In an age where international trade is rapidly globalizing the marketplace, it is increasingly important to protect fragile intellectual property assets.  “Intellectual property” includes patent inventions, product designs, trademarks, service marks, certification marks, collective marks, copyrights and trade secrets.  For practical purposes, intellectual property is generally classified as follows:

The value of marks, copyrights, patents and trade secrets lay in the owner’s monopoly and exclusive right to their use for a certain period of time without competition from others.  Thus, intellectual property owners benefit from well-managed and well-protected intellectual property either by direct commercial profit, through their own use, or by royalties and other fees through others’ use, or by both.
 
Infringement and counterfeiting are the biggest problems facing intellectual property owners and underline the need for better protection.  Protection is often overlooked or neglected, which may lead to grave financial losses, obstruction, or delay in business progress due to loss of or conflict over intellectual property rights.  Some companies invest heavily in research and development, including product and market feasibility studies, only to find that someone else has imitated their product design or registered their brand or trademark prior to the introduction of their products to the market.  Others place too much emphasis on products and marketing with little regard for protection of their rights.  They later find themselves unable to export their products into a certain market, because others have taken advantage of their neglect by registering the property before them.  This gives rise to obstruction and delays the legitimate owner’s entry into that market.  Whether or not the legitimate  owner succeeds in canceling the infringer’s registration, his/her business will face financial loss, delays, and difficulties in conducting operations.

In view of both recent economic growth and problems of infringement and counterfeiting in Thailand, intellectual property owners necessarily have to seek protection through both active use and legal protection.  It is crucial to be aware of the fact that Thailand is not a party to any international convention protecting Trademarks or patents.  Therefore, in order to protect Trademarks and patents in Thailand they must be registered in Thailand.  Furthermore, in order to provide a Trademark or patent with the appropriate full range of protection available, it may be necessary to register them in one or more international jurisdictions.  TRi Law Consultants specializes in the registration of marks and patents, both here in Thailand and abroad, as well as providing the full range of professional legal services related to the recognition and enforcement of Trademarks and patents.  For a listing of these services click on the link below.

Copyrights are protected upon publication by law in Thailand without registration, however, registration of the copyright in Thailand is highly recommended as clear and convincing evidence of ownership in any future dispute.

Thai Registration

No registration is required to obtain trade secret protection.  Trade secrets have protection as long as they are considered secret.  However, in order to protect against infringement prior contractual steps maybe appropriate and in the event of infringement recourse to dispute resolution in order to compensate for any damage and to prevent further damage may be necessary. TRi Law Consultants specializes in the protection and enforcing the value of trade secrets.
 
For more information, please kindly contact us.
info@www.trilaw-consultants.com