Thai Trademark Registration + Madrid Protocol (130+ countries) + PCT Patents + Copyright + Trade Secrets + Customs Recordation — End-to-End IP Counsel by DIP-Registered Attorneys

Mark types we file

• Trademark — goods (Nice classes 1–34)
• Service Mark — services (Nice 35–45)
• Collective Mark — for associations / cooperatives
• Certification Mark — Halal, Q-Mark, Thai Select
• 3D Mark — product or packaging shape
• Sound, Colour, Position, Motion and Hologram marks
• Non-registrable: generic terms, descriptive marks (unless Secondary Meaning), immoral marks, royal names, national flags, state insignia

Nice Classification 12th ed. — pick the right class on Day 1

Nice is WIPO's classification used in 90+ jurisdictions: classes 1–34 for goods, 35–45 for services. Choose classes that cover both the current business and the 5–10 year expansion plan — adding classes later means new applications and fees.

High-volume classes: 35 (advertising, retail/wholesale — covers e-commerce), 9 (software, mobile apps, hardware), 25 (apparel and footwear), 41 (education and entertainment), 42 (technology/SaaS), 43 (restaurants/hotels). Thai government fee is THB 1,000 per class.

Our strategy: file core classes first, add defensive classes to block competitors in adjacent fields, avoid 'all goods in class' phrasing (regularly rejected by DIP) and draft specific specifications.

Translation trap: Madrid Protocol operates in English / French / Spanish. Specifications must align with Nice Alphabetical List 12th ed., otherwise USPTO, EUIPO and other designated offices will issue office actions. We use EUIPO TMclass and the WIPO Madrid Goods & Services Manager to avoid this.

Thai DIP trademark prosecution steps

• Step 1 — Preliminary search across DIP Online + WIPO Global Brand Database + Google + Vienna Class Search
• Step 2 — Comprehensive search report — identical, phonetic, conceptual and visual similarity across relevant classes
• Step 3 — Class strategy and bilingual specification drafting
• Step 4 — e-Filing at DIP — application number and filing date issued instantly (Paris Convention priority)
• Step 5 — Formal examination (1–3 months)
• Step 6 — Substantive examination (6–9 months) — distinctiveness and conflict check, with office action if needed
• Step 7 — Office-action response (60 days, extendable 60 days)
• Step 8 — Publication in the Trademark Gazette (60 days) for third-party opposition
• Step 9 — Opposition stage (60 days), opposition proceeding 6–12 months if filed
• Step 10 — Registration certificate, 10-year term from filing date, renewable indefinitely (3-month grace before expiry)
• Timeline: 12–18 months. Total fees: THB 8,500–25,000 per class + THB 1,000 government fee per class.

Madrid Protocol — protect your brand in 130+ countries with a single filing

The Madrid Protocol is a WIPO treaty that lets a mark owner in one member state (Office of Origin) extend protection to other members (Designated Contracting Parties) through a single English-language filing at WIPO Geneva. Thailand acceded on 7 August 2017; the system now covers 130+ countries representing more than 80% of world trade.

Advantages — (1) single filing, single language, single fee; (2) 50–70% cheaper than direct national filings; (3) single renewal every 10 years at WIPO; (4) single recording of assignment / licence / change of owner across all designated countries; (5) subsequent designations possible at any time.

Limitations — (1) a base Thai application or registration at DIP is required; (2) Central Attack — during the first 5 years (dependency period), if the base mark is cancelled or refused, the international registration falls with it; transformation to national applications is available within 3 months; (3) each designated office may refuse under its own law within 12–18 months; (4) working languages are English, French or Spanish.

Fees — basic CHF 653 (B&W) or CHF 903 (colour) + CHF 100 complementary fee per class per country, or individual fees for countries that have declared them (US $460/class, EU €897, Japan ¥86,400/class, China ¥1,000/class). Add THB 25,000–150,000 in counsel fees for 5–10 countries.

We handle pre-filing analysis (Madrid vs. direct in each target market), specification translation with TMclass + WIPO Madrid Manager, filing through DIP to WIPO, monitoring refusals and office actions in each designated office, and coordinating local counsel where required (US, CN, JP, KR mandate local attorneys). Our network spans 80+ countries.

