Positive changes ahead:
Thailand’s draft amended patent act

The Draft Amended Patent Act (hereafter referred to as “draft Patent Act”) is a proposed amendment to the current Thai patent law, which has been in force for more than 40 years. The Thai Patent Act B.E. 2522 has been amended several times over the years, to keep pace with technological advances and in accordance with international principles. Yet, it has remained untouched since 1999.
 
A new Patent Act has been in the making for the past 5 years. However, its adoption date has not yet been fixed. The draft Patent Act brings a variety of changes that will affect the filing procedure and prosecution of patent applications in Thailand, in particular for pharmaceutical and medical inventions. The amendments currently discussed are also meant to provide an effective and convenient procedure to facilitate access to patent protection for inventors.
 
The key reforms that will be introduced are detailed hereafter.

For patent and petty patent

Substantive changes
 
Wider novelty analysis: The novelty of a patent will be examined according to use and knowledge of the invention not only in Thailand but also overseas, before the filing date of the application.
 
Non-patentable inventions: The list of “non-patentable” inventions will be widened:
Section 9(4) will be revised from “a method of diagnosis, treatment or cure of human or animal diseases” to “a method of diagnosis, treatment and surgery for curing human or animal diseases”. This clarifies that surgical treatment methods are also not covered by patent protection to comply with the principle of the TRIPS Agreement.
Section 9(5) will be revised from “inventions contrary to public order, morality, health or public welfare” to “inventions whose commercial exploitation is contrary to public order, morality, health, sanitation, public welfare or causes serious damage to the environment”. The notable change is the analysis of the impact of the invention on the environment.
 
Patent infringement exceptions: The draft Patent Act provides exemptions from patent infringement for specific acts that have been completed in good faith before the filing date of a patented invention in Thailand, such as manufacture, use, sale, possession for sale, offer for sale or import.

Written by: Adele Marchal
Reviewers: Munif Chaipanya

References:
[1] WIPO’s Madrid Member Profiles: https://www.wipo.int/madrid/memberprofiles/selectmember