Legal Action Considered Against Supreme for Unauthorised Image of Thai Monk

The Thailand National Office of Buddhism is considering legal action against Supreme for their use of the image of Luang Phor Koon - an esteemed monk and former abbot of the Wat Ban Rai temple - on a shirt from their Spring Summer season.

The Blessings Ripstop Shirt depicts a famous image of the monk seated and smoking, surrounded by red embroidered yant script, a sacred form of tattoos reserved for Buddhist monks and Brahmin holy men.

The National Office of Buddhism explain that the original photograph of Koon - who passed away in 2015 - was taken around 2002 and used with his permission on fudraising materials for Wat Ban Rai, a Nakhon Ratchasima province temple for which he served as abbot. They claim that Supreme did not seek out or receive rights to use the image on their goods, meaning there may be grounds for a misappropriation or copyright infringement complaint.

The Fashion Law explain that the case is not a straightforward matter of copyright infringement however due to a lack of clarity around ownership and authorship of the materials used. Thailand’s Department of Intellectual Property does not currently hold a copyright registration for the specific image of Koon nor the yant design. The challenge for the Wat Ban Rai will be to present proof that it created the image and thus, maintain ownership over it.

Tawatchai Sanprasit, manager of the Wat Ban Rai temple, said in a statement that they were open to “discuss the issue [with Supreme]” before deciding upon a course of action.