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 66.7 million people. Year 2010's gross domestic product GDP estimate for Thailand comes to about US$586.9 billion with a per capita of US$8,700.

THAILAND Trademark System

HIGHLIGHTS

Legal basis	Trademarks Act B.E. 2534 (1991) as amended by Trademarks Act (No.2) B.E. 2543 (2000), the latter effective June 2000
Major international treaties signed	Paris Convention effective 2 August 2008 Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
Cost of obtaining a trademark	Please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Average time to obtain a trademark	10 to 15 months
Official language for trademark prosecution	Thai
Registrable marks	Any distinctive device, brand, heading, label, ticket, name, signature, photograph, word, letter, numeral, shape of goods, packaging or combination of colors or any combination thereof
Filing and prosecution procedures	Stage 1: Filing Stage 2: Examination Stage 3: Advertisement Stage 4: Opposition (if any) Stage 5: Registration Stage 6: Renewal
Number of classes	45
Multiple class filing	Not available
Filing of series marks	Not available
Necessary document for filing	Power of Attorney - notarized
Common objections	Descriptiveness Non-distinctiveness Prior conflicting rights
Extension of office action deadlines	Not available
Opposition term	90 days (non-extendible)
Term of trademark protection	10 years (renewable)
Restoration of lapsed trademark	Not available
Parallel Imports	Available
Minimum period of use to avoid non-use cancellation action	3 years (continuous)
Useful links	www.mirandah.com www.ipthailand.go.th

ENFORCEMENT

HIGHLIGHTS

Infringement offence	Available
Specialized courts for IP	The Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court of Thailand
Outline of the enforcement steps	Civil Trademark Infringement pursuant to the Trademarks Act B.E. 2534 (1991) as amended B.E. 2543 (2000) and Passing-off Quasi-Criminal Effected through the Trademarks Act and Penal Code
Relief against groundless threats	Not available
Declaration of non-infringement	Not available
Preliminary injunctions	Available
Time frame for various legal actions	12 to 36 months (depends on various factors)
Alternative dispute resolution	Mediation Arbitration
Availability of damages and other relief for infringement	As per below
Civil remedies	Injunction Damages
Criminal Sanctions	Trademarks Act (registered mark only) Fines or imprisonment or both Penal Code (registered and unregistered mark including foreign registered mark) Fines or imprisonment or both *Trademark Act has higher penalities than the Penal Code

OTHER INFORMATION

Application and Registration Of Trade Marks & Service Marks From 2000 to 2010

Year

Application

Registration

	Domestic	Foreign	Total	Domestic	Foreign	Total
2000	15495	11560	27055	7686	6531	14217
2001	16712	9407	26119	11453	8484	19937
2002	21518	8591	30109	13281	9865	23146
2003	23335	9714	33049	11440	6543	17983
2004	26414	10554	36968	15918	7614	23532
2005	24275	12148	36423	18497	8948	27445
2006	21171	12401	33572	15595	8520	24115
2007	20140	13415	33555	14769	9871	24640
2008	21950	13472	35422	12574	9367	21941
2009	24733	11354	36087	11981	10502	22483
2010	24781	12875	37656	13268	8562	21830
Total	240524	125491	366015	146462	94807	241269

 

(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.