The Trademark Act B.E. 2534 (as amended) requires that a registrable mark be distinctive, not misdescriptive, not confusingly similar to a prior mark, and not contrary to public order. DIP examiners are strict on Class 43 (restaurant), Class 25 (apparel) and Class 3 (cosmetics) where the registry is crowded. A weak base filing not only fails in Thailand — it also poisons any Madrid extension you build on top of it.
Our first deliverable is always a knock-out search across DIP's TM Search and WIPO's Global Brand Database, plus phonetic and transliteration variants in Thai script, before we commit a filing number.
Once your Thai application is filed (registration not required — application suffices), you can designate any Madrid member state through a single WIPO form, in one language, with one currency (Swiss francs), one renewal date. WIPO transmits the designation to each country's office; each then examines under its own law.
Popular designations from Phuket clients: EU (EUIPO), UK, US, Australia, Japan, China, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, UAE. Central attack risk applies for 5 years: if the Thai base fails, all designations fall — which is why the base filing must be defensible.
DIP publishes accepted marks for 60 days; anyone with an earlier right can oppose. Our team handles oppositions on both sides — defending your mark against third-party opposition, or opposing junior marks that infringe yours.
A straightforward Thai national mark typically runs 10–16 months from filing to registration certificate when no office action and no opposition arise: roughly 4–8 months to substantive examination, 60 days publication, then issuance. Add 4–8 months for each office action round, because DIP allows 60 days to respond (extendable once) and re-examination is queued behind new filings. Madrid designations run on their own clocks — each designated office has 12 or 18 months under Article 5 of the Protocol to issue a provisional refusal, so an EU or UK designation often settles faster than the Thai base itself.
Cost drivers are class count, not brand value: official DIP fees are charged per class and per item of goods/services, and WIPO's fee calculator prices designations per country and per class in Swiss francs. Two practical rules keep budgets predictable — file the narrowest class list that still covers actual commercial use, and avoid speculative classes you cannot evidence later.
The most common self-inflicted delay we see in Phuket is a POA signed abroad without notarisation and legalisation, or signed by someone who is not the registered director on the DBD extract. DIP suspends the file until the chain of authority is clean. Sources: Department of Intellectual Property (ipthailand.go.th) and WIPO Madrid System (wipo.int/madrid).
A Thai registration lasts 10 years from the filing date and is renewable in 10-year terms; renewal is requested within the 3 months before expiry, with a late window plus surcharge after that. Thailand also has a non-use cancellation regime: a third party may petition to cancel a mark unused for 3 consecutive years, so keep dated evidence — invoices, packaging, signage photos, marketplace listings — in one folder from day one.
Enforcement in practice combines three tracks: Customs recordation so counterfeit shipments can be detained at the border, platform takedown notices on Lazada, Shopee and Facebook Marketplace, and civil or criminal action through the Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court. Recordation is inexpensive relative to litigation and is the step most SME owners skip.
For Madrid holders, the international registration renews centrally at WIPO on a single date covering every designation — but local use requirements, such as the US Section 8 declaration of use, still apply country by country and are not handled by WIPO.
