Problems concerning the establishment and management of joint ownership of copyright under the Copyright Act B.E. 2537 (1994)

A work of joint authorship is a creative work created by multiple authors, and each author will become a co-owner of the copyrights in such work. In Thailand, this concept exists in Section 19, paragraph two of the Copyright Act B.E. 2537 (1993). However, the definition of work of joint authorship and rules for the management of joint owners' rights are not provided, and court cases involving joint authorship are scant. These issues could lead to uncertainty in the application of copyright laws. On the contrary, the United States and the United Kingdom have developed this concept more thoroughly. Their work of joint authorship doctrines has the same origin, but their developments are significantly different. Thus, the doctrine of work of joint authorship of the two jurisdictions should be studied to develop definitions and rules regarding work of joint authorship in Thailand and find a suitable solution to the problems of the Copyright Act B.E. 2537.It is found that the United States' approach to the work of joint authorship is more restrictive than that of the United Kingdom. It requires the contribution of each author to be authorial and the authors' intention to establish work of joint authorship. In contrast, the United Kingdom's approach is more flexible by specifying that the collaboration of joint authors is an essential element and that the contributions must only be significant but not required to be copyrightable. The United Kingdom does not require the intention of joint authors for the establishment of work of joint authorship.Regarding the rules for managing joint owners' rights, the United States applies an equality principle that presumes that joint authors have an equal share of interest in a work unless rebutted by evidence. The United Kingdom approaches this issue differently by stating that the equality principle is not the default characteristic of a work of joint authorship. Instead, the share of interest in a work of joint authorship must be allocated per the actual percentage of contributions of joint authors.The utilization of work of joint authorship in the United States is more liberal. Its freedom of use principle allows joint owners to use the entire work without having to obtain the consent of other joint owners unless such use would decrease the work's value or affect the other joint owners' rights. On the other hand, the United Kingdom's more restrictive approach requires a joint owner to obtain the consent of the remaining owners before using the work.From the study, the author found that the approach of the United States is suitable to address the establishment of work of joint authorship. In contrast, the approach of the United Kingdom is more suitable for managing relationships, rights, and duties of joint owners of work of joint authorship.This research was mainly based on the documentary study of statutes, laws, academic journals, and textbooks regarding the work of joint authorship doctrine of the United States and a determination of work of joint authorship of the United Kingdom to provide insights on this matter and to applies suitable solutions to be implemented into the Copyright Act B.E. 2537.