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IP Litigation at CIPITC
Trademark, patent, copyright and trade-secret enforcement in Thailand's specialized IP court.
Quick Answer
CIPITC is Thailand's specialized first-instance IP court. We handle cease-and-desist, preliminary injunctions, full infringement suits, Customs border enforcement, and criminal referrals. Fees from THB 15,000 (C&D) to THB 1.5M (full suit).
FAQ
- Which court handles IP disputes in Thailand?
- The Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court (CIPITC) in Bangkok has exclusive first-instance jurisdiction over trademark, patent, copyright, trade secret, and international trade cases. Appeals go directly to the Supreme Court's IP-IT division.
- What remedies are available?
- Preliminary injunctions (ex parte possible), permanent injunctions, actual damages + reasonable royalty, statutory damages up to THB 500,000 (Copyright Act), border seizure via Thai Customs, and criminal penalties (up to 4 years + THB 800,000 for trademark counterfeiting).
- How long do IP cases take?
- CIPITC first instance: 8–14 months. Supreme Court appeal: 12–24 months. Preliminary injunction hearings: 7–14 days from filing.
- Rates?
- Cease-and-desist letter THB 15,000–35,000. CIPITC infringement suit THB 250,000–1,500,000 depending on complexity. Preliminary injunction application THB 80,000–200,000. Customs recordation THB 25,000/mark.
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The information on this page follows the official sources below. Always check the latest version before you file.
- สำนักงานศาลยุติธรรม— Office of the Judiciary
- กระทรวงยุติธรรม— Ministry of Justice
- สภาทนายความในพระบรมราชูปถัมภ์ — ทนายความผู้ทำคำรับรองลายมือชื่อและเอกสาร— Lawyers Council of Thailand
- สำนักงานคณะกรรมการกฤษฎีกา — ฐานข้อมูลกฎหมายไทย— Office of the Council of State
- ราชกิจจานุเบกษา — ประกาศและกฎหมายที่มีผลบังคับ— Royal Thai Government Gazette
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The specialised forum: the IP and International Trade Court
Intellectual property disputes in Thailand are heard by the Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court, a specialised court with its own procedural rules and judges experienced in technical subject matter. Appeals go to the Court of Appeal for Specialized Cases and, on leave, to the Supreme Court. The specialisation matters: evidentiary practice on surveys, expert evidence and technical comparison is more developed here than in the general civil courts.
The court hears civil and criminal IP matters. Thai practice makes criminal proceedings a realistic option for trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy, which changes the strategic calculus compared with jurisdictions where infringement is essentially a civil matter. A rights holder deciding between tracks should weigh the deterrent value of criminal exposure against the narrower remedies it delivers.
Rights that can actually be enforced
| Right | Source | Enforcement note |
|---|---|---|
| Registered trademark | Trademark Act B.E. 2534 | Registration is the practical foundation; unregistered marks rely on passing off and are harder to run |
| Patent and petty patent | Patent Act B.E. 2522 | Claim construction and expert evidence dominate; validity is commonly attacked in defence |
| Copyright | Copyright Act B.E. 2537 | No registration requirement; ownership and chain of title must still be proved with documents |
| Trade secret | Trade Secrets Act B.E. 2545 | Requires proof that reasonable protective measures were actually in place |
| Geographical indication | Geographical Indications Act B.E. 2546 | Registered GI holders and authorised producers have standing |
Building the evidential record before filing
- Chain of title: assignments, employment agreements and commissioning contracts, translated and legalised where they were signed abroad.
- Evidence of use in Thailand — invoices, advertising, distribution agreements — which supports both remedies and the answer to a non-use attack.
- Purchase evidence of the infringing article obtained in a documented way, with the purchaser available as a witness.
- Notarised or officially recorded evidence of online infringement, captured with timestamps and full URLs, since pages disappear once a complaint is served.
- Loss evidence: sales trends, price erosion and licensing benchmarks, prepared with an accountant rather than asserted.
Route selection and interim relief
- Pre-action assessment: Validity of the right, strength of title, identity and solvency of the target, and the realistic remedy. A judgment against a shell trader is not a result.
- Cease and desist, where it helps: Useful against distributors and platforms; counter-productive where it warns a counterfeiter to move stock before a search.
- Customs recordation: Recording rights with Thai Customs interdicts goods at the border and generates evidence of the import channel.
- Criminal complaint or civil action: Criminal proceedings deliver seizure and deterrence; civil proceedings deliver damages and injunctions. They are not mutually exclusive.
- Interim measures: Applications for preservation of evidence and provisional injunctions are decided on urgency and prima facie strength, so the supporting file must be complete at the moment of application.
- Enforcement of judgment: Execution against assets is a separate process; asset tracing before judgment is what makes the judgment collectable.
Common mistakes and how we avoid them
More questions we are asked
- Can a foreign company sue in Thailand without a local entity?
- Yes. A foreign rights holder may sue, with a legalised and translated power of attorney and corporate documents establishing signing authority.
- Are damages generous in Thai IP cases?
- Damages are compensatory and evidence-driven. Well-documented loss and licence benchmarks matter more than the size of the infringement in the abstract.
- How long does a first-instance case take?
- It varies with technical complexity and the number of witnesses. We give a range at case assessment rather than a single figure, because expert evidence drives the schedule.
- Does a foreign judgment help?
- It is not directly enforceable in Thailand. It can be evidence in a fresh Thai proceeding, which is why local filing strategy is planned early.
Frequently asked questions
- Can a foreigner own 100% of a Thai company?
- Generally no for activities listed in the Foreign Business Act, where majority foreign ownership requires a Foreign Business Licence, a BOI promotion, or treaty rights such as the US–Thailand Treaty of Amity. Manufacturing and certain export activities are largely open, and BOI-promoted activities can permit full foreign ownership together with land-holding and visa privileges, so the right structure depends on the specific activity.
- What is the minimum registered capital for a Thai company?
- There is no general statutory minimum for a Thai-majority company, but practical thresholds apply: THB 2 million of paid-up registered capital per foreign work permit, or THB 1 million if the foreigner is married to a Thai national, and THB 3 million per foreign shareholder for a Foreign Business Licence. Capital should therefore be planned around the visa and work-permit outcome you need, not the incorporation minimum.
- How long does company registration take?
- Registration at the Department of Business Development can be completed within one to three working days once the name reservation, shareholder documents and company objectives are ready, and the VAT registration and social security registration follow afterwards. The realistic end-to-end timeline including bank account opening is two to six weeks, with the bank account usually being the slowest step for foreign directors.
- What ongoing accounting obligations does a Thai company have?
- Every Thai company must keep statutory accounts, file monthly withholding tax (PND 1, 3, 53) and VAT (PP 30) returns by the middle of the following month, file the half-year corporate income tax return (PND 51) and the annual return (PND 50), and have its financial statements audited by a Thai CPA and filed with the DBD each year. Dormant companies are not exempt — nil returns and an audited statement are still required.