GENERAL COUNTRY INFORMATION
Thailand is located due north of Malaysia and is flanked by Laos and Cambodia to the east and Myanmar to the west. The country is divided into 76 provinces and 2 special districts of which Bangkok, its capital, is one of them. Its population numbers more than 66 million people. Year 2009's gross domestic product GDP estimate for Thailand comes at about US$535.8 billion with a per capita of US$8,100.

THAILAND PATENTS SYSTEM

HIGHLIGHTS

Legal Basis	Patent Act No. 1, B.E. 2522 (1979) and Patent Act No. 2, B.E. 2535 (1992) as amended by Patent Act No.3, B.E. 2542 (1999), the latter effective 27 September 1999
Major international treaties signed	Paris Convention effective 1 August 2008 Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) effective 24 December 2009 Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
PCT Information	Thailand has deposited their instruments of accession with WIPO on 24 September 2009, thus became the 142nd contracting state of the Patent Cooperation Treaty. The treaty has become effective in Thailand from 24 December 2009. Potential applicants should note that this implementation is not retrospective and will not apply to international applications with a date of filing before 24 December 2009.
Costs of obtaining a patent	Please contact us at thailand@mirandah.com
Average time to obtain a patent	5 to 8 years
Official language for patent prosecution	Thai
Non-patentable subject matter	Naturally existing micro-organisms and their components, animals, plants and, animal and plant extracts Discoveries or scientific theories Mathematical formulae Methods of medical treatment and diagnostic methods Computer programs
Grace period for prior disclosure or sale	12 months before the Thailand Filing date (unlawful disclosure, International Exhibition, Government Official Exhibition)
Major prosecution events	Paris Convention : 12 months National Phase Entry : 30 months Request for Examination :  60 months Payment of grant fees :  60 days after receiving notification Renewals of patents : Every year (within 60 days after the starting date of each year)
Filing and prosecution procedures	Stage 1: Filing Stage 2: Formality Examination Stage 3: Publication & Opposition (if any) Stage 4: Substantive Examination Stage 5: Grant Stage 6: Renewal/ Annuity
Extension of office action deadlines	30 days
Necessary document for filing	Power of Attorney Deed of Assignment Priority document (where priority is claimed)
Pharmaceutical Data Exclusivity Laws	Not available
Search and Examination	The Patent Office conducts its own Search and Examination but favours Search and Examination reports issued in prescribed countries such as US, UK, Australia, Japan as well as the prescribed regional European Patent Office
Opposition term	90 days after publication
Term of patent protection	20 years
Patent term extension	Not available
Restoration of lapsed patent	Within 120 days from the date of lapse
Parallel Imports	Available
Other forms of patents (e.g. Petty/innovation patents)	Petty patent and design patents
Useful links	www.mirandah.com www.ipthailand.org

ENFORCEMENT OF PATENTS

HIGHLIGHTS

Infringement offence	Civil and Criminal (in special cases)
Specialized courts for IP	Central Intellectual Property & International Trade Court
Outline of the enforcement steps	File a complaint with the police or the Intellectual Property and International Trade Court
Relief against groundless threats	Right to counter sue
Declaration of non-infringement	Not available
Preliminary injunctions	Available
Time frame for various legal actions	Criminal 6 to 18 months Civil 1 to 5 years
Alternative dispute resolution	Not available for criminal cases but available for civil cases if the parties agree
Availability of damages and other relief for infringement	Injunction Damages
Civil remedies	Damages
Criminal Sanctions	Imprisonment Fine

OTHER INFORMATION

Statistics on Patent Application and Granted Patent From 2000 to 2008

Year

Application

Granted

	Domestic	Foreign	Total	Domestic	Foreign	Total
2000	561	4488	5049	45	371	416
2001	534	4798	5332	58	738	796
2002	615	3874	4489	39	1063	1102
2003	802	4141	4943	56	950	1006
2004	819	4554	5373	57	659	716
2005	891	5449	6340	62	491	553
2006	1040	5221	6261	118	1003	1121
2007	945	5873	6818	118	830	948
2008	902	5839	6741	62	904	966
Total	7109	744237	51346	615	7009	7624

(Source: Department of Intellectual Property, Thailand)

Disclaimer: The information provided on this website is intended to serve as a general guideline and is not intended as legal advice. Although we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness and accuracy with respect of the website or the information. Please contact us for further information.