Thailand continues to develop trademark application processes for intellectual property owners with the launch of its new “Fast Track 4 Month Plus+” accelerated examination system. Karat Gedkhuntod, a trademark lawyer at Rouse in Bangkok, writes that the system, which came online in January, is designed for ecommerce entrepreneurs “who urgently need to register their trademark for use in ecommerce platforms.”

Writing in a notice on the firm’s website, Gedkhuntod says “Fast Track 4 Month Plus+” is available to:

• Individuals or companies engaged in ecommerce through online platforms.
• Applicants filing trademark or service mark applications only. Certification marks and collective marks are not eligible.
• Eligible marks include logos, images, figurative elements, words, names, and numerals. However, colour combinations, three-dimensional marks, and sound marks are excluded.

If all requirements are met, the application will be examined within four months. If accepted, it will be published for opposition; if no opposition is filed within the 2-month opposition period, the mark proceeds to registration, with the certificate issued within one month after payment of official fees. The firm says applicants can expect the entire process to complete in 6–7 months.

Meanwhile, Thailand’s Department of Intellectual Property led a recent trade mission to Shanghai to promote export opportunities and improve market access for geographical indication agricultural products.

A highlight of the mission was a business matching event with more than 15 Chinese fruit importers at Huizhan Fruit Wholesale Market, a major distribution hub in Eastern China with annual trade exceeding US$3 billion, DIP said in a press release.

During the mission, producers from Sisaket Volcano Durian and Huizhan Market signed a memorandum of understanding to purchase in advance 500 tons of durian. The delegation also showcased GI products from six provinces in Thailand.

Thailand has more than 260 registered GI products, generating more than US$3.56 billion in economic value. Fruit products represent about 45 percent of all registered GI goods. Ongoing Chinese demand for quality, safety, and traceability continues to drive growth opportunities for Thailand’s GI sector.

The delegation also met with Huawei Technologies to explore the use of artificial intelligence, cloud systems and digital innovations to strengthen Thailand’s intellectual property administration. Discussions focused on improving trademark and patent examination processes and learning from Huawei’s experience in leveraging intellectual property for innovation and business growth, DIP said.

It is with this ongoing improvement in IP protection in Thailand that we turned to IP professionals in the region in order to understand better what clients need today. Asia IP asked a large number of professionals – mostly in-house counsel and corporate legal managers – what they were looking for from their legal service providers. From their answers, we have compiled our list of Thailand’s IP Experts, those lawyers who understand what their clients need and are able to provide them with the best practical advice.

It should come as no surprise that Thai powerhouse Tilleke & Gibbins leads the list of law firms represented on the list; the powerhouse law firm placed seven lawyers on our list (Alan Adcock, Nuttaphol Arammuang, Somboon Earterasarun, Sukontip Jitmongkolthong, Wiramrudee Mokkhavesa, Suebsiri Taweepon and Darani Vachanavuttivong). Domnern Somgiat & Boonma (Prabjote Busdee, Chalermphong Jitkuntivong, Apiwatt Kongsoowan and Nathapong Tongkaew) and Satyapon & Partners (Kritchawat Chainapasak, Verasak Maiwatana, Kritsana Mingtongkhum and Satyapon Sachdecha) each placed four lawyers on the list, while Ananda Intellectual Property (Franck Fougere, Kritchakorn Nimwenai and Nuttakorn Sorakun), ILCT (Ratinuch Kawnachaimongkol, Ratchapong Thongdeetae and Titirat Wattanachewanopakorn) and Rouse (Manoon Changchumni, Peeraya Thammasujarit and Nuttachai Unaratana) each had three.

Eighteen different firms, many of them relative newcomers to the Bangkok legal scene, each placed either one or two lawyers on the list.

Our survey includes only those lawyers working at law firms in Thailand. Most of the lawyers named to our list have multiple practice specialties. Many of them are litigators, while others concentrate on prosecution work or provide strategic advice.

All of them have something in common: they are Asia IP’s IP Experts for Thailand.

– Gregory Glass

Thailand’s IP Experts is based solely on independent editorial research conducted by Asia IP. As part of this project, we turned to thousands of in-house counsel in Asia and around the world, and asked them to nominate private-practice lawyers, including foreign legal consultants, advisers and counsel.

The final list reflects the nominations received combined with the input of the editorial team at Asia IP, which has nearly 55 years of collective experience in researching and understanding the legal market in Southeast Asia.

All private practice intellectual property lawyers working at law firms in Thailand were eligible for inclusion in the nomination process; there were no fees or any other requirements for inclusion in the process.

The names of our 50 IP Experts are published here. Each IP Expert was given the opportunity to include their biography and contact details in print and on our website, for which a fee was charged.