Govt to tout IPR credentials in US
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Commerce and Public Health ministry officials will visit the US next month in an effort to convince Washington to remove Thailand from the US Priority Watch List of countries with poor intellectual property rights (IPR) protection.
The Kingdom has been on the list since 2007.
Led by Deputy Commerce Minister Siriwat Kachornprasart, the trip is scheduled for February 13-18, ahead of April’s review of the US National Trade Estimate report.
Pajchima Tanasanti, director-general of the Intellectual Property Department, said the minister would try to convince the United States that Thailand has made a strong effort for more than five years to improve its IPR protections and raise public awareness on the issue. The message is that Thailand should be rewarded with an upgrade in its trade status, the official said.
“I strongly believe that the US will consider upgrading our trade status once we demonstrate our suppression of IPR violations and increased awareness of IPR in recent years. Thailand has also enacted laws related to IPR protection as stringent measures to end infringement,” Pajchima said.
Thailand hopes to be upgraded from the Priority Watch List to the Watch List (WL) after highly developing suppression of piracy during its years in the lower category. If the US upgrades Thailand’s status next year to WL, the country will not lose export privileges under the Generalised System of Preferences.
The Public Health Ministry is included in the mission to clarify the Kingdom’s position on drug patents, as the US expressed serious concerns after Thailand announced compulsory licensing. Thailand will study the patent system of the US and will sign a memorandum of understanding on patent cooperation during the mission, Pajchima said.
Pajchima added that the minister will also explain that the Thai government fully supports stringent laws related to IPR to punish violators, something the US wants to see from Bangkok.
Two soon-to-be-enacted pieces of legislation, one to clamp down on camcording and one on copyrights, will persuade the US that Thailand has tried hard to protect intellectual property rights, the official said.
Thailand will also amend the draft act to prevent patent infringement on the Internet, Pajchima said.
