IP Enforcement in Thailand

Abstract Since Thailand’s accession to the WTO in 1995 and the subsequent implementation of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS), the country has built an increasingly sophisticated framework for enforcing intellectual property (IP) rights. That framework—anchored by the creation of the Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court in 1996—purposefully combines civil remedies (injunctions, damages, and evidence-preservation orders) with criminal sanctions (fines, seizure, and imprisonment) to deter infringement. Drawing on almost thirty years of legislative development, jurisprudence, and court statistics, this chapter charts the interaction of those civil and criminal mechanisms and explains why criminal filings, most of which are brought by police and prosecutors rather than rightsholders, continue to outnumber civil actions by a wide margin. It identifies three persistent challenges: the broad scope of penal provisions that encourage routine resort to criminal law; procedural burdens that disincentivize private civil suits; and the increasing complexity of digital and cross-border infringements. The authors argue that Thailand should recalibrate its penal provisions—reserving criminal enforcement for egregious, large-scale, or wilful violations—and strengthen civil pathways and alternative dispute-resolution options for the remainder. Such targeted reform would preserve strong deterrence where it is truly needed, reduce unnecessary strain on criminal-justice resources, and better align IP enforcement with principles of proportionality, innovation, and public access to knowledge. By doing so, Thailand can bolster investor confidence, enhance its international reputation, and ensure a balanced, forward-looking IP regime that supports sustainable economic and social development.