giving local Thai software developers more incentive to get involved in the industry.
  
  In defense of the large IT companies, it is also worth noting the massive contributions that the they make to Thailand, both in terms of training and employment and theirCSR programs. Please tell me, what has Linux ever done for Thailand?

• hyperinflation

  Discussion 2 : 02/05/2009 at 07:23 PM2

  There is nothing wrong with trying to enforce intellectual property laws, but it is imperative that the government also consider the effect this will have on society, and also set a standard that can be followed.
  
  For instance, one thing they could do in parallel with working to better enforce existing laws, is start a massive training program to switch all state owned computers to Linux. This would in turn force businesses to adopt the operating system in order to be able to more easily bid on government contracts and interface to government offices. The effect, like swine flu, would infect every layer of Thai society. Unlike just handing out checks, this is an infrastructure improvement that would actually benefit Thailand, and makes alot of sense given they are currently looking for ways to stimulate the Thai economy.
  
  A move such as this would easily position Thailand as one of the world's leading countries in this new paradigm, and spark a wave of innovation and research into the business models that support it. Rather than needlessly shovelling money into private companies overseas, it would actually bring much needed revenue to Thailand's struggling IT industry.
  
  It would be a win/win for everyone, except for the politicians who currently enjoy the benefits of corruption when making a large purchase of proprietary software, and the overseas conglomerates who twist their arms. While software is not the only source of piracy, it is certainly one of the largest, and the removal of all Microsoft infringement in Thailand by replacing it with Linux would certainly merit a removal from the PWL.
  
  Does anyone think the US government would be happy with that solution? Me neither.

• Tom

  Discussion 1 : 02/05/2009 at 06:57 PM1

  The government stopped 90% of street sales for dvds and cds earlier this year for a few weeks to try to avoid PWL status. What a joke ! If they pass new laws they had better be ready to enforce them which I think will never happen.