Adapting laws of contract, tax, and IP to accommodate e-commerce in Thailand : problems and recommendations

by Pitiyasak, Saravuth

(Uncorrected OCR) Abstract of thesis entitled Adapting Laws of Contract, Tax, and IP to accommodate E-Commerce in Thailand: Problems and Recommendations Submitted by Saravuth Pitiyasak for the Degree of Doctor of Legal Science at the University of Hong Kong in August 2005 The Internet poses important questions for law reform in Thailand, because existing Thai laws were primarily designed for traditional commercial practices, and there are doubts whether they can properly work with the new era of electronic commerce. The author has studied Thai contract law, tax law, and intellectual property law with these doubts in mind. Thai contract law was designed for contracts concluded face-to-face or by telephone or post. With the support of Thai electronic transactions law, Thai contract law can be applied almost unchanged to electronic contracts concluded over the Internet. Only a few amendments in the contract law and electronic transactions law are required. Thai tax law and tax treaty principles cannot be adapted to electronic commerce transactions without difficulties of unfair allocation of tax revenue, double taxation, classification of electronic commerce payments, and tax administration. To eliminate those difficulties, both Thai tax law and double tax agreements to which Thailand is a party need to be amended. Thai intellectual property law also needs to be overhauled: (a) Thai copyright law is vague when applied to Internet activities. Issues, including web broadcasts, temporary reproduction, hyperlinking and deep linking, file-sharing, aggressive advertising, and defences to copyright infringement, need to be clarified. Specific legislation on the protection of databases is also needed. (b) Thai trademark law clearly cannot provide adequate protection to trademark owners from cybersquatting, nor the unauthorized use of trademarks in meta tags. Legislation to deal with both these abuses is required. (c) Thai patent law should be reconsidered. However, a clear picture of the impact of patenting computer programs and Internet business methods on the Thai local industry is required prior to deciding if Thailand should grant patent protection for computer programs and Internet business methods.