Trademark Act to be amended to cover protection of sounds
PETCHANET PRATRUANGKRAI
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- THE GOVERNMENT will soon approve an amendment to the Trademark Act that adds protection to the sound of a product or service.

The draft bill also covered odours, but there were some objections, as the system, companies and agencies were not ready for that.

Nuntawan Sakuntanaga, acting director-general of the Intellectual Property Department, said yesterday that the wider protection would encourage innovation and inward investment.

The aim is also to cut red tape and the time required to register trademarks under both Thai laws and the Madrid Protocol, an international treaty to protect trademarks worldwide.

This bill will soon be proposed to the Cabinet and the National Legislative Assembly for ratification.

According to the draft, Thailand will allow enterprises to register the man-made sound of products that have a unique quality, such as those of a filmmaker or an ice-cream brand.

Natural sounds are ineligible.

The amendment will make the Trademark Act highly acceptable in the international arena, as many countries offer protection for sound.

The department has shortened the time to register a basic patent from one year to six months and also the time to give public notice for a trademark, patent or copyright from 90 days to 60 days.

Inventors have to advertise their innovation before getting approval to ensure it will not be duplicated by others.

The department will stringently punish unscrupulous businesses that use the trademarks of other companies' shampoos, soaps or sauces and refill containers with other substances for resale.

The Commerce Ministry will hold the second "Top Thai Brands" fair from September 30 to October 4 in Udon Ratchathani to promote the products and services of local small and medium-sized enterprises to international traders, especially from neighbouring countries.

The event is expected to host more than 90 Thai and foreign exhibitors, generate more than Bt100 million in immediate sales and draw more than 50,000 visitors.

A variety of products and services will be displayed such as foods and beverages, garments, healthcare and beauty products, handicrafts, agricultural products and processed food, automobiles and machines, and services.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Trademark-Act-to-be-amended-to-cover-protection-of-30269265.html


-- The Nation 2015-09-22

Get in quick and trademark that 'booooiiiinnnnnggggg!!!!!' on the TV soaps

I produce farts using unnatural means, specifically som tam laos with MSG and bicarbonate of soda washed down by a cold Chang beer. I want to trademark the high-pitched squally squishy sound and sell it to Thai Soap Operas. It's an alternative to the Timpani drum for "surprised" faces.

This will be a fun thread.

"The draft daft bill also covered odours, but there were some objections, as the system, companies and agencies were not ready for that."

Neither were my