The Protection of Performer's Rights Under the Copyright Law in Thailand: The Proposed Reform in the Light of the Prospective Free Trade Agreements with the United States and European Union

Abstract

This article considers the legal changes which must be made to the protection of performers’ rights under the Thai Copyright Act (CA) 1994 if Thailand is going to sign the Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with the United States or the European Union that would be likely to require Thailand to ratify the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty 1996 (WPPT). It argues that the current provisions of the Thai CA 1994 still fall short of the standard for the protection of performers’ rights under the WPPT, the provision of the prospective FTA of the United States and that of the European Union. It recommends that Thailand must improve the provisions on the protection of performers’ rights in the current Thai CA 1994 in order to provide better protection for performers’ rights in Thailand and make such provisions consistent with the standard of the protection of performers’ rights in the WPPT and the prospective FTAs.