Slim chances in piracy fight

Slim chances in piracy fight

Police display knock-off football kits and blankets using trademarked names, seized from a warehouse in Kalasin province on June 1. The counterfeit uniforms were assembled in the warehouse by 22 sweatshop workers from material imported 'from abroad'. (Post Today file photo)
Police display knock-off football kits and blankets using trademarked names, seized from a warehouse in Kalasin province on June 1. The counterfeit uniforms were assembled in the warehouse by 22 sweatshop workers from material imported 'from abroad'. (Post Today file photo)

The director-general of the Intellectual Property Department (IPD) made a startling claim last weekend. Thosapone Dansuputra told the media that "massive" raids on six shopping areas notorious for pirating consumer goods will wipe out piracy within a month. Perhaps there is something different about the current raids compared with numerous crackdowns of the past. But the chances of wiping out piracy, counterfeiting and fake goods by well publicised raids seem as slim as always.

Mr Thosapone and other officials let it be known that the order for the raids came from the very top. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha told the International Economic Policy Committee in early June he wanted to see stepped-up efforts to tackle counterfeit products. The order was not just a whim, of course. It came at exactly the same time that the Foreign Ministry let it be known that the prime minister will take up the offer by US President Donald Trump to make an official visit to the United States, and specifically to the White House.

Mr Trump called Gen Prayut personally last month. He was seeking support from Asean countries for his programme to persuade North Korea to stop its aggressive testing of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. During the phone call, he brought up the long Thai-US friendship, and issued the invitation. It is an important step. Gen Prayut deserves support in pursuing the opportunity to restart the bilateral relations that went downhill rapidly after the May 22, 2014, coup.

The US State Department has been adamant, both under ex-president Barack Obama and at present, that "full relations can be restored" only after the democratic process is back in place. President Trump has a different view of international relations with his decision to go above the country's diplomats and make friendly approaches to Thailand. He also has invited controversial President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines to the White House. The first Asean head of government to visit the new US president was Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc of Vietnam, a country with far less regard for human rights than Gen Prayut's military regime.

Apart from the supreme issue of military rule, the chief US disagreement with Thailand is over intellectual property. Last December, while Mr Obama was still in office, the US Trade Representative (USTR) issued its report on "Notorious Markets". As usual, Thailand got special mention. The MBK Mall in Pathumwan district and the Rong Klua border market in Sa Kaeo province were singled out. The report was specific about this. "USTR requests that Thai authorities conduct sustained, coordinated enforcement actions" at piracy-friendly markets.

In addition, Thailand for 11 consecutive years has been listed among the "dirty dozen" nations with the worst enforcement of IP laws. Come next month, Gen Prayut will at least be able to tell the US president his regime is trying. Mr Thosapone is almost certainly wrong about wiping out piracy at the six selected sites. But the raids provide a strong talking point for Gen Prayut when he gets to Washington.

More seriously, such raids are as certain to fail as raids in the war on drugs. Ending the piracy of movies and music, knock-offs of luxury and middle-class brands, counterfeiting of medicine and high-end products requires long, sustained efforts including education. Simply providing alternative jobs for vendors will take time.

The raids in Bangkok and the provinces allow the prime minister to show Mr Trump and the USTR Thailand is willing to tackle piracy. But harassment and arrests of mall and market vendors will no more end piracy than raids on street-corner dealers will end drug trafficking.

Editorial

Bangkok Post editorial column

These editorials represent Bangkok Post thoughts about current issues and situations.

Email : anchaleek@bangkokpost.co.th

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