6 Sudkhet Boriboonsri Copyright Recordation & Legal Deposit Systems

6 sudkhet boriboonsri copyright recordation & legal deposit systems in thailand 1. copyright recordation the copyright of

6
Sudkhet Boriboonsri
Copyright Recordation & Legal Deposit Systems in Thailand
1. Copyright Recordation
The Copyright Office, a governmental unit subordinate to Department of
Intellectual Property, Ministry of Commerce, is the entity responsible
for copyright recordation in Thailand. The copyright recordation is
legally governed by the Announcement of Department of Intellectual
Property on the Copyright Notification and Copyright Data Service B.E.
2547 and the Regulation of Department of Intellectual Property on the
Copyright Recordation and Copyright Data Service B.E. 2547 (as amended
in B.E. 2548). Generally, the copyrighted works eligible for
recordation with the Copyright Office are literary work, dramatic
work, artistic work, musical work, audiovisual work, cinematographic
work, sound recording work, broadcasting work, and any other works in
the literary, scientific, or artistic domain. Noticeably, there is no
difference for the recordation process for each type of the said
copyrighted works.
To be sure, the registration is not required for copyright protection.
However, the notification of copyright data including name of author,
title of copyrighted work and date of authorship is encouraged to be
made to the Copyright Office. The notification system is on the
voluntary basis and has no legal effect.
It should be further noted that subject matters of related rights such
as performance, broadcasting work and sound recording can also be
recorded with the Copyright Office.
*
Regarding the performance, even though the performance is not
literally listed in the categories of copyrighted works, the
definition of “dramatic work” includes choreography, dancing,
acting, performance of dramatic arrangement, and pantomime.
Therefore, the performance defined by the definition of dramatic
work can also be deemed as the copyright subject matter eligible
for copyright recordation.
*
Regarding broadcasting work & sound recording, they are recognized
as one of the copyrighted works protected under the Copyright Act
B.E. 2537, thus being recordable with the Copyright Officer.
It is noted that the recordation process of the said subject matters
is the same as the recordation process for the copyrighted works.
Regarding the recordation of the transferring or licensing of
copyrighted work, there may be considered into two scenarios;
1.
If the transferring or licensing occurs prior to the recordation,
the applicant filing the application for copyright recordation
needs to declare such transferring or licensing of copyright in
the Form LorKhor. 01, No. 14. In particular the applicant shall
identify the person to whom such transferring or licensing has
been made, when it has been made and whether copyright has been
transferred or licensed in whole or in part.
2.
If the transferring or licensing occurs after the recordation, the
Regulation of Department of Intellectual Property on the Copyright
Recordation and Copyright Data Service B.E. 2547 (as amended in
2548) Section 12 clearly states that a copyright owner who has
already filed an application for copyright recordation according
to this Regulation shall notify the Copyright Office of any change
of provided information such as the transferring or licensing of
copyright in whole or in part or the change of name or address of
applicant, etc. within 15 days from the date of such change.
Differently, the recordation of security interest in the copyright is
not required.
The mandatory elements for copyright recordation consist of the
followings;
1.
A Work of authorship must be originated from the author of
copyrighted work and must be independently created (not copied,
adapted, or modified from any other person’s work). In addition,
the work of authorship must fall into one of the nine categories
listed in Section 6 of the Copyright Act B.E. 2537.
2.
The application for copyright recordation shall be filed by the
copyright owner or his/her representative or any authorized
persons.
3.
The applicant shall complete the form (Form Lorkhor. 01) provided
by the Copyright Office and file the form together with all
required documents as follows;
1.
One copy of the completed application form
2.
Documents confirming copyright ownership
3.
A piece of work of authorship, its copy or one photograph of the
work.
4.
One copy of identity card or one copy of certificate of juristic
person formation whose issuance date must not exceed 6 months.
5.
Other supplementary documents (if any) e.g. the evidence of
copyright owner (i.e. power of attorney) and a copy of
intellectual property representative card
The application can be filed in person or by post as well as
electronically filed. In case of electronic filing, the original
required documents have to be filed to the Copyright Officer later on.
After receiving all required documents from the applicant, the
Copyright Office may take approximately 10 working days to complete
the recordation process.
Foreigners are allowed to file an application for copyright
recordation of their works of authorship with the Copyright Office.
The recordation process for foreign works or objects of related rights
is the same as the one for domestic works. However, the documents to
be filed with the Copyright Office may be slightly different.
People without legal assistance can directly file an application for
copyright recordation with the Copyright Office. The recordation
process is not difficult to understand and requires no legal knowledge
in depth. If they have any inquiries, they can consult with the
Copyright Office for information and clarification.
In case that there are any updates or changes on copyright
recordation, it is possible to correct or update relevant information.
This has to be done by the copyright owner within 15 days from the
date of change. The copyright owner shall submit the Form LorKhor. 02
together with the following documents;
1.
The Certificate of Copyright Recordation or a copy of the
completed application for recordation.
2.
Copies of relevant documents such as a copy of written assignment,
a copy of written license, a copy of census registration in case
of change of address, etc.
The Copyright Office provides a search facility in its website (www.ipthailand.go.th).
