Thailand remains on USTR’s 2024 Special 301 Report Watch List

Earlier this year, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released the Special 301 Report for 2024, placing Thailand on its Watch List in respect of intellectual property protection and enforcement for another year. Upgraded from the Priority Watch List to the standard Watch List since 2017, Thailand is maintained on the Watch List for the eighth year in a row. According to the Report, placement of a country on the Priority Watch List or Watch List is the indicator of the existence of certain issues of concern in their domestic market regarding IP protection, enforcement, or market access for U.S. businesses relying on IP.

The 2024 Report praised Thailand for its progress on enhancing IP protection and enforcement in several aspects. One improvement mentioned was the ongoing amendments of IP legislations, including the Copyright Act, the Patent Act and the Geographical Indication Protection Act, with the aim to strengthen relevant IP rights protection and to facilitate Thailand’s accession to international agreements concerning IP. It also commended several Thai IP-related government agencies who have made significant advances in piracy suppression. While acknowledging this progress, the Report also identified remaining pitfalls, including, among other issues, the availability of counterfeit and pirated goods and growing internet content piracy which demand effective and deterrent enforcement measures. The concerns also extended to geographical indication protection and other issues including lengthy civil IP enforcement proceedings, and low civil damages.

In response to the USTR’s Report, Mr. Vuttikrai Leewiraphan, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, former Director General of Department of Intellectual Property, commented that there have been many recent efforts to bolster the systematic development of Thailand’s intellectual property framework, the so-called IP Work Plan, in a bid to remove Thailand form the USTR’s list in the future.

Written by: Natthaphan Benkhan, Sasikarn Tawornsan

References:
[1] USTR 2024 Special 301 Report
[2] DIP news