BHUMIB0L ADULYADEJ, REX.
Given on the 9th day of DECEMBER, B.E. 2537;
Being the 49th Year of the Present Reign.
His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej is graciously pleased to proclaim that:
Whereas it is expedient to revise the law on copyright;
Be it, therefore, enacted by the King, by and with the advice and consent of the National Assembly as follows.
Section 1. This Act is called the “Copyright Act B.E. 2537”.*
Section 2. This Act shall come into force after ninety days as from the date of its publication in the Government Gazette.**
Section 3. The Copyright Act B.E. 2521 shall be repealed.
Section 4. In this Act:
“author” means a person who makes or creates any work, which is a copyright work by virtue of this Act;
“copyright” means the exclusive right to do any act by virtue of this Act with respect to the work created by the author;
“literary work” means any kind of literary work such as books, pamphlets, writings, printed matters, lectures, sermons, addresses, speeches, including computer programs;
“computer program” means instructions, set of instructions or any other things, which are used with a computer so as to operate the computer or to generate an output, whichever the computer language is;
“dramatic work” means a work with respect to choreography, dancing, acting or performance in dramatic arrangement, including a pantomime;
“artistic work” means a work of any one or more of the following characters:
(1) work of painting and drawing which means a creation of configuration consisting of either lines, lights, colours or other things or the composition thereof upon one or more materials;
(2) work of sculpture which means a creation of configuration with tangible volume;
(3) work of lithography which means a creation of picture by printing process and includes a printing block or plate used in the printing;
(4) work of architecture which means a design of building or construction, an interior or exterior design as well as a landscape design or a creation of a model of building or construction;
(5) photographic work which means a creation of images with the use of an image-recording equipment allowing light to pass through a lens to a film or a piece of glass and to be developed with liquid chemical of specific formula or with any process that creates images, or a recording of images with other equipments or methods;
(6) work of illustration, map, structure, sketch or three -dimensional work with respect to geography, topography or science;
(7) work of applied art which means a work applying each or a composition of the works mentioned in (1) to (6) for other uses apart from the appreciation in the merit of the work, such as for practical use, decoration of materials or appliances, or for commercial benefit;
provided that, whether or not the work in (1) to (7) has an artistic value and it shall include photographs and plans of such works;
“musical work” means a work with respect to a song which is composed for playing or singing whether with melody and lyrics or only melody, including arranged and transcribed musical notes or musical diagram;
“audiovisual work” means a work consisting of a series of images recorded on any kind of materials and capable of being replayed with an equipment necessary for such material, including the sounds accompanying such work, if any;
“cinematographic work” means an audiovisual work consisting of a series of images which can be shown in succession as motion pictures or can be recorded upon other materials so as to be shown in succession as motion pictures, including the sounds accompanying such motion pictures, if any;
“sound recording” means a work consisting of a series of music, sound of a performance or any other sounds recorded on any kind of material and capable of being replayed with an equipment necessary for such material, but not including the sounds accompanying a cinematographic work or another audiovisual work;
“performer” means a performer, musician, vocalist, choreographer, dancer, and a person who acts, sings, speaks, narrates or performs in accordance with the script or performs in any other manner;
“broadcasting work” means a work which is communicated to public by means of radio broadcasting, sound and/or video broadcasting on television or by any other similar means;
“reproduction” includes any method of copying, imitation, duplication, moulding, sound recording, video recording or sound and video recording for the significant part from the original, copy or publication whether in whole or in part and, as for a computer program, means duplication or copying of the program from any medium for the significant part with any method without a manner of creating a new work whether in whole or in part;
“adaptation” means a reproduction by transformation, improvement, modification or emulation of the original work for the significant part without a manner of creating a new work whether in whole or in part;
(1) with regard to literary work, it shall include a translation, a transformation or a compilation by means of selection and arrangement;
(2) with regard to computer program, it shall include a reproduction by means of transformation, improvement or modification of the program for the significant part without a manner of creating a new work;
(3) with regard to dramatic work, it shall include the alteration of a non-dramatic work to a dramatic work or a dramatic work to a non-dramatic work, whether in the original language or another language;
(4) with regard to artistic work, it shall include the alteration of a two-dimensional work or a three-dimensional work to a three-dimensional work or a two-dimensional work or the making of a model from the original work;
(5) with regard to musical work, it shall include an arrangement of tunes or an alteration of lyrics or melody;
“communication to public” means making the work available to public by means of performing, lecturing, preaching, music playing, causing the perception by sound or image, constructing, distributing or by any other means;
“publication” means the distribution of duplicated copies of a work, whatever may be the form or character, with consent of the author where such copies are available to the public with a reasonable quantity having regard to the nature of the work; provided that the performance or play of a dramatic work, a musical work or a cinematographic work, the lecture or the recitation of a literary work, the sound and video broadcasting of a work, the exhibition of an artistic work and the construction of a work of architecture shall not constitute publication;
“official” means a person appointed by the Minister for the execution of this Act;
“Director-General” means the Director-General of the Department of Intellectual Property and shall include the persons entrusted by the Director-General of the Department of Intellectual Property;
“Board” means the Copyright Board;
“Minister” means the Minister having charge and control of the execution of this Act.
Section 5. The Minister of Commerce shall have charge and control of the execution of this Act and shall have the power to appoint competent officials and issue Ministerial Regulations for the execution of this Act.
Such Ministerial Regulations shall come into force upon their publication in the Government Gazette.