Why search before filing a trademark?

A search shows earlier similar marks in the relevant classes, so you can adjust the mark or the classes before spending on filing, packaging and marketing. It cannot guarantee registration, but it identifies the obstacles that cause most refusals.

How are classes chosen?

Classes follow the goods and services you actually offer, and near-term plans can be included. Filing in too few leaves gaps a competitor can occupy; filing in classes you will never use adds cost and can attract objections.

Does my foreign registration protect me in Thailand?

Not by itself, because trademark rights are territorial. There are international filing routes that designate Thailand, and there are national filings; which is preferable depends on your existing portfolio and timing.

Does copyright need to be registered?

Copyright arises on creation without registration, but recording the work and its ownership makes proof much easier in a dispute. The more important document is usually the assignment or employment wording that puts ownership where it belongs.

What should a licence agreement cover?

The scope of rights, territory and term, quality control and approval rights, royalties and reporting, sub-licensing, what happens on termination, and who may enforce against third parties. Ambiguity in scope is the most frequent source of licensing disputes.

What can be done about counterfeits online?

Options include platform takedown requests supported by your registration, warning letters, and court proceedings. Preparing the evidence — listings, purchases, comparison of goods — before acting makes each of those routes considerably stronger.

How long does trademark registration take in Thailand?

It varies with the registry's workload and with whether an objection or opposition arises. Since the timeline is outside anyone's control, we plan launches so that use of the brand is not entirely dependent on the certificate arriving by a fixed date.

How do I protect a trade secret in practice?

Identify the information, restrict access to those who need it, use confidentiality agreements with employees and partners, and keep records of the measures taken. Without demonstrable measures, it becomes difficult to argue the information was secret at all.

Intellectual Property

Trademarks, copyright, trade secrets and enforcement

Talk to a lawyer All practice areas

IP work covers trademark availability searches and filings, responding to registry objections and oppositions, protecting copyright and trade secrets by contract, licensing and assignment, and taking action against infringement. The firm searches before filing, because a rejected application is slower and costlier to fix than a name changed at the outset.

Who this page is for

Businesses registering a brand name or logo in Thailand
Owners whose application received a registry objection
Creators and studios who need ownership of their work documented
Companies licensing a brand or technology in or out of Thailand
Owners facing counterfeits or online infringement

What the firm actually handles

Trademark availability searches and class selection
Filing, prosecution and responses to objections and oppositions
Renewals, assignments and recordal of changes
Copyright ownership, works-for-hire and assignment documentation
Trade-secret and confidentiality frameworks
Enforcement: warning letters, takedowns and court proceedings

Matters clients bring us

A new brand needs clearance before launch and packaging print
A registry objection cites a similar earlier mark
A freelancer's work must be assigned to the company that paid for it
A distributor is using the brand beyond the licence terms
Counterfeit goods appear on an online marketplace
A franchise package needs its IP terms drafted

Documents to bring to the first meeting

The mark: wordmark, logo file and any variants used
A description of the goods or services actually offered
Applicant details: company affidavit or passport or ID card
Evidence of earliest use: packaging, invoices, advertising
Existing registrations abroad and any priority claim documents
Contracts with creators, agencies, employees and distributors

If some documents are missing, send what you have. The lawyer will tell you which office issues the remaining ones and which documents need certified translation before they can be used.

How the work proceeds

1Send the mark and the list of goods or services you actually offer
2We search availability and advise on classes and risk
3We file the application and monitor the registry
4We respond to any objection or opposition within the deadline
5We record renewals, assignments and changes as needed
6We act on infringement with warning letters, takedowns or proceedings

Pitfalls and common misunderstandings

Rights are territorial

A registration obtained abroad does not by itself protect the mark in Thailand. Filing locally, in the classes matching your actual activity, is what supports enforcement here.

Descriptive marks are hard to register and hard to enforce

Names that merely describe the goods or services often face objections, and even when registered they are weak against similar names. A distinctive element makes both registration and enforcement realistic.

Paying for work is not the same as owning it

Without an assignment or the right contractual wording, copyright in commissioned work may not sit with the business that paid for it. Fixing this after a dispute or an investment round starts is much harder.

Trademark, copyright and trade secret

These protect different things and are obtained in different ways. Most businesses need more than one.

Point	Trademark	Copyright	Trade secret
What it protects	Names, logos and marks identifying goods or services	Original works such as text, images, code and film	Confidential business information with commercial value
How it arises	Registration gives the strongest position	Arises on creation; records help prove it	Kept by confidentiality measures and contracts
Duration	Renewable in terms	A long statutory term depending on the work	For as long as secrecy is maintained
Key document	Registration certificate	Assignment or work-for-hire wording	NDA plus internal access controls
Common pitfall	Filing in the wrong classes	No assignment from freelancers	No access control, so secrecy cannot be shown

The right combination depends on what your business actually sells and how it is produced.

Hand the whole matter to the firm

The firm can manage the IP portfolio alongside the commercial contracts: searches and filings, the licence or assignment wording, and enforcement where infringement occurs, including certified translations of foreign registrations.

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