TRADEMARK
ACT B.E. 2534
As
Amended by the Trademark Act (No.2) B.E. 2543
--------------------------
H.M. KING BHUMIBOL ADULYADEJ
Given on the 28th day of October B.E. 2534
being the 46th year of the present Reign.
By royal command
of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej it is hereby proclaimed that:
The following amendments
shall be made to the law on trademarks:
IT IS HEREBY ENACTED
by the King's Most Excellent Majesty with the advice and consent of the
National Legislature as follows:
Section 1 This Act shall be called as the "Trademark Act B.E. 2534".
Section 2 This Act shall become enforceable law 90 days after its publication in
the Government Gazette.(1)
Section 3 The following shall be repealed:
(1)
Trademark Act B.E. 2474
(2)
Trademark Act (No.3) B.E. 2504.
Insofar as they are
provided for herein or are contrary to or consistent with the provisions
hereof, all laws, regulations and other rules shall be superseded by this
Act.
Section 4(2) In this Act:-
"mark"
is defined as a brand, name, word, letter, photograph, drawing, device,
manual, signature, combinations of colors, shape or configuration of an
object or any one or combination thereof;
"trademark"
is defined as a mark used or proposed to be used on or in connection with
goods to distinguish those trademarked goods from other trademarked goods;
"service
mark" is defined as a mark used or proposed to be used on or in connection
with services to distinguish those services from other service marked
services;
"certification
mark" is defined as a mark used or proposed to be used by the owner
thereof on or in connection with goods or services of another person to
verify the origin, make-up, method of production, quality or other characteristics
of such goods or to certify as to the nature, quality, type or other characteristics
of such services;
"collective
mark" is defined as a trademark or service mark used or proposed
to be used by businesses or enterprises of the same group or by members
of an organization, cooperative, union, confederation, group of persons
or any other state or private organization;
"licensee"
is defined as a person licensed under this Act to use a trademark or service
mark as allowed by the owner of a registered trademark or service mark;
"competent
officer" is defined as the person appointed by the Minister of Commerce
to act under this Act;
"Registrar"
is defined as the person appointed by the Minister of Commerce to be registrar
to act under this Act;
"Director
General" is defined as the Director-General of the Department of
Intellectual Property;
"Board"
is defined as the Trademark Board;
"Minister"
is defined as the Minister of Commerce; the executor of this Act.
Section
5(1) The Minister of Commerce, designated as the executor
of this Act, shall have the power to appoint the Registrar and competent
officers, issue ministerial regulations prescribing fees not exceeding
those provided in the schedule annexed hereto and prescribing other matters
and issue notifications in order to fulfill the provisions of this Act.
CHAPTER
I TRADEMARKS
Part 1 Trademark Applications
--------------------------
Section 6 To be registrable, a trademark must
(1)
be distinctive;
(2)
not be prohibited by this Act;
(3)
not be identical or confusingly similar to another registered trademark.
Section
7(1) A distinctive trademark is one which allows the public
to distinguish between those trademarked goods and other goods.
The
following describes the characteristics essential to a distinctive trademark:-
(1)
a personal name, a surname which is not according to its ordinary signification,
a name of juristic person or tradename represented in a special manner;
(2)
a word or words having no direct reference to the character or quality
of the goods and is not a geographical name prescribed by the Minister
in the Ministerial Notifications;
(3)
a specially designed combination of colors, stylized letters, numerals
or invented word;
(4)
the signature of the applicant or another person who has given his or
her permission;
(5)
a representation of the applicant or of another person with his or her
permission or of a dead person with the permission of his or her heirs;
(6)
an invented device.
A
distinctive trademark may also include names and words not having the
characteristics under (1) or (2) if it is used as a trademarks with goods
which have been widely sold or advertised in accordance with the rules
prescribed by the Minister by notification and if it is proved that the
rules have been duly met.
