This article summarizes the results of recent raids by Seiko Epson and SKF to seize infringing goods.

As part of the ongoing suppression of products that infringe intellectual prop­erty rights, government bureaus includ­ing ECOTEC police bureau, Customs ware­houses, and Customs bureaus at indi­vid­ual ports have organized several destruc­tion ceremonies since the beginning of 2008. This article summarizes the events.

This article describes a multijurisdictional dispute between Carabao Tawandang Company Limited and Red Bull GmbH, both of which are large producers of energy drinks. Red Bull launched oppositions and cancellations against Carabao Tawandang’s Buffalo Device trademark in a number of countries, but the dispute was eventually settled amicably.

Trademark owners frequently choose to include a geographical name in their marks because it effectively draws public attention and is easy to remember. Under the current Thai practice, however, the Registrar will strictly enforce the legal provisions prohibiting registration of a geographical name as a trademark. The restrictions on geographical names are extremely onerous, and the successful registration of such names is therefore quite difficult. For trademark owners, only two exceptions to this practice remain.

This article describes a 2007 case in which the Board of Patents again rendered a decision affirming that only the shape or appear­ance of a product design shall be taken into consideration when deter­mining patentability. It is not necessary for a product design to have an improved or developed function as this does not reflect the patentability of the product design.

On July 19, 2005, the Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) issued a regula­tion governing recordation of well-known marks, and from August 1, 2005 it started accepting applications for recordation of well-known marks. As of April 2008, more than 180 appli­cations have been filed for well-known mark recordation. Among these, 52% of the applications were for Thai marks and 48% were for foreign marks. The success rate of these applications is approximately 35%, which emphasizes the strict criteria used in evaluating the well-known status of a mark.

In a bid to improve public access to medicines, Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health issued compulsory licenses for a number of patented drugs without negotiating with the patent owners beforehand. In doing so, the Ministry may have exceeded the limits imposed by the Patent Act. This article examines the legal implications of the Ministry’s actions.

Confusion often arises with regard to nonproprietary names and trade names of pharmaceutical products. This article offers insight into the World Health Organization’s system of International Nonproprietary Names to facilitate the identification of pharmaceutical substances. A key recommendation for reducing the likelihood of confusion is to ensure that the appropriate forms of intellectual property protection have been sought and obtained.