Patents, petty patents, design patents, PCT and Hague

• Invention Patent — 20-year term — Novel + Inventive Step + Industrial Application — substantive examination 3–5 years
• Petty Patent / Utility Model — 6 years + 2+2 years — Novel + Industrial Application (no Inventive Step) — examination 6–12 months
• Industrial Design Patent — 10-year term — shape/pattern/colour — examination 6–12 months
• PCT — Thailand acceded 24 Sept 2009 — single international filing at DIP, 30 months to enter the national phase in 157 countries
• Hague Agreement on Industrial Designs — Thailand acceded 2024 — single design filing covering 90+ jurisdictions
• Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) and ASPEC / GPPH — fast-track examination 70%+ faster if a counterpart allowance exists
• Working requirement — Thai patents must be worked locally; compulsory licensing risk after 3 years of non-use

Copyright, trade secrets and geographical indications

• Copyright is automatic on creation — no registration required, but DIP recordation provides evidence (not constitutive)
• Berne Convention — automatic protection across 181 member states including Thailand
• Term — general works life + 50 years; corporate works 50 years; photography 50 years; applied art 25 years
• Covers literary, musical, dramatic, artistic, audiovisual, sound, broadcast, software and database works
• Not covered — ideas, methods, concepts, discoveries, news of the day, court decisions, government documents
• Trade Secret — formulas, processes, algorithms, customer lists — unlimited protection while kept secret with reasonable measures (NDAs + access control + encryption)
• Geographical Indications — Tung Kula Rong Hai Hom Mali rice, Nam Dok Mai Si Thong mango, Nakhon Chai Si pomelo, Thai silk — protected under GI Act B.E. 2546 and TRIPS

Customs recordation and IP enforcement

• Customs Recordation at Thai Customs — for trademarks, patents and copyrights — Customs seizes counterfeits at the border
• Customs Notification B.E. 2566 — 2-year recordation, renewable; covers seaports, airports, land borders, postal
• Civil enforcement — file at the Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court (IPIT) — preliminary injunction + damages + account of profits + destruction order
• Criminal enforcement — up to 4 years' imprisonment + THB 400,000 fine for trademark counterfeiting (§108)
• Customs seizure → search warrant → DSI / police raid → criminal and civil action in parallel
• Online enforcement — Brand Protection takedowns on Lazada, Shopee, TikTok Shop, Facebook, Instagram
• ICANN UDRP and .th dispute resolution to recover cybersquatted domains

Fees (fixed-fee, per professional ethics)

• Trademark search report — THB 5,500–12,500 per class
• Thai trademark filing — THB 8,500–25,000 per class + THB 1,000 government fee per class
• Office-action response — THB 12,500–45,000
• Madrid Protocol filing — THB 25,000–65,000 + WIPO fees (CHF 653+) + designation fees
• Petty patent application — THB 35,000–75,000 + government fee THB 1,000–5,000
• Invention patent application — quote on request (phone / LINE / email) + examination quoted on request
• PCT international application — THB 95,000–250,000 + WIPO fees (CHF 1,500+)
• Copyright recordation — THB 5,500–12,500
• Customs recordation — THB 15,000–35,000
• Opposition / cancellation — THB 65,000–250,000
• IPIT litigation — hourly THB 4,500–12,500
• Annual renewal service — THB 5,500 per class per country
• No contingency fee — Lawyers Council Ethics Reg. B.E. 2529 §11

Risks and disclosures (communicated before every engagement)

• No guarantee of registration — depends on distinctiveness, examiner discretion and prior marks
• Refusal risk — Madrid Protocol designated offices may refuse under local law
• Central Attack risk — Madrid registrations depend on the Thai base mark for the first 5 years
• Working requirement — patents must be worked in Thailand to avoid compulsory licensing
• Limitation periods — civil infringement 3 years; criminal 5–10 years — notify promptly
• Business and trade-secret data — ISO/IEC 27001 + HSM + NDA, 30-year retention
• No clients on OFAC / UN / EU sanctions lists