BANGKOK, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Applications for intellectual property (IP) protection in Thailand rose 9.59 percent year on year to 61,288 in the first nine months of 2026, official data showed on Monday, reflecting the growing use of IP by Thai and foreign businesses to gain a competitive edge.
According to the Commerce Ministry's Department of Intellectual Property (DIP), registrations granted across trademarks, invention patents, petty patents, and design patents rose 6.34 percent from a year earlier to 43,379 during January-September.
Trademark applications, the largest category, climbed 10.76 percent to 45,696. Retail and marketing services, health and herbal products, and cleaning and beauty products led the filings. Thai applicants made up 56 percent of trademark filings.
Invention patent applications rose 3.98 percent to 6,483, and foreign firms filed 87 percent of them.
Petty patent applications jumped 18.16 percent to 4,313, with Thai applicants accounting for 94 percent, led by universities and state research agencies. Design patent applications were nearly flat at 4,796.
Voluntary copyright notifications surged 63.71 percent to 17,176 works, most notably literary works, including computer programs.
DIP Director-General Jittima Srithaporn said the department aims to make IP protection more effective and better suited to trade and investment needs, build confidence among applicants, and support the commercial use of IP.
The department will also keep improving its IP protection and services, using digital technology and artificial intelligence to raise efficiency, link up data, and make the system easier for the public and businesses to use, Jittima said in a statement. ■
