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PATENT ACT B.E. 2522
As Amended by the Patent Act (No.2) B.E 2535
And the Patent Act (No.3) B.E. 2542
--------------------------
BHUMIBOL ADULYADEJ, REX.
Given on the 11th day of March, B.E. 2522;
Being the 34th year of the present Reign.His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej has been graciously pleased to proclaim that.
Whereas it is deemed expedient to grant protection for inventions and designs;
BE IT, THEREFORE, ENACTED BY THE KING, by and with the advice and consent of the National Legislative Assembly, acting as the National Parliament, as follows:
Section 1 This Act shall be called the "Patent Act B.E. 2522."
Section 2 This Act shall come into force after the expiration of one hundred and eighty days following the date of its publication in the Government Gazette.(1)
CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY
Section 3(2) In this Act:
"patent" means a document issued to grant protection for an invention or a design under the provisions in Chapters 2 and 3 of this Act;
"petty patent" means a document issued to grant protection for an invention under the provisions in Chapter 3 bis of this Act;
"invention" means any innovation or invention which creates a new product or process, or any improvement of a known product or process;
"process" means any method, art or process of producing, maintaining or improving the quality of a product, including the application of such process;
"design" means any form or composition of lines or colors which gives a special appearance to a product and can serve as a pattern for a product of industry or handicraft;
"patent owner" includes the transferee of a patent;
"petty patent owner" includes the transferee of a petty patent;
"Board" means the "Board of Patents";
"Competent Officer" means a person appointed by the Minister to act under this Act;
"Director-General" means the Director-General of the Department of Intellectual Property, including any person who is designated by him;
"Minister" means the Minister having charge and control of the execution of this Act.
Section 4 The Minister of Commerce shall have the charge and control of the execution of the Act and shall have power to appoint competent officers and issue Ministerial Regulations prescribing fees not exceeding those fixed in the list attached to this Act, exempting any part or whole fee and prescribing other procedures for the execution of this Act.
The Ministerial Regulations shall become effective upon their publication in the Government Gazette.
CHAPTER II PATENT FOR INVENTIONS
Part I Applications For PatentsSection 5 Subject to Section 9, a patent may be granted only for an invention in respect of which the following conditions are satisfied:
(1) the invention is new;
(2) it involves an inventive step; and
(3) it is capable of industrial application.
Section 6(1) An invention is new if it does not form part of the state of the art.
The state of art also includes any of the following inventions:
(1) an invention which was widely known or used by others in the country before the date of application for the patent;
(2) an invention the subject matter of which was described in a document or printed publication, displayed or otherwise disclosed to the public, in this or a foreign country before the date of the application for a patent;
(3) an invention for which a patent or petty patent was granted in this or a foreign country before the date of application;
(4) an invention for which a patent or petty patent was applied in a foreign country more than eighteen months before the date of the application and a patent or petty patent has not been granted for such invention;
(5) an invention for which a patent or petty patent was applied for in this or a foreign country and the application was published before the date of application.
A disclosure which was due to, or made in consequence of, the subject matter having been obtained unlawfully, or a disclosure which was made by the inventor, or made in consequence of, the inventor displaying the invention at an international exhibition or an official exhibition if such disclosure was done within twelve months before the filing of an application for the patent, shall not be deemed to be a disclosure under subsection (2) above.
Section 7 An invention shall be taken to involve an inventive step if it is not obvious to a person ordinary skilled in the art.
Section 8 An invention shall be taken to be capable of industrial application if it can be made or used in any kind of industry, including handicrafts, agriculture and commerce.
Section 9(1) The following inventions are not protected under this Act:
(1) naturally occurring microorganisms and their components, animals, plants or extracts from animals or plants;
(2) scientific or mathematical rules or theories;
(3) computer programs;
(4) methods of diagnosis, treatment or cure of human and animal diseases;
(5) inventions contrary to public order, morality, health or welfare.
Section 10(2) The inventor shall have the right to apply for a patent and to be named as such in the patent.The right to apply for a patent may be assigned or transferred by succession.
The assignment of the right to apply for a patent must be in writing and shall require the signatures of the assignor and assignee.
Section 11 The right to apply for a patent for an invention made in the execution of an employment contract or a contract for performing a certain work shall belong to the employer or the person having commissioned the work, suless otherwise provided in the contract.
The provision of the first paragraph shall apply in the circumstance where an employment contract does not require in employee to exercise any inventive activity, but the employee has made the invention using any means, data or report that his employment has put at his disposal.
Section 12 In order to promote inventive activity and to give o fair share to the employee in the circumstances provided for in the first paragraph of Section 11, the employee-inventor shall have a right to remuneration other than his regular salary if the employer benefits from the invention.
In the circumstances provided for in paragraph 2 of Section 11, the employee-inventor shall have a right to remuneration.
The right to remuneration any not be prevented by any contractual provision.
A request for remuneration under paragraph one and paragraph two of this Section shall be submitted to the Director-General in accordance with the rules and procedures prescribed in the Ministerial Regulations. The Director-General shall have the power to fix such remuneration as he deems fit taking into account his salary, the importance of the invention, benefits derived and expected to be derived from the invention and other circumstances and prescribed by the Ministerial Regulations.
Section 13 In order to promote inventive activity among government officials and employees of the government organization or enterprises, an government official or an employee of a government organization or enterprise shall have the same right as that of the employee under Section 12, unless otherwise provided by the Rules or Regulations of such department of the government or organization or enterprise.
Section 14(1) An applicant for a patent shall possess one of the following qualifications:
(1) being a Thai national or a juristic person having its headquarters located in Thailand;
(2) being a national of a country party to a convention or an international agreement on patent protection to which Thailand is also a party;
(3) being a national of a country which allows Thai nationals or juristic persons having their headquarters to apply for patents in that country;
(4) being domiciled or having a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in Thailand or a country party to a convention or an international agreement on patent protection to which Thailand is also a party.
Section 15 When an invention is made by two or more persons jointly, they shall apply for a patent jointly.
If a joint inventor refuses to join in an application for a patent or cannot be found or reached or is not entitled to make an application for a patent, the application may be made by the other inventor on behalf of himself.
A joint inventor who did not join in an application for a patent may subsequently make a request to join in the application at any time before a patent is granted. Upon receipt of such request, the competent officer shall notify the applicant and the joint inventor of the date on which an investigation will take place. The applicant and each of the joint applicants shall be furnished with a copy of the request.
In the investigation under the preceding paragraph, the competent officer may require the applicant and joint applicants to appear before him and answer any question or hand any document or other items to him. After such investigation and when the Director-General has made his decision, the applicant and the joint inventor shall be notified of such decision.
Section 16 If two or more persons have separately and independently made the same invention and each of them has made an application for a patent, the applicant who is the first to file shall be entitled to a patent. If the application have been filed on the same date, the applicants shall agree whether a patent should be granted to one of them or all of them jointly. If no agreement has been reached within the period prescribed by the Director-General, they shall bring the case to the Court within ninety days after the expiration of the prescribed period. If they fail to do so within such period, they shall be deemed to have abandoned their applications.