The new government, under the leadership of Prime Minister
Yingluck Shinawatra, delivered the Cabinet's policy to the
Parliament on August 23, 2011, including its objectives on policies
concerning intellectual property protection.
The government announced its intention to promote free and fair
competition to prevent monopolies, and also stated that it would
seek to promote and develop organizational roles in relation to
consumer protection for both the government and private sectors and
to amend and improve laws and measures to ensure fair dealing for
consumers.
Furthermore, the government, under Section 3.3.4 of the new
policy relating to Marketing, Trade, and Investment, stressed that
the focus would be placed on bolstering confidence in entrepreneurs
to assure them that intellectual property rights would be
protected. Measures to prevent IP infringements of goods and Thai
products in other countries would also be implemented.
On October 5, 2011, the Office of the Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Commerce (MoC), invited the Department of Intellectual
Property (DIP), IP owners, and their representatives to attend a
meeting to discuss a framework to improve IP issues. The meeting
was chaired by Mr. Siriwat Kajornprasart, the Deputy Minister of
Commerce. The DIP, on behalf of the MoC, shared information on the
pending consideration of the revision of IP-related laws with the
attendees. Undoubtedly, the most prominent legislative development
proposed by the DIP was the revision of the Copyright Act. This
revision would include provisions covering technology prevention
measures, information management rights, and limitation of
liability for Internet service providers. The draft bill has
already been reviewed and passed by the Council of State and will
subsequently be presented to the Cabinet for consideration.
The DIP also hopes that a provision that would impose
liabilities on shopping mall operators could also be included in
the proposed revision to the Trademark Act and the Copyright Act.
This plan had previously been rejected by the former
government.
The DIP initially proposed the draft to the Secretariat of the
Cabinet in March 2010. The previous Prime Minister assigned the DIP
to discuss this issue closely with the Office of the Attorney
General and the Thailand Trade Representative. In June 2010, all
related authorities issued an opinion that such a provision should
not be enacted because an alternative legal measure—the
provision relating to Principals and Supporters under the Penal
Code—should be applied.
The DIP is attempting to establish a practical framework with
the police, public prosecutors, and IP owners, to enforce landlord
liability under the Penal Code.
In summary, the private sector was informed that the new
government's IP policy will remain largely unchanged from the
previous government.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
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Specific Questions relating to this article should be addressed directly to the author.
By its judgment dated March 15, 2013, the Madras High Court ("the Court") held
that the amendment made in the year 2005 ("2005 Amendment") to section 126 of the
Patents Act, 1970 ("the Act") pertaining to the qualifications for registration as patent agents is unconstitutional.
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