Thailand Law Library

by Thailand Lawyer

Chapter 3: Use of Copyright in Special Circumstances

A Thai national who desires to seek a copyright license for a work which has already been communicated to public in the form of printed materials or other similar forms according to this Act for the benefit of study, teaching or research without a profit-seeking purpose may submit an application to the Director General by showing evidence that the applicant has previously sought a license from the copyright owner to translate the work into Thai or to reproduce the copies of the translation published in Thai but his request has been denied or after a reasonable period of time having elapsed the agreement cannot be concluded provided that at the time of submitting the application:

• the copyright owner has not translated or authorized any person to translate the work into the Thai language for publication within three years after the first publication of the work or;
• the copyright owner has published the translation in the Thai language but, beyond three years after the last publication of the translation, no further publication is made and all the editions of the published translation are out of print.

The application according to paragraph one shall follow these rules, methods and conditions:

• The Director General shall not grant the license for the application according to paragraph one if the time specified in paragraph one (1) or (2) has elapsed not exceeding six months.
• In case the Director General grants the license, the grantee shall be solely entitled to translate or publish the licensed translation provided that the Director General shall not permit another person to make the Thai translation from the same original copyright work if the time specified in the license has not elapsed or has elapsed not exceeding six months.
• The grantee is prohibited from assigning the granted license to another person.
• If either the copyright owner or the licensee can assure the Director General that he has made the Thai translation or has published the translated version in Thai content of which is identical to that of the printed materials which are the subjects of license according to Section 55 and has distributed the printed materials at appropriate price comparable with that of another work of the same nature being sold in Thailand, the Director General shall order that the license granted to the grantee be terminated and shall inform the grantee of such order without delay.
• The grantee may distribute the copies of the printed materials which have been made or published prior to the order of termination by the Director General until they are out of stock.

The grantee is prohibited to export the copies of the printed materials of the licensed translation or publication in Thai except for the following conditions:

1. the recipient abroad is a Thai national;
2. the printed materials serve the purposes of study, teaching or research;
3. the delivery of the printed materials is not for a commercial purpose; and
4. the country to which the printed materials are delivered allows Thailand to deliver or distribute the printed materials to or within that country.

Upon receiving the application according to Section 54, the Director General shall arrange an agreement between the concerning parties as to the remuneration for and the conditions of the license. In case the parties can not reach the agreement, the Director General shall give an order on the just remuneration by taking into consideration the normal rate of remuneration in such business and may stipulate conditions for the license as he deems appropriate.

When the remuneration and conditions are stipulated, the Director General shall issue the license certificate to the applicant.

The concerning parties may appeal the order of the Director General according to paragraph one to the Committee within ninety days as from the receipt of the letter informing the order of the Director General. The decision of the Committee shall be final.