Thailand's Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) issued a press release on 21 September making online infringement of films, series and other digital content a priority for enforcement. Director-General Oramon Sapthaweetham said that digital technology lets the public reach films and other content conveniently through online platforms but is also being used to redistribute pirated content. The DIP has received complaints from platform providers about such redistribution and is verifying them. It is coordinating with platform providers, internet service providers and the relevant agencies so that infringing content can be deterred and blocked promptly. The release restates that under Thailand's Copyright Act commercial infringement carries imprisonment of 6 months to 4 years, a fine of 100,000 to 800,000 baht, or both.
It warns the public to stay away from unauthorised platforms because they also carry risks of personal-data theft and financial fraud, and points rights holders and the public to the platforms' own reporting channels and to the DIP's anti-infringement division. The item is still listed among the latest copyright updates on the DIP website.
The release announces no new law or procedure; its significance lies in the way enforcement is organised. Thailand is extending conventional copyright enforcement into a rapid-response model of regulator plus platforms plus internet service providers, in which the regulator takes leads from the platform side and coordinates blocking across the parties rather than waiting for rights holders to sue case by case. For owners of films, games, short videos and other online content this moves the entry point for enforcement in Thailand from the courts to the platforms and the regulator. J&C recommends that owners of films, games, short videos and other online content treat Thailand as a two-track jurisdiction: file takedown requests through each platform's own complaint mechanism and, in parallel, compile the infringing links, proof of ownership and timestamps into a schedule for the DIP's anti-infringement division so it can coordinate rapid blocking with platforms and internet service providers; for repeat pirate sites and apps, consider a court blocking order under Thailand's Computer Crime Act and prepare evidence for criminal prosecution of commercial infringement.
