10 Frequently Asked Questions: Trademark in Thailand

Nothing good about being anxious and worry about your creations or inventions being copied or duplicated by some other third parties. Even worse, if they are making profits out of it!

Here, we will list out 10 most frequently asked questions on trademark specifically in Thailand.

1. Can all your inventions be regarded as “Trademark” under the Trademark Law in Thailand?

We will focus on the definition of “Trademark” under the Thailand law –  “Trademark” is defined as a mark used or proposed to be used on or in connection with goods to distinguish those trademarked goods from other trademarked goods. “Mark” is defined as a brand, name, word, letter, photograph, drawing, device, manual, signature, combinations of colors, shape or configuration of an object or any one or combination thereof.

Here, the keyword is “distinguish”. Your creations must be different from the others in order to make it eligible for trademark protection in Thailand!

2. Is there any specific criteria for the creation to be protected under the Trademark Law in Thailand?

Actually there are few criteria that must be met by your creations in order for it to be protected under the law in Thailand.

1. Your mark should contain a distinctive mark includes a personal name, a surname which is not according to its ordinary signification, a name of juristic person or trade-name represented in a special manner. For example, a word or words having no direct reference to the character or quality of the goods and is not a geographical name prescribed by the Minister in the Ministerial Notifications; a specially designed combination of colors, stylized letters, numerals or invented word; the signature of the applicant or another person who has given his or her permission.
2. Your mark also must not include or consist of, among other things, the royal or official arms and crests, the national flag of Thailand or any other country, picture and signature including name, word, statement or any mark indicating to the king, queen or heir to throne, a mark that is contrary to good public peace or morals.
3. Most importantly, your mark must not be identical or confusingly similar to another person’s registered mark.

3. What is the rule followed by Thailand for trademark protection?

Thailand practices “First to File” rule in order to determine the priority of trademarks. “First to File” rule asserts that the first inventor who files for the trademark protection for their own invention will have the upper hand or priority over all other applicants for the protection.

4. If my inventions are already protected, do I need to apply for the renewal of protection?

Yes, you will need to apply for the renewal of your trademark protection. This is because under the Thailand law, a trademark is valid for a term of 10 years from the date of application filing and can be renewed every 10 years.

5. How to apply for renewal of the trademark protection?

An application for renewal must be filed 90 days before the expiration date. If you are worried that you will miss the deadline, fret not! You may engage us as your trademark agent and we will apply for your trademark from scratch!

6. Do I need to apply for the trademark protection myself?

You may apply for the trademark application by yourself as the owner of your inventions or even better, in order to ease your anxious mind, you may engage a professional agent such as our team to apply or renew for your trademark!

7. What is the timeline for the application of trademark?

The examination of the application by the Trademark examiner will take 12 to 18 months for completion.

8. How do we ensure that our mark once registered will not be copied by other parties?

Although there is no definite answer as how to control third party’s duplicate of your inventions, but the usual practice is that, before any registration takes place, an applicant will do a “Search” on trademark before filing their application of protection. Thus, if it appears in the result, it is not registrable and they are not allowed to registrer. Besides that, to ease your mind, once registered, you will have the priority to the trademark as compared to any other applicants!

9. What is the procedure for the trademark application?

a. Application your mark to the Trademark Board.
b. Examination by the Trademark Examiner.
c. A mark that is published in the Official Trademark Journal is considered to be registrable.
d. The trademark will be granted registration if no opposition is made within 90 days of its publication.
e. The applicant will be required to pay a registration fee within 30 days of receipt of notification.

10. What are the filing or documentations required for the registration of trademark?

a. Application form.
b. Power of Attorney.
c. 13 clear copy of the mark.
d. The full name, nationality and registered address of the applicant.
e. A list of goods or services.
f. Description of your mark e.g the colours or combination of colours.
g. If your mark contains non-English words, a certified translation of the mark.

GET EXPERT HELP! We have helped you listed down the FAQs in order to prepare you register your marks! Seek services from a reputable firm like ours in PINTAS to help you from scratch!