VZCZCXYZ0018
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBK #3477/01 1591023
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 081023Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY BANGKOK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9394
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC

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