OVER the years the Kingdom of Thailand has amassed thousands of legal directives for residents and visitors to follow. The most fundamental are those outlined in the Constitution, and these are joined by an endless procession of specific measures categorized as Acts, Administrative Charters, Announcements by Council for National Reform, Announcements by the Revolutionary Council, Codes, Emergency decrees, Ministerial Regulations, Royal decrees, Rules and Regulations, Treaties and so on. There are also a vast number of amendments to laws which may have been on the books for 100 years or more. For example, the Act on Navigation in Thai Waters, B.E. 2456 (1913), has undergone 15 amendments, the last being made in 1997. Several hundred laws have been translated to English and they appear on www.ThaiLaws.com. 

ALMOST anywhere you go in Bangkok – malls, department stores, restaurants, outdoor markets, small shops, bowling alleys, and especially entertainment venues like pubs or discotheques – you’ll hear music, recorded and performed live. It’s a way of life here.

But what few people outside the business know is that
copyrighted music cannot be played legally in a commercial setting without the permission of the copyright holder, which, under the 1994 Copyright Act, normally involves the payment of royalties.

The payment of these fees has opened an opportunity for
corrupt officials and imposters to extort money from
businesses playing copyrighted music. In some cases TVs, computers, sound systems and other equipment are seized in lieu of payment.