What is IPR in Thailand

                                                                            Thai version

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) means certain creations of the human mind that are given the legal aspects of a property right. Intellectual Property is an all-encompassing term now widely used to designate as a group all of the following fields:

1. Industrial Property

1.1. Patent

Patent is a legal title granting to the patent proprietor a monopoly right to manufacture use and sell his patented invention or design. A granted patent gives the patentee the sole right to exploit and take legal action to prevent other people from exploiting, without the patentee’s consent a patented invention or design. Thai patent is divided into 2 types as follows:

1.1.1. Invention

Invention is any discovery or invention resulting in a new product or process, or any improvement of a product or process. In addition, the new Patent Act (1999) has added the provision of Petty Patent. 

Petty Patent  means a document issued under the provisions of this Act to grant protection to an invention which may be granted a petty only under a new product and an industrial purpose.

1.1.2. Industrial Design

Design is any configuration of a product or composition of lines or colors which gives a special appearance to a product and which can serve as a pattern for a product of industry or handicraft. In some other countries, patent means only invention, excluding industrial design but in Thailand, patent includes industrial design.

1.2. The Trademarks

1.2.1. Trademark

A mark used or proposed to be used on or in connection with goods to distinguish the goods with which the trademark of the proprietor of such trademark is used from goods under another person’s trademark.

1.2.2. Service mark

A mark used or proposed to be used on or in connection with services to distinguish the service mark of the proprietor of such service mark from services under another person’s service mark.

1.2.3. Certification Mark

A mark used or proposed to be used by the proprietor or in connection with goods or services of another person to certify the origin, composition, method of production, quality or other characteristics of such goods or to certify as to the nature, quality, type or other characteristics of such services.

1.2.4. Collective Mark

A trademark or service mark used or proposed to be used by companies or enterprises of the same group or by members of an association, cooperative, union, confederation, group of persons or any other states or private organizations.

1.3. Trade secret

Business information that is the subject of reasonable efforts to preserve confidentiality and has value because it is not generally known in the trade such confidential information will be protected against those who obtain access through improper methods or by a breach of confidence. 

1.4. Trade name

A symbol used to identify and distinguish companies, partnerships and business, as opposed to marks used to identify and distinguish goods/services. In Thailand, there is no proposition to consideration because the existence of civil and commercial laws already cover the issues of trade name.

1.5. Geographical Indications (Indications of source or appellations of origin)

A term refers to the geographical name or an abbreviated name, name or any symbol which identify the original of goods, wherein the quality, reputation or rather characteristic of the goods is essentially attributable to its geographical origin.

1.6. Integrated Circuit (IC)

“Integrated circuit” means a product in a final or an intermediate form for the purpose of performing an electronic function, consisting of elements which can stimulate an electronic operation, and interconnections that connect some or all of these elements, and which are placed in layers and integrally formed on or in the same piece of a semiconductor material. 

1.7. Plant Variety

Plant Variety means a group of plant which has identical or similar genetic and
botanical characteristics and has stable properties , and can be distinguished
from other plant varieties of the same plant specie. There are 4 plant varieties
which could be protected in Plant Variety Law.
 
1.7.1. New plant variety

New plant variety means a plant variety which is a  plant variety with consistent specific traits ,stable specific traits ,and distinctive specific traits.

1.7.2.Commmunity plant variety

Community plant variety means a plant variety which is widely distributed within a particular community within the country  , including any plant variety which has not been registered as a new plant variety.

1.7.3.Local plant variety

Local plant variety means a plant variety which originates within the country
or exists within the country and has been widely utilised.

1.7.4.Wild plant variety

Wild plant Variety means a plant variety in its native habitant and has not been cultivated by any country.

2. Copyright

Copyright means the exclusive right to do any act with respect to the work created by the author. Creative works include the literary, dramatic, artistic, musical, audio-visual, cinematography, sound recording, broadcast fields or any other works in the literary, scientific, or artistic of the author irrespective of the method or form of its expression.