CLEANING UP PIRACY FOR THE KING

UNCLAS BANGKOK 003477

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE PASS USTR
USDOC FOR JKELLY, SWILSON
USDOC PASS USPTO FOR PFOWLER

E.O. 12958:N/A
TAGS: ECON KIPR TH
SUBJECT: CLEANING UP PIRACY FOR THE KING



1. Summary: In honor of the 60th anniversary of the KingQs
accession to the throne, Thailand has declared war on intellectual
property piracy, pledging to sweep the streets and malls clean of
pirated goods for the whole of June and July. Police and other
enforcement authorities will be taking the campaign nationwide, but
most efforts will be directed at the so-called "Red Areas", where
piracy is particularly rampant. Little has been accomplished thus
far into the campaign, but a new MOU being negotiated between
enforcement authorities, rights holders and mall owners give hope
that IPR enforcement will be improved beyond the next two months.
End summary.


2. Police General Ukrit Patchimsawat, who replaced the
much-respected General Nopadol to take charge of IP enforcement, has
issued a directive to the 1400 police stations nationwide to put
together IPR suppression units for each force and assign an officer
to coordinate enforcement actions in their area. Enforcement
actions are to be undertaken at a higher tempo for the next two
months to keep the streets clear of any embarrassing sales of
illegal merchandise during the KingQs anniversary celebrations.
Piracy suppression will not be centrally directed, rather each
police precinct will have responsibility for taking enforcement
action in their locale and are required to submit regular reports to
central headquarters on their progress. General Ukrit has organized
two police teams to monitor police efforts and convince recalcitrant
stations to get with the program.


3. Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) officials insisted to
Econoff that this would not be just a showcase event, but hopes are
not high in the local IP community that the suppression campaign
will amount to a serious assault on piracy. On past occasions the
RTG has swept piracy away temporarily, as it did during the APEC
meetings in Bangkok in 2003, but the enforcement campaigns were
never sustained. The campaign was to have begun in earnest on June
1, but police have yet to make a real impact on sales of pirated
goods in any of the more notorious areas. A quick walk through IT
malls in Bangkok showed sales of pirated goods at the usual rampant
level. However, authorities apparently have had no difficulty
clearing all vendors (including pirated merchandise sellers as well
as noodle and satay carts) off the sidewalks of major thoroughfares
in a bid to clean the streets during the celebrations. The Bangkok
Metropolitan Authority (BMA) that regulates street sales simply told
vendors to take two weeks off. A few notorious sites for bootleg
sales have disappeared as part of the overall street cleaning, but
there is little doubt they will be back after the celebrations have
ended.


4. Some of the delay in enforcement can be attributed to protracted
negotiations over an MOU to manage the enforcement effort. On May
18, Deputy Minister of Commerce Preecha Louhapongchana convened a
meeting between enforcement authorities, rights holders and mall
owners to hammer out a new MOU to replace an earlier version signed
in June 2004. The draft MOU is based largely on the previous
version, but includes several provisions for which rights holders

have been lobbying for years.


5. The draft MOU calls for cooperation from department stores and
malls to terminate the leases of shops selling pirated merchandise.
In cases where DIP informs the mall owner that a tenant has been
prosecuted for IP offenses, the owner will be obligated to terminate
the lease. In the MOU negotiations, mall owners have bridled at
taking on that responsibility, concerned they may be exposed to
liability from lessees.


6. The draft MOU also outlines specific geographical areas and
malls where sale of infringing products is particularly severe,
identifying the worst as "red areas" and less severe as "yellow
areas". Responsibility for IP enforcement in red areas is to be
conducted by RTG authorities who will regularly inspect the areas on
an ex officio basis. IP rights holders will lead enforcement
efforts in yellow areas, identifying potential targets and suspect
infringers for police action. Controversial is the proposal that
rights holders not settle arrests and seizures made in red areas.
It is, and will continue to be, legal to drop charges in an arrest
case in exchange for a financial settlement, but police hope a
gentlemanQs agreement with rights holders not to settle will improve
their enforcement efforts in the worst areas.


7. The Department of Special Investigations, set up to undertake
large-scale criminal investigations, is also party to the MOU and is
being recruited to follow up on police arrests and put increased
resources into pursuing in-depth investigations into pirate
organizations. Rights holders have long complained about the
refusal or inability of local police to conduct investigations,
typically closing the books on a case after an arrest, regardless of
any evidence found of further complicity. As a result, court
dockets have filled with cases of small-time dealers of infringing
product while the masterminds stay safely above the fray.

8. Comment: Although little is expected from the current
suppression campaign, a new MOU gives hope for long-term improvement
in IPR enforcement. Rights holders hope that any serious
enforcement action taken during this two-month period will at least
set a precedent for the future. The local IP community gives credit
to General Ukrit, who is committed and has put together a dedicated
team to tackle IP enforcement. End Comment.
BOYCE