Introduction to Intellectual Property Law General Principles of Intellectual Property Protection Overview of Thailand Intellectual Property Law Thailand's 20 Years IP Roadmap to Economy 4.0 (2017-2036) Latest Developments of IP Law and Practice

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OVERVIEW OF IP LAW
AND
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN IP LAW AND PRACTICE
Kowit Somwaiya, Managing Partner
Paramee Kerativitayanan, Associate
LawPlus Ltd.
Unit 1401, 14th Floor, 990 Abdulrahim Place, Rama IV Road, Bangkok 10500, Thailand
Tel. +66 (0)2 636 0662, Fax +66 (0)2 636 0663
www.lawplusltd.com
25 January 2019

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Copyright © 2019 LawPlus Ltd.

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Overview of IP Law and Latest Developments
in IP Law and Practice

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Introduction to Intellectual Property Law (1)
 Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and
artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce. [WIPO]
 Types of IP:
● Trademarks: recognizable sign, design, or expression which identifies products or
services of a particular source from those of others.
● Patents (Inventions and Product Designs): right granted to an inventor that permits the
inventor to exclude others from making, selling or using the invention for a period of
time.
● Copyrights: a person's exclusive right to reproduce, publish, or sell his or her original
work of authorship.
● Others, e.g. trade secrets, geographical indications, etc.

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Introduction to Intellectual Property Law (2)
Invention Patent
e.g.
- Device (hardware)
- System
- Technology
- Method of
manufacturing
Design Patent
e.g.
- Model of the device
- Model of the pen
- Appearance / shape
Trademark
e.g.
- Samsung
- Galaxy Note9
- S-Pen
Copyright
e.g.
- Software
(source code)
- Application icons
- Default ringtones
Other IP
- Trade secrets, etc.

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General Principles of Intellectual Property Protection (1)
CREATION AND PROTECTION
 Trademarks:
● Registration of trademark is not required for protection but recommended.
● An owner of unregistered trademark has limited scope of rights and
protection.
 Patents and Product Designs:
● Registration of invention or product design is required for protection.
 Copyrights:
● No registration is required for protection. A copyright work is under copyright
protection the moment it is created.
● Deposit of copyright is beneficial and recommended.

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General Principles of Intellectual Property Protection (2)
TERM OF PROTECTION
 Trademarks:
● 10 years from filing date of application (renewable)
 Patents:
● Invention patent: 20 years (non-renewable)
● Petty patent: 6 years plus two allowable extensions of 2 years each
(10 years in total)
● Design patent: 10 years (non-renewable)
 Copyrights:
● Life of author plus 50 years
● 50 years from publication date for companies

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Overview of Thailand Intellectual Property Law (1)
 Trademark Act B.E. 2534 (A.D. 1991)
● Covers trademarks, service marks, certification marks and collective marks.
● Amended in 2000 particularly with regard to the definition of a mark (sound mark is
now registrable), multiple-class application, publication fees, Trademark Board,
cancellation of trademark registration and enforcement.
● Amended in 2016 for accession to Madrid Protocol.
 Patent Act B.E. 2522 (A.D. 1979)
● Covers invention patents, petty patens/utility models, and design patents.
● Amended in 1992 and 1999 particularly with regard to the scope of patentable subject-
matter, national treatment, priority filings, patent rights, petty patents, compulsory
licensing, and the Drug Patents Board.

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Overview of Thailand Intellectual Property Law (2)
 Copyright Act B.E. 2537 (A.D. 1994)
● Cover copyrights and performers’ rights.
● Amended in 2015 to penalize unauthorized camcording in cinemas and to update the
law for the digital age, especially measures against online infringement.
● Amended in 2018 (will come into force in February 2019) with regard to exemptions to
copyright infringement for disabled persons.
 Act for Establishment of, and Procedure for, Intellectual Property and International
Trade Court (IPIT Court) B.E. 2539 (A.D. 1996)
● IPIT Court has nationwide jurisdiction to adjudicate civil and criminal cases on
intellectual property and civil cases on international trades.
 Act for Establishment of Specialized Appeals Court B.E. 2558 (A.D. 2015)
● Establishing Specialized Appeals Court.
● Appeals made against decisions of the IPIT Court rendered on or after 1 October 2016
are filed with the new Specialized Appeals Court, not the Supreme Court.

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Thailand’s 20 Years IP Roadmap to Economy 4.0 (2017-2036)
Phase 1: 2017 – 2021
Improve Thailand’s IP system
to be more efficient to
facilitate IP owners by
reducing the procedure and
shortening the timeframe for
getting registration of IP
Phase 2: 2022 – 2026
Use innovation and IP assets as
main tools for creating added
value to goods and services
and increase economic
competitiveness of the country
Phase 3: 2027 - 2031
Thailand’s IP goes beyond
boundary to international market.
IPRs of Thai entrepreneurs and Thai
exporters are protected in the
importing countries. Thai economy
is driven by innovation and IP.
Phase 4: 2032 – 2036
Thai people can create, innovate, own, and
commercialize IPRs with their full potential so that
Thailand can be considered as “high-income
country” and “developed country” with stability,
prosperity and sustainability.
Thailand is the source of production of creative
goods, IP-based industries and high technologies.

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Latest Developments of IP Law and Practice (1)
 Amendments of Copyright Act and Trademark Act
 IP as Business Collateral
● Using IP as business collateral is allowed under the Business Collateral Act B.E. 2558
(A.D. 2015) (“BCA”), effective on and from 2nd July 2016.
 Procedures Under the Computer Crimes Act Against Online Infringement
● The Computer Crime Act (No. 2) B.E. 2560 (A.D. 2017), which takes effect on 24th
May 2017, provides a procedure for permanent injunction to block websites that have
online IP-infringing content or for removing such data from the system.
 Accession to Madrid Protocol
● Thailand is a member state of the Madrid Protocol, effective from 7th November 2017.

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Latest Developments of IP Law and Practice (2)
 The New Customs Act
● The new Customs Act of 2017 has come into force on and from 13th November 2017.
● Key changes in the new Customs Act include provisions on the limitation period on
post-clearance audit timelines, criminal penalties for offenses, presumed liability for
company directors and/or authorized persons, and the timeframe for consideration by
the Appeals Committee.
● Customs officers can seize counterfeit goods on an ex-officio basis.
 Thailand Removed from the US Priority Watch List to Watch List (2017)
 Draft Amendment of Patent Act
● Disclosure requirement on access to genetic resources and benefit sharing agreement.
● New non-patentable subject matter.
● Streamline the application and registration process.