THAILAND: A NEW INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY STRATEGY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 001338

STATE FOR EAP/MLS, EEB/TPP/IPE
STATE PASS TO USTR FOR WEISEL, BISBEE, AND BAE
COMMERCE FOR EAP/MAC/OKSA
COMMERCE PASS TO USPTO

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958:N/A
TAGS: ECON ETRD KIPR PINR PREL TH
SUBJECT: THAILAND: A NEW INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY STRATEGY

REF: A. BANGKOK 1203 (PATPONG RAID)

B. BANGKOK 379 (RIGHT MOVES ON IPR)

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1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot, the
government's face of its intellectual property rights (IPR)
campaign, has devised a new interagency strategy to combat IPR
piracy in Thailand. Alongkorn explained to the Ambassador on May 27
that his proposed strategy, which he has coined "Creative Thailand,"
will become the government's official IPR policy and will involve
multiple ministries, including the Ministries of Education, Science
and Technology, Public Health and Agriculture. His plan has already
received approval from the government's interagency IPR committee,
and he now hopes to present the overall strategy to the Cabinet for
final policy approval later this month. The Ambassador applauded
Alongkorn on his personal efforts over the past six months to
improve the government's protection of IPR and encouraged him to
keep the pressure on the country's criminal IP syndicates,
particularly if he hopes to move Thailand off of the Special 301
Priority Watch List in 2010. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) COMMENT: While the government has had multiple IPR action
plans and strategies in the past, the personal involvement of Deputy
Commerce Minister Alongkorn, who has tied his career and reputation
to the success of this IPR campaign, could make a difference if the
government can continue these efforts over the long run. What is
particularly impressive is that Alongkorn has now enlisted the
cooperation of other key government ministries to implement the
strategy; whether this cooperation will be realized will be a real
challenge within Prime Minister Abhisit's still-fragile coalition
cabinet. A high profile May 6 raid in the notorious Patpong Night
Market (reftel),that was largely perceived as a debacle,
temporarily slowed Alongkorn's IPR efforts, but it appears he is now
back on track. We continue to emphasize to Alongkorn and his IPR
team that the government's efforts must be sustained over a longer
period and demonstrate significant results, if the government is
serious about its IPR campaign and its desire to justify the removal
of Thailand the Special 301 Priority Watch List. END COMMENT.

Thailand's Intellectual Property Strategy
--------------


3. (SBU) In a meeting with the Ambassador on May 27, Deputy Commerce
Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot pitched his policy framework for the
government's overall IPR strategy. (Note: We will forward a full
English translation of the strategy to the Department separately via
e-mail.) The National Intellectual Property Committee, chaired by
Prime Minister Abhisit, adopted the framework on May 25. Alongkorn
hopes to present the overall strategy to the Cabinet for interagency
approval by the end of June.


4. (SBU) Alongkorn described his plans to the Ambassador as the
"Creative Thailand Strategy," with the goal that Thai citizens will
be motivated and inspired to create their own intellectual property
to propel the Thai economy forward. The Ambassador commended
Alongkorn on his continued efforts to improve the government's IPR
policies and particularly noted Alongkorn's personal efforts to
convince the Thai public that IPR should be even more important to
Thai citizens and businesses for the future of the Thai economy than
to foreign governments and foreign rights holders. Alongkorn
concurred, noting that he believes Thailand's "creative economy"
could become the engine for growth that the country very much needs
during the current global economic downturn. He candidly added that
his dreams of a self-sufficient "creative economy" will depend on
whether the government can prevent or at least lessen the high
levels of piracy throughout the country today.


5. (SBU) Alongkorn and the staff of the Department of Intellectual
Property at the Ministry of Commerce have revitalized a six-part
interagency strategy to make IPR a national policy priority.
Alongkorn emphasized that the strategy will involve other key
ministries, including Science and Technology, Public Health,
Industry, Education, and Agriculture, to ensure the strategy's
success. The six components include the following:

- IP Creation: Promote the creation of Thai IP in areas that will
improve Thailand's economic competitiveness. Encourage government
and private investment to develop innovative technologies;

- IP Commercialization: Actively promote marketing and investment
opportunities for Thai-owned IP to ensure commercial success. (Note:

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The Ministry of Commerce, along with representatives of Thailand's
film, music, and other creative industries, will host a national
Intellectual Property Fair, as part of this strategy, on June 12-14
to promote Thai-owned IP.);

- IP Protection: Improve Thailand's legal regime for intellectual
property rights and ensure compliance with international legal
standards. Propose amendments to the copyright and trademark laws;


- IP Violation Prevention and Suppression: Significantly increase
the government's prevention and law enforcement efforts to protect
against continuing large-scale piracy and counterfeiting;

- IP Awareness and Education: Raise awareness of Thai citizens and
businesses of the importance of IP to Thailand's economy. In
coordination with IP experts, develop education curriculums to raise
awareness of students from elementary to university levels.

- Fiscal and Monetary Support for IP Strategy: Source government and
private sector funds to support the government's overall IP strategy
implementation. Coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and
revenue-collecting agencies to shore up funds to enhance the
government's activities.

IPR Legal Improvements Already Underway
--------------


6. (SBU) Alongkorn asserted that his immediate priority will be to
improve the government's legal authorities to arrest, prosecute and
convict buyers, sellers, and distributors of pirated and counterfeit
goods. He hopes the court will be able to hand down more deterrent
sentences to those convicted of IP violations. He highlighted a
successful case earlier this year, where the court sentenced three
IP offenders to two-year prison sentences, a rare occurrence but one
that he hopes will become more common after the government proposes
amendments to increase criminal penalties under the various IP
laws.


7. (SBU) Alongkorn has specifically proposed amendments to the
Copyright and Trademark Acts, changes that will increase penalties
for convicted sellers and distributors of pirated and counterfeit
goods. He has also put forward provisions that will enable the
government to arrest and prosecute the buyers of pirated goods.
(Note: This is a controversial provision that many rights holders
and IP lawyers believe could derail the entire initiative) The
proposed amendments also include landlord liability provisions that
will enable the government to prosecute those who lease property to
vendors and distributors of pirated and counterfeit goods.
Alongkorn has also suggested adding piracy and counterfeiting as
predicate offenses under the money laundering law.


8. (SBU) While the legislative process to amend these laws will be
lengthy, Alongkorn is personally pushing the changes forward. He
chaired a public hearing on June 1 to explain and discuss the
amendments with interested parties, as required by law. The
specific increases for the penalties are still under debate, but
rights holders at the June 1 hearing told us they were pleased with
Alongokorn's initiative to improve the laws. Commerce Minister
Porntiva Nakasai is expected to propose the final amendments to the
Cabinet within the next month, after which drafts can be sent to the
Council of State for additional scrutiny. The amendments could be
presented to Parliament by the end of the year.

JOHN