Thailand Business Guide - UK Trade & Investment

BUSINESS ISSUES AND CONSIDERATIONS
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPR)
As a member of the World Trade
Organization (WTO), Thailand is committed,
under the auspices of the Trade-Related
Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
(TRIPs) agreement, to provide the effective
and appropriate enforcement of IPR. The
Thai Government has been taking systematic
measures to reduce IPR violation in every
sphere of business activity, including
producing, distributing, selling, importing
and exporting.
Trademarks
Trademark protection in Thailand is
regulated through the Trademark Act BE
2534 (1991), which came into force on
13 February 1992. There are four options
for submitting an application for the
registration of a trademark in Thailand.
They are:
1. The Application Request Service and
Examination Division, Trademark Bureau,
the Department of Intellectual Property.
2. The Provincial Commercial Offices.
3. Via registered mail to the Trademark
Registrar, the Department of Intellectual
Property, with a payment of the
fee by money order, payable to the
Trademark Registrar.
4. Via the internet at the online trademark
service: www.ipthailand.go.th/ (only
available in the Thai language at present).
The process of registering a trademark
in Thailand can take up to nine months.
It is valid for ten years from the date of
registration and may be renewed within
90 days prior to expiry for a further period
of ten years.
Thailand’s trademark registration
procedures in English can be found at
www.ipthailand.go.th/ (only available in the
Thai language at present).
Patents, petty patents and designs
In Thailand, inventions and product
designs can acquire a protection under the
Patent Act BE 2522 (1979), later amended
by the Patent Act (No.3) BE 2542 (1999).
Detailed information on the Patent Act
and application procedures in English can
be found at www.ipthailand.go.th/ (only
available in the Thai language at present).
It can sometimes take up to one year for
the application of protection to be granted.
Duration of protection:
• Patents are valid for 20 years
• Petty patents are valid for six years
(although they can be renewed twice,
with each renewal lasting for two years.
Therefore the maximum duration is
ten years).
•
Designs are valid for ten years.
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