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Thailand seeks to ban ‘low-quality’ China-made elephant-print trousers in bid to protect its copyright
- Popular among backpackers, the made-in-Thailand trousers typically cost several times more than the Chinese variety
- PM Srettha Thavisin calls the China-made trousers an ‘opportunistic trade practice’, which Thai businesses should learn to adopt
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Thailand has ordered its customs department to ban cheap Chinese imports of trousers with cat and elephant patterns as it cranks up efforts to protect a sartorial trend long popular among foreign backpackers travelling to the kingdom.
Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said the thin cotton pants had been copyrighted in Thailand and the intellectual property department would assess the extent of the imitation products flooding the local market.
“So, I have to find out how the copyright law can be used to protect the original products from these low-quality products from China,” Phumtham said.
The elephant pants are not often worn by Thais, and the wild motifs on them resemble the designs of stitches that can be found in apparel made by hill tribe villagers. But the elephant motifs that intersect the tribal patterns mark the trousers with a distinguished Thai identity.
Elephants are the official national animal of Thailand and are deeply rooted in its culture and literature.
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