LLM, University of Glasgow
LLB, Ramkhamhaeng University
MChE, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi
BEng, Chulalongkorn University
+66 2056 5640 
San Chaithiraphant is a senior associate in Tilleke & Gibbins’ intellectual property group in Bangkok. With extensive experience in intellectual property and technology-related matters, San assists clients with a wide range of legal needs, including patent prosecution, claim drafting, freedom-to-operate searches, and others. He also handles contentious patent matters and advises companies across all industries on copyright issues.
San excels in the technological fields of chemistry, materials science, computer-related inventions, and life sciences. He is part of Tilleke & Gibbins’ regional life sciences and technology industry groups, which bring together specialists from the firm’s offices across the region to offer comprehensive solutions to multinational companies.
With a deep understanding of inventive processes and commercialization, San’s advice is sought by innovators of all sizes, ranging from individual inventors, academic spinoffs, startups, SMEs, and publicly listed companies to local and international conglomerates. He is also a frequent guest lecturer on intellectual property at various leading universities in Thailand.
San holds an LLM in Intellectual Property and Digital Economy from the University of Glasgow, along with advanced degrees in engineering and chemical engineering. San is both a licensed engineer and a Thai-licensed lawyer.
- Provided advice to a Thai startup in the personalized healthcare industry, which entailed drafting and prosecuting several international and national-phase PCT applications that contributed to the success of client’s seed funding and overseas establishments.
- Advised a Thai publicly listed company in the energy industry on cross-border technology transfer projects relating to electrochemical cells.
- Advised clients in the software industry on employee intellectual property agreements.
- Advised a client in the fintech industry on a software licensing agreement.
- Prepared arguments in support for a patent’s validity and infringement in landmark patent litigation on aquaculture technology, which was awarded the highest financial damages to date for a patent infringement case in Thailand.
- Prepared a technology transfer license agreement between a Thai toy manufacturer (client and licensor) and a foreign manufacturer (licensee).
- Provided freedom-to-operate and invalidity opinions to a Thai-foreign joint venture operating in the field of specialty polymers to assess legal risks before the construction of a production facility.
- Provided a complex legal consultation relating to a Thai patent application on polymer synthesis, including non-infringement and prior-user rights analyses, and assessment of the strengths of defenses.
- Conducted a patent landscape study and provided advice on the study to a Thai government’s research agency.
- Led patent due diligence projects in the fields of medical devices and industrial engineering, among others.
- Developed a track record of overcoming office actions against the patentability of certain types of computer-related inventions.
- Conducted utility and design patents’ freedom-to-operate analyses, as well as infringement analyses, on behalf of clients in a wide range of industries.
- Filed and successfully registered patents, petty patents, and designs with the Thai Department of Intellectual Property.
- Represented clients in filing responses to office actions, oppositions, and cancellations to strengthen and defend their valuable patents.
- Conducted regulatory due diligence for acquisitions by a number of multinational clients.
- Advised on laws and regulations related to medical devices, drugs, and controlled foods.
- Assisted clients in life sciences regulatory compliance through every stage of their products’ life cycles.
- Supported clients’ market entries by advising on product promotional activities in a range of media.
- Reviewed regulatory service agreements for several global medical device companies.
- Provided advice on complex issues involving multiple fields of law, including contracts, intellectual property, regulatory affairs, computer crimes, and data protection.