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San Chaithiraphant

Senior Associate & Patent Agent

Biography

San Chaithiraphant is a senior associate and patent agent 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 handles contentious patent matters and advises companies across all industries on copyright issues, and also leads the firm’s plant variety protection practice in Thailand.

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.

Experience

  • 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.
ABOUT San

Industries

Life Sciences

Technology

Practices

Intellectual Property

Regulatory Affairs

Location

Languages

    Thai

    English

Education

    LLM, University of Glasgow

    LLB, Ramkhamhaeng University

    MChE, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi

    BEng, Chulalongkorn University

Insights

December 9, 2025
Tilleke & Gibbins is proud to announce that four litigation cases handled by the firm have been selected among the nine Distinguished Judgment Awards granted by Thailand’s Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court (IP&IT Court) for the period from October 1, 2024, to August 31, 2025. This recognition highlights the complexity, novelty, and legal significance of these cases, which were chosen based on stringent criteria including new legal issues, high evidentiary volume, and intricate legal arguments. Among these four cases, one was singled out as the “Most Distinguished Judgment” – the landmark trademark squatting case involving the trademark rights of our client, Thailand’s largest state-owned energy conglomerate, and its subsidiary. In this case, the defendants had filed 52 trademark applications mimicking our client’s marks, making it the largest trademark squatting dispute in Thai history. On April 30, 2025, the IP&IT Court ordered the cancellation of multiple infringing trademarks, setting a benchmark for IP enforcement against trademark squatters in Thailand. The other three recognized cases demonstrate Tilleke & Gibbins’ breadth of expertise in IP litigation: Patent infringement and invalidation involving trade secrets misappropriation. Trade dress infringement of a unique packaging. Landmark Luckin Coffee case involving trademark infringement and invalidation. The IP&IT Court handles approximately 200 IP civil litigation cases each year, and our IP litigation team has typically been involved in 25–30% of them, reflecting our dominant role in shaping IP jurisprudence in Thailand.
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August 21, 2025
Tilleke & Gibbins is pleased to announce that the firm has adopted Harvey, a leading enterprise-grade AI platform for the global legal industry. The firm is proceeding with a rollout of Harvey’s legal AI solutions, which are supported by robust security and confidentiality protections, across the firm’s full-service regional practice in Southeast Asia. This initiative builds on the firm’s recent deployment of Microsoft Copilot and represents another advancement in Tilleke & Gibbins’ commitment to leveraging technology for enhanced legal service delivery. Under the program, legal professionals across the firm’s offices in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam will have access to the full Harvey platform, equipping them to deliver practical, impactful, and results-driven legal services for clients throughout the region. The firm will also develop bespoke agentic workflows within Harvey tailored to the firm’s core practices and the unique requirements of Southeast Asian legal markets. Commenting on the initiative, Managing Partner Tiziana Sucharitkul stated, “At Tilleke & Gibbins, we have consistently invested in developing and adopting technology to improve the speed, precision, and overall excellence of our legal services. The firm’s decision to invest in Harvey exemplifies our commitment to innovation, further differentiating Tilleke & Gibbins within Southeast Asia’s legal landscape.” Managing Partner Darani Vachanavuttivong remarked, “By combining the deep regional expertise of our lawyers with Harvey’s market-leading domain-specific AI, we are empowering our regional team to streamline drafting, research, and review processes for complex legal matters, all while maintaining the high standards of quality and security our clients expect from us.” Harvey’s Chief Business Officer John Haddock added, “It’s clear Tilleke & Gibbins is investing heavily in innovation, and it’s clear their global clients will benefit significantly from their focus and investment. The Harvey team is thrilled to support the firm’s journey with our platform.”
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Awards & Rankings

June 4, 2026
Tilleke & Gibbins has reinforced its position as one of Southeast Asia’s leading patent practices in the newly released IAM Patent 1000 2026, earning top-tier firm rankings in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, alongside 23 individual recognitions across the region. The firm achieved Gold rankings in Thailand and Vietnam and a Highly Recommended ranking in Indonesia—the highest tier available in the jurisdiction—highlighting the strength and consistency of its regional patent practice. This marks the firm’s 14th consecutive year in the top tier for Thailand, seventh consecutive year for Vietnam, and third straight year ranked among Indonesia’s leading firms. The firm’s strong regional performance is further reflected in the individual rankings, with the following Tilleke & Gibbins practitioners recognized for their expertise in patent law: Indonesia Irene Djalim Melinda Ambrizal Wongrat Ratanaprayul Thailand Alan Adcock Atthachai Homhuan Darani Vachanavuttivong Jakkrit Kuanpoth Napagate Triratana Nattriya Supmoon Nuttaphol Arammuang Peeyakorn Suparugbundit San Chaithiraphant Somboon Earterasarun Suebsiri Taweepon Sukontip Jitmongkolthong Wong Vorravitwattana Vietnam Dat Thanh Nguyen Giang Hoang Bach Hien Thi Thu Vu Hung Tuan Nguyen Linh Duy Mai Loc Xuan Le Thanh Phuong Vu The IAM Patent 1000 identifies the world’s leading patent firms and practitioners through extensive qualitative research based on feedback from clients, peers, and industry stakeholders. For more details, please see the IAM Patent 1000 rankings for Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
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May 14, 2026
Asian Legal Business (ALB) has published the ALB Asia IP Rankings 2026, the latest edition of its annual guide recognizing leading intellectual property firms across the region. Continuing the approach introduced last year, the rankings present a unified table in each jurisdiction, combining patent and trademark/copyright work to provide a more holistic view of the IP market. Tilleke & Gibbins has retained strong rankings in all three jurisdictions covered by the survey: Thailand: Tier 1 Vietnam: Tier 1 Indonesia: Tier 2 The rankings are based on work conducted between February 2025 and February 2026, covering both ongoing and completed contentious and noncontentious matters. ALB’s research draws on firm submissions, client feedback, editorial resources, and market input to identify the region’s leading IP practices. Tilleke & Gibbins’ IP team has maintained a strong track record across all ranked jurisdictions since the inception of the ALB IP Rankings in 2018. To view the full rankings, please see the May 2026 issue of ALB.
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April 3, 2026
Tilleke & Gibbins is pleased to announce that the firm has been shortlisted in two categories at the Financial Times (FT) Innovative Lawyers APAC 2026 awards: Innovative Lawyers in Cyber and Data Privacy – “Digital Identity & Cryptocurrency Compliance” Innovative Practitioner – Athistha (Nop) Chitranukroh The FT Innovative Lawyers APAC Awards recognize law firms and practitioners who are driving innovation in legal services and delivering innovative client solutions across the Asia-Pacific region. This recognition marks our third acknowledgment in the Innovative Lawyers category and, notably, our first-ever nomination in the Innovative Practitioner category at the FT Innovative Lawyers APAC awards. It reflects our team’s continued ability to support clients on groundbreaking, forward-looking projects across the region. The awards ceremony will take place on May 14, 2026, in Hong Kong. To learn more about the FT Innovative Lawyers APAC 2026 awards and to view the full list of shortlisted organizations, please visit the FT website.
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