Ordinary copyright violations could be liable to fines of 20,000-200,000 baht, and for those who breach copyright for commercial purposes, fines of 100,000-800,000 baht and jail terms of six months to four years are in prospect.
These heavy penalties serve as warnings, especially for internet surfers and Line app users, that people must think carefully before sharing content in the cyber world, Ms Malee said.
Internet users must be more careful when they copy text or photos, protected under copyright law, and share them online or paste them on their Facebook pages.
In fact, she said, even sharing "good morning" stickers via Line could violate the law if those who create the stickers want to claim their rights, she said.
People must study the usage conditions to see to what degree they are allowed to use the content.
Generally if they use one or two photos which hold no significant value and do not use them for commercial purposes, their acts will be considered as "fair use" without violating copyright law, Ms Malee said.
Internet users are not required to ask permission from text or photo owners if they want to use their content for private or academic purposes, she said.
However, people should always give credit to content owners and make sure the usage will not hinder any benefits to which the owners have rights.
Embedding a YouTube clip to a blog without permission could be seen as defying the law, she said.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/644032/law-ramps-up-copyright-fines