Counterfeit goods worth more than Bt3 billion destroyed

The Thai authorities on Monday destroyed more than 120 tonnes of counterfeit goods, worth about Bt3.1 billion, which were found to be in violation of intellectual property rights.

The destruction was held at the order of the Thai court that rules on intellectual property rights violations.

Deputy Commerce Minister Siriwat Kajornprasart presided over the event, in which the Commerce Ministry, the Customs Department, the Department of Special Investigation, the Intellectual Property Department and the Royal Thai Police collaborated.

Diplomats from embassies to Thailand, including the United States and the European Union, were also invited to the event.

The destruction of counterfeits is the second time this year such an event has been organised

The first was held in Phuket where 93,000 counterfeit items worth Bt58 million were bulldozed.

Siriwat explained that the Thai government and private sector continued to tighten suppression measures and to educate youths and the general public not to use goods violating intellectual property rights.

Remains of the destroyed items will be recycled, he said.

Siriwat said he believed enforcement of the Intellectual Property law in conjunction with stricter suppression measures would enable the United States to revise Thailand's status from its current US government Priority Watch List (PWL) status to its Watch List (WL).

Thailand has been listed on the Priority Watch List for at least two years.

The deputy commerce minister urged integrated cooperation from government agencies, the private sector and the public to convince the US to remove Thailand from the PWL.