Section 8(1) Trademarks that have or consist of any of the following characteristics
shall not be registrable:-
(1)
state arms or crests, royal seals, official seals, Chakkri emblems, emblems
and insignia of the royal orders and decorations, seals of office, seals
of ministries, bureaus, departments or provinces;
(2)
national flags of Thailand, royal standard flags or official flags;
(3)
royal names, royal monograms, abbreviations of royal names or royal monograms,
or
(4)
representations of the King, Queen or Heir to the Throne;
(5)
names, words, terms or emblems signifying the King, Queen or Heir to the
Throne or members of the royal family;
(6)
national emblems and flags of foreign states, emblems and flags of international
organizations, emblems of head of foreign states, official emblems and
quality control and certification of foreign states or international organizations,
names and monograms of foreign states or international organizations,
unless permission is given by the competent officer of the foreign state
or international organization;
(7)
official emblems and emblems of the Red Cross or appellations "Red
Cross" or "Geneva Cross";
(8)
a mark identical with or similar to a medal, diploma or certificate or
any other mark awarded at a trade exhibition or competition held by the
Thai government or a Thai government agency for public enterprise or any
other government organ of Thailand, a foreign government or international
organization unless such medal, diploma, certificate or mark has been
actually awarded to the applicant for goods and is used in combination
with the trademark;
(9)
any mark which is contrary to public order, morality or public policy;
(10)
a mark registered or not, which is identical with a well-known mark as
prescribed by the Ministerial Notifications, or so similar thereto that
the public might be confused as to the owner or origin of the goods;
(11)
trademarks similar to those under (1) (2) (3) (5) (6) or (7);
(12)
geographical indications protected under the law on geographical indications;
(13)
other trademarks prescribed by the Ministerial Notifications.
Section
9 An application for registration of a trademark may be made for specific
goods in one class or in different classes but the particular kinds of
goods for which protection is sought shall be clearly specified.
An application may
not cover goods of different classes.
The classification
of goods shall be as prescribed by the Ministerial Notifications.
Section
10 For a trademark to be registrable, the applicant or his agent shall
have an office or address for communication by the Registrar in Thailand.
Section
11(1) Applications for trademark registration shall comply
with the rules and procedures prescribed in the Ministerial Regulations.
In
cases where Thailand acceded to an international convention or agreement
concerning trademark protection, the trademark application which is in
compliance with the requirement of such international convention or agreement
shall be deemed to be a trademark application under this Act.
Section 12 In considering trademark applications, the Registrar shall have the following
powers:-
(1)
ask by a letter or summon the applicant to give an oral statement or submit
a written statement or submit any document or evidence concerning the
application for examination or consideration;
(2)
require the applicant to translate any document or evidence in a foreign
language into Thai within such period or time as he may deem appropriate;
(3)
invite any person to give information, explanations, advice or opinions.
If
the applicant does not, without sufficient reason, comply with an order
of the Registrar under (1) or (2), the application shall be deemed to
be abandoned.
Section 13 Subject to Section 27, where the Registrar finds that the trademark for
which on application for registration is filed:
(1)
is identical with a trademark already registered by another person; or
(2)
is so similar to a registered trademark of another person that the public
might be confused or misled as to the owner or origin of the goods, and
such application is for goods of the same class or for goods of a different
class found by the Registrar to be of the same character, he shall not
register such trademark.
Section
14 In the event registered or pending trademarks of the same owner
covering goods of the same class or different classes but the same character
so similar to one another that the public might be confused or misled
as to the owner or origin of the goods of used by different persons, the
Registrar shall require the trademarks to be registered as associated
trademarks and shall in writing notify the applicant without delay.
Section
15 If, in the opinion of the Registrar,
(1)
any unessential part of a trademark applied for is not registrable under
Section 6, or
(2)
any application for registration is contrary to Section 9 or Section 10
or is not in accordance with the rules and procedures prescribed in the
Ministerial Regulations issued under Section 11,
The
Registrar shall require and, without delay, in writing notify the applicant
to amend the application within ninety days from the date of receipt of
the order.
Part
2
|
