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Copyright Act Section 19 — Term: life plus 50 years
Copyright Act (พระราชบัญญัติลิขสิทธิ์) — Section 19.
Plain-English Summary
Copyright lasts for the creator's life plus fifty years after death, subject to Sections 21 and 22. For joint creators it runs fifty years from the death of the last surviving creator. If all creators died before the work was published, it lasts fifty years from first publication. Where the author is a juristic person, the term is fifty years from creation, or fifty years from first publication if the work is published within that period. Under Section 20, anonymous or pseudonymous works last fifty years from creation, or from first publication if published within that period; where the creator is known, Section 19 applies with the necessary changes. A term that ends mid-year runs to the end of that calendar year (Section 25).
Official Text
Official Thai text at the Royal Gazette / Office of the Council of State. Translation summary only.
Consult official sourceParent Statute
Copyright Act
พระราชบัญญัติลิขสิทธิ์ · B.E. 2537 (1994)
The Copyright Act B.E. 2537 (1994) protects creative works of a creator in the literary, dramatic, artistic, musical, audiovisual, cinematographic film, sound recording and broadcast categories, or any other work in the literary, scientific or artistic domain (Section 6). Computer programs are part of 'literary work' (Section 4). A creator owns the copyright in the work they create, subject to conditions on nationality or residence, or on the place of first publication (Section 8). The Act contains no registration provision. In court, the plaintiff is presumed to own the work sued on unless the defendant disputes that anyone owns the copyright or disputes the plaintiff's right (Section 62). The Minister of Commerce administers the Act (Section 5).
The summary above is a plain-English educational paraphrase of Section 19 of the Copyright Act. It is not an authoritative translation. For the binding Thai text, consult the Royal Gazette or the Office of the Council of State. Educational use only — not a substitute for advice from a Thai-qualified lawyer.
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