Thailand to Amend Industrial Design Law
The Thailand Patent Act dictates the country’s industrial design law. However, the Department of Intellectual Property is set to amend it, drafting a new individual law for industrial design.
The proposed amendment would extend the term that industrial designs can be protected for. Currently, protection is only valid for a ten-year period. Under the new law, they would be protected for up to fifteen years.
The new law would also introduce a condition that requires designs to be “creative” in order to be eligible for protection. However, no clear criteria for creativity has been given as of yet.
According to Thailand trademark lawyers Chaninat & Leeds, the bill would bring Thai design laws in line with the Hague System, which is a requirement under the ASEA IPR Action Plan. This means that designs will be able to be registered internationally using a single application, avoiding the lengthy and costly process of having to make separate applications to individual countries.
In addition, the new law would also introduce changes to the examination system for applications for industrial deisgn registration. Currently, applicants can submit responses to examinations within 90 days with the possibility of a 90-day extension, followed by a final extension of a further 30 days. The proposed changes would streamline this process, reducing it to an initial 60-day period, which can be extended for 30 days only.
Chaninat & Leeds are experts in Thailand intellectual property laws and can assist with filing applications for patents, trademarks and copyright.
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