Govt to get tough on fake goods sales

The Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) has vowed to get tough on online sales of counterfeit goods.

DIP director-general Thosapone Dansuputra said violations of intellectual property rights (IPR) continue to rise. Last year four people were prosecuted for offences they committed over Facebook, and requests were made to shut down 16 websites linked to the violations.

The DIP will heighten measures by handing a list of offenders to the Revenue Department to have their tax payment records examined, he said, adding that more than 100 names are on the list.

He said the government has employed a series of measures to thwart violations of the IPR, including amending laws, forming a panel to deal with the issue and mobilising suppression teams.

He said United States officials are keen to see Thailand’s progress in tackling online IPR crime.

Mr Thosapone said the DIP will also step up IPR protection campaigns by erecting signboards at airports to urge people not to buy, sell or use fake goods.

The Foreign Ministry has been asked to set up signboards at embassies overseas, urging foreign travellers not to purchase counterfeit products in Thailand, he said, noting these measures should help reduce the quantity of fake goods in the country.

From January to October last year, police seized more than 2.5 million counterfeit items compared with just under 1 million items in the same period a year earlier.

The Department of Special Investigation last year confiscated 1 million counterfeit items, up from over 713,000 illicit products a year earlier.

In total, the number of the products seized last year rose 84% year on year.

Mr Thosapone said the Commerce Ministry has encouraged local communities to register local products that indicate a special quality or reputation and which makes them unique, in what is called a geographical indication (GI).

The GI registration would create value for local products, while boosting local economies for communities.