Trademark Registration in Thailand

A company name is registered with the Department of Business Development (DBD) and identifies your legal entity. A trademark is registered with the Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) and protects your brand mark — the name, logo, or other distinctive sign used on goods or services. DBD registration does not prevent a competitor from using your name on their products. Only DIP trademark registration does.

Filing date and limited protection: within 2 working days of complete documents. First office action (if the DIP raises one): 6–14 months from filing. Full registration certificate: 18–20 months from filing under current DIP timelines. The examination cycle has not shortened despite 2024–2025 e-filing upgrades. Plan for 18–20 months from filing to registration; plan for 20–30 months if an opposition is filed.

Yes. Under the Trademark Act B.E. 2534, any party who believes they would be damaged by a pending registration may file an opposition within the 60-day window after the mark is published in the Trademark Gazette. An opposition suspends the registration process while both parties submit evidence and argument to the DIP. Narai Partners, through the IR Global network, has coordinated oppositions against foreign marks across multiple jurisdictions simultaneously.

The DIP issues an office action setting out the grounds for refusal — most commonly similarity to a prior mark under Section 13, or descriptiveness under Section 7. You have 90 days to respond, with one 90-day extension available. Responses include amending goods/services, submitting acquired-distinctiveness evidence, or arguing the marks are distinguishable. If the response fails, the applicant may appeal to the Trademark Board, then to the Intellectual Property and International Trade Court. The DIP filing fee is non-refundable regardless of outcome.

Yes — trademark protection is class-specific in Thailand under the Nice Classification 12th Edition (adopted by Thailand, effective January 2023). A Class 25 (clothing) registration does not protect your brand in Class 35 (retail services) or Class 43 (restaurant services). Most brands need 1–3 classes; portfolio brands may need 5–10. Plizz scopes the class list in the pre-filing strategy consultation and recommends the commercially necessary classes without inflating the filing cost.

Yes, unconditionally. There is no foreign-ownership restriction on Thai trademark registration. A foreign individual or foreign-incorporated company can own a Thailand trademark outright. Foreign applicants must appoint a licensed Thai trademark attorney or agent to file on their behalf — direct filing with the DIP without a local representative is not permitted. Narai Partners serves as the local agent and holds the Power of Attorney, which must be notarised in the home jurisdiction.

Under Trademark Act Section 13, the DIP examines phonetic similarity — including cross-script similarity between Roman and Thai characters. A mark that appears visually distinct in English may be phonetically identical in Thai transliteration, and the DIP has refused registrations on that basis. Thai-script phonetic analysis requires Thai-language trademark expertise; standard English-only searches or the DIP's online search tool do not catch these conflicts. This is the single most-missed step in self-filed or offshore-managed applications.

Narai Partners is the IR Global member firm for Thailand. IR Global is the international professional services network used by global counsel for cross-border IP coordination — trademark filings, oppositions, and enforcement across 150+ jurisdictions through trusted member firms. For a brand with international ambitions, the difference is between filing one mark in Thailand and managing a coherent global portfolio. Plizz Group's three-entity platform means trademark prosecution is integrated with company structure, accounting, and immigration — one accountability chain across the full back-office.