Having officially become the 173rd member of the Paris Convention, Thailand can expect two primary advantages: (1) Thai applicants will be able to enjoy the priority date of an application originated from Thailand in filing for patents overseas; (2) accession to the Paris Convention moves Thailand one step closer to adhering to the Patent Cooperation Treaty.

Last year, around the same time as Thailand’s “Red Shirt” crisis, another crisis was under way. Of course, we are referring to Map Ta Phut, a thoroughly industrialized municipality which became the geographic focus of litigation over various government entities’ compliance with environmental provisions in the constitution. Though the lawsuit was against government agencies and people, the resulting gridlock halted the progression of some 76 industrial projects that had already been approved pursuant to then-current procedures.

Recent headlines of a company offering surrogacy services in exchange for money have brought the issue of assisted reproductive technologies back into the public eye, shedding light on the fact that Thai law has not kept up with advancements in infertility treatment. Currently, couples in Thailand who wish to have a child, yet for whatever reason are unable to do so via natural methods, have limited options, adoption being the most common. But what about those couples who wish to have a child that is genetically theirs?

In Plasco, Inc. v. Thantri Meethikulchanun, the Dika Court considered the IP&IT Court’s dismissal of the plaintiff’s complaint, which had been based on the reasoning that the complaint was filed after the expiration of the five-year period for filing a cancellation action based on “better right” grounds under Section 67 of the Thai Trademark Act. The Dika Court reversed the IP&IT Court’s decision on how the period was to be calculated.

In a recent decision, the Thai Supreme (Dika) Court affirmed the Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court’s ruling and withdrew the decisions of the Trademark Registrar and the Board of Trademarks rejecting the trademark application for ZYSTAR filed by the plaintiff, Glaxo Group Limited. This article summarizes the decision.

Recent reports of melamine contamination of imported milk products have had a profound global impact, not only on the Chinese milk product manufacturers and exporters, but on other businesses in the supply chain. In Thailand, the effect of the melamine scandal on local business is reflected in lost sale opportunities and a general reduction in consumer confidence. The melamine scandal also highlights a point of concern for business operators providing products in Thailand: the impact of recent legislative changes on litigation of product liability claims.

In a move to address numerous complaints from condominium buyers, the Thai government has enacted the Condominium Act (No. 4) 2008. Effective as of July 4, 2008, the new law significantly expands the scope of consumer protection to potential condominium buyers by amending several provisions of the existing Condominium Act 1979. Since passage almost 30 years ago, the original Act has been amended three times in an attempt to keep the law up-to-date with new private sector developments and practices.

In Thailand, there are relatively few patent and petty patent infringement cases tried each year. From 2000 through July 2008, a total of 40,823 intellectual property cases were tried before the Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court, but only 155 of these involved patent infringement. In examining the statistics for patent case filings during this period, certain trends are immediately apparent.