The amendment to the copyright law on Tuesday is aimed at boosting the country’s digital content industry, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
With this updated law in place, pieces of work found to be infringing on the copyright of other parties will be immediately removed from online platforms such as Facebook and YouTube, said Deputy Minister of Commerce Sinit Lertkrai.
Previously any requests to remove content from online platforms required a court order, he said.
“This amendment is an upgrade to catch up with the changing digital trade situation and improve protection for work published online as part of the government’s policy build soft power by promoting strategic industries,” Mr Sinit said.
Punishment for violating the law has also been extended to cover those who produce or sell devices used in activities that violate the copyright of others, he said.
These changes are designed to boost confidence among operators and investors in the digital content industry that their work will be better protected, he said.
The updated law also offers an extension of the period of copyright protection, in which the copyright is allowed to be inherited and extended for 50 years after the party creating the work, such as a photograph, dies, he said.
This is in line with the World Intellectual Property Organization (Wipo) Copyright Treaty that Thailand adopted when agreeing to become its 113th member state, he said.
The country’s Wipo membership is due to become effective on Oct 13 this year, he said.
Vuttikrai Leewiraphan, director-general of the Intellectual Property Department, said he strongly believes the updated law will address the sector's need for better copyright protection for digital work.
The updated law is a concrete way of supporting the government’s policy, Mr Vuttikrai said.