In order to use this facility, a login username and a password are
required. The search facility is accessible by the public and also
available online. The copyright database can be classified and
searched by name of copyright owner, name of author, title of work,
application number, and filing date of application.
The copyrighted work recorded or its copy is accessible, depending on
a grant of the applicant of copyright recordation. Specifically, at
the time of filing the application, the applicant needs to show
his/her intent regarding the access of application by filling in the
Form LorKhor.01. Three options available accordingly;
1.
The applicant allows access to his/her application documents,
other filed supplemental documents, and the submitted copy of
work.
2.
The applicant does not allow access to his/her application
documents, other filed supplemental documents, and the submitted
copy of work.
3.
Others (please identify)
Option 3 means that the applicant is free to create his/her own
conditions upon the request to investigate his/her application
documents, other filed supplemental documents, and the submitted copy
of work.
Regarding the orphan work, Thailand currently has no legislation
particularly dealing with orphan works. Also, there is no industry in
Thailand aiming at identifying and locating the copyright owner of
orphan works.
Likewise, Thailand currently has no system identifying or listing
copyrighted works or objects of related rights in the public domain.
Below is the number of applications for copyright recordation by
statistical period (last five years).
Year
Number of Applications for Copyright Recordation
2010 (Oct 2009 – Jan 2010)
9,444
2009 (Oct 2008 – Sep 2009)
24,304
2008 (Oct 2007 – Sep 2008)
22,888
2007 (Oct 2006 – Sep 2007)
26,310
2006 (Oct 2005 – Sep 2006)
35,733
Below is the number of applications for copyright recordation by
nationality (last five years)
Year
Number of Applications for Copyright Recordation
By Thai
By Foreigner
2010 (Oct 2009 – Jan 2010)
9,412
32
2009 (Oct 2008 – Sep 2009)
23,849
455
2008 (Oct 2007 – Sep 2008)
22,662
226
2007 (Oct 2006 – Sep 2007)
26,170
140
2006 (Oct 2005 – Sep 2006)
35,675
58
Below is the number of inquiries/requests for information filed with
the Copyright Office per statistical period (last five years)
Year
Number of Inquiries/Requests for Copyright Data
2010
-
2009
-
2008
180 approximately
2007
260 approximately
2006
360 approximately
2. Legal Deposit System
Thailand has the legal deposit system for printed materials. The
National Library of Thailand is the entity in charge of the legal
deposit, applying the legislations regulating the legal deposit which
include;
1.
The Printing Notification Act B.E. 2550
2.
Ministerial Regulation: Requirement and Method for Submission,
Notification, Change of Notified Items, Cancel of Notified Items,
Determination of Notification Form, and Fee Rate for Notification
of Newspaper Publishing (B.E. 2551)
3.
Announcement of the Office of Prime Minister: Appointment of the
Publishing Notification Official According to the Printing
Notification Act B.E. 2550 (B.E. 2551)
The legal deposit is mandatory in Thailand. Section 19 of the Printing
Notification Act B.E. 2550 provides that printmakers or publishers who
do not comply with Section 9 (the legal deposit requirement) would be
in charge of the administrative fine no more than 10,000 baht.
The object of legal deposit under the Printing Notification Act B.E.
2550 includes all types of books printed in Thailand but does not
include some items such as;
*
Newspaper
*
Printed materials of government of governmental units
*
Card, blessing card, emblem, forms, and reports usually used for
private, social politic, commercial or printed materials used in
the short period such as pamphlet or brochure
*
Note book, exercising book or painting book
*
Thesis, explanatory documents, schooling curriculum, other printed
materials in the same token disseminated in educational
institution
The legal deposit must be conducted within 30 days from the
disseminating date, which applies to all books printed in Thailand
whether they are distributed abroad or not.
Legally, the print makers are responsible for delivering the legal
deposit, but in practice the publishers often deliver the legal
deposit instead.
In delivering the legal deposit to the National Library, two copies
are required. There is no special regulation on the special or deluxe
edition.
Generally, there is no connection or interaction between the legal
deposit and copyright protection. Specifically, the legal deposit and
copyright are required by different law and responsible by different
governmental entities.
*
On one hand, the legal deposit is required by the Printing
Notification Act B.E. 2550 and administered by the National
Library, the Fine Arts Department, Ministry of Culture.
*
On the other hand, the copyright protection is provided by the
Copyright Act B.E. 2537 and administered by Copyright Office,
Department of Intellectual Property, Ministry of Commerce.
The Copyright Act B.E. 2537 does not provide a specific provision
regarding making copies or adapting formats of deposited works for the
preservation purpose. However, since the legal deposit is administered
by the National Library, Section 34 of the Copyright Act B.E. 2537,
which is a provision on fair use of copyright works by library, should
be applied.
It is noted that the general public can access legally deposited
materials under the condition that the printed materials are not
available on site in the National Library. If printed materials are
available on site, use of deposited materials is not permissible.
However, the search facilities are available online for the general
public.
Last but not least, the legal deposit has no link to any number codes
including ISBN and ISSN.
Below is the number of deposited printed materials per statistical
period (last five year).
Year
Number of Printed Materials Deposited
2005
22,386
2006
25,795
2007
41,600
2008
58,421
2009
65,777
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 Legal Officer, Copyright Office, Department of Intellectual
Property, Ministry of Commerce, Thailand