Statistics show that the number of civil suits concerning patent infringement cases tried by the Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court (IP&IT Court), a branch of the Court of Justice in Thailand responsible for all cases involving intellectual property rights in Thailand, have increased in recent years. A total of 32 cases concerning infringement of both patent and petty patent have been filed in 2009, while, back in 2002, there were only 9 cases. How did the number of civil suits on patent infringement jump from 9 to 32 cases? We could simply address the question by referring to the corresponding number of patent applications filed to the Patent Office, which has steadily risen each year, and claim that the higher the number of patents, the more frequent the commercialization and subsequent need to enforce such patent rights. However, if we look deeper into the law, we can furnish that another answer may lie in the provisions of the law which make civil suits on patent infringement worthwhile to pursue. This columns looks at what the law and the Court have to offer for patent owners who wish to pursue a civil action against an infringer.
