Trademark search and clearance in Thailand

A full search covers four things: (1) the Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) trademark register: all registered and pending Thai marks, identical and similar; (2) the WIPO Global Brand Database: international registrations designating Thailand; (3) ASEAN TMview: the combined ASEAN trademark registers; (4) Thai-script phonetic analysis: we transliterate your mark into Thai and search for prior marks that sound the same. Comprehensive searches add a review of unregistered use in the market. We analyze each conflict for visual, phonetic, and conceptual similarity under the DIP Examination Guidelines and Section 13 of the Trademark Act B.E. 2534.

A standard search starts from a complete brief (the mark, the Nice classes, and a description of the goods or services). A comprehensive search adds a market-use review and a registration strategy memo. Speed should not cost quality: a Thai-script phonetic conflict found before filing avoids a refusal late in examination.

It means the search found at least one prior mark where the Section 13 likelihood-of-confusion test weighs against you, so a DIP refusal is likely. Rebranding is one option, not the only one. You can (1) modify the mark: add a design element, change a word, or create more phonetic distance from the conflict; (2) negotiate a co-existence agreement with the prior owner if your goods or services are different enough; or (3) file anyway and argue your case in examination, the most expensive and least predictable path. When the prior owner is a foreign brand, Narai Partners handles option 2 through the IR Global network.

Yes. The DIP online search portal is public and free. Without trademark training, though, it is hard to (a) build phonetic-similarity searches in Thai script, (b) apply the Section 13 likelihood-of-confusion test in line with DIP guidelines and Supreme Court decisions, and (c) check the WIPO Global Brand Database and ASEAN TMview for foreign filings that could claim priority in Thailand. The portal gives you data; a professional search gives you a verdict on whether the mark can be registered. Most missed conflicts hide in that analysis step.

No. The DIP examiner makes an independent decision, and anyone may oppose the mark during the 60-day period after it is published. A thorough search finds the known obstacles before you pay the filing fee, so you decide with full information. Our clearance reports are professional opinions, not guarantees, and every report says so.

We advise on three options: modify the mark, negotiate co-existence, or proceed knowing the risk. If you modify the mark, we work with you on the change and run a targeted search on the new version before recommending filing. If co-existence is realistic, Narai Partners contacts the prior owner, through IR Global when that owner is a foreign brand. If you decide to proceed despite the conflict, we file with a strategy prepared for the examiner's objection we expect.

Narai Partners (Plizz Group) is the IR Global member firm for Thailand. Four differences: (1) coverage of the DIP register, WIPO, and ASEAN TMview plus Thai-script phonetic analysis, which most freelance agents do not offer; (2) a partner-led written verdict with legal analysis, not a database printout; (3) cross-border coordination through IR Global when conflicts involve foreign marks or filings in several countries; (4) one group for trademarks, company structure, accounting, and M&A advisory.

The mark itself (word, logo, combined mark, or a sound file for sound marks), the goods and services it will cover (in enough detail to assign Nice classes), where you plan to use it (Thailand only, ASEAN, or wider), and whether it is already in use anywhere in the world. If you have registrations or pending applications in other countries, send those too: they shape the search and any Paris Convention priority claim you may want to make.