Patents

The requirements for filing an invention or petty patent application are:

  1. Full name, nationality and address of the applicant company

      and the inventors(s).
  2. Specification, claims, abstract and drawings (if any).
  3. Data of the priority application (country, application number,

      filing date, etc.) Even if the applicant does not claim priority,

      this information allows us to initially file the specification

      and claims in any foreign language.  Please send the

      information about the priority application so that we can file

      right away and meet your deadline.

Then, within 90 days after filing, we need to submit:

  4. Power of Attorney, signed by the applicant and notarized by a

        Notary Public. Legalization by a Royal Thai Embassy or

      Consulate is not required (except for Taiwanese applicants).
  5. Deed of Assignment (only if the applicant is not the  

      inventor).
  6. Statement of Applicant’s Right (only if the applicant is also

      the inventor)
  7. Certified copy of the priority application, if priority is claimed.
  8. Thai translation of the specification and claims (We provide.).

Thailand is not the member of the PCT. Thus, there is no “national phase”. However, a national of a WTO Member State or a national whose country would grant reciprocal rights to a Thai applicant can claim priority pursuant to 1999's amendments to our Patents Act.

To claim priority, the priority application must have been filed no more than 12 months before our Thai application (6 months for designs). The term of duration will begin on the Thai filing date.

If you have any specific questions about novelty, priority or disclosure, please contact us.

Only the Power of Attorney needs to be notarized. One Power of Attorney is sufficient for multiple applications. It is durable and we can keep it on file for future applications, provided that the applicant’s particulars stay the same.

We only need simple signatures for the Deed of Assignment and/or the Statement of Applicant’s Right.

The term or protection for an invention patent is 20 years. An annuity must be paid annually starting from the 5th year until the 20th year.

Additional Information About Petty Patents

Pursuant to 1999’s amendments to the Patents Act, we may file utility model patent applications in Thailand, provided that the number of claims does not exceed a total of ten (10) claims. Under our law, we call it a “petty patent”.

The term of protection for a petty patent is an initial period of 6 years. Then it may be renewed for a 2-year term and renewed again for a second 2-year term for a total term of 10 years. Although the 10-year period is only half of the 20-year term granted for an invention patent, a petty patent application may still be an attractive alternative because there is no substantive examination and the patent can be fairly granted quickly.

When a petty patent is granted, Section 65 the Patents Act (No.3) provides that within one year of publication and grant of petty patent, the patentee or any interested party may request the Examiner to perform an examination and report his findings to the Director General of the Department of Intellectual Property.

A second right is also found in Section 65: An interested party or the Public Prosecutor may sue in court for the revocation of a petty patent if the petty patent lacked novelty, has no industrial application or, otherwise should not have been granted.

Filing a Design Patent Application

The requirements for filing a design patent application are:
  

   1. Full name, nationality and address of the applicant company

       and the designer(s).
   2. Brief on the design and what is claimed.
   3. Drawings: We need 7 views - front, rear, top, bottom, left  

       side, right side and perspective views. We can file with  

       informal drawings at first and the examiner may instruct us

       to submit formal drawings later. However, we should have   

       all 7 views when we file.
   4. Data of the priority application (country, application number, 

       filing date, etc.). Even if the applicant does not claim   

       priority, this information allows us to file the brief in a       

       foreign language.

Then, within 90 days we must submit:

    5. Power of Attorney, signed by the applicant and notarized by         a Notary Public. Legalization by Thai Embassy or    

        Consulate is not required (except for Taiwanese applicants).

    6. Deed of Assignment (if the applicant is not the designer).
    7. Statement of Applicant’s Right (only if the applicant is also 

        the designer).

Prior to approval for publication in the Patent Gazette, we will need to submit:

    8. Certified copy of the priority application (if there is a priority

        claim).

It normally takes 2-3 years for a design patent to be granted. The term of duration is 10 years. An annuity must be paid annually starting from the 5th year until the 10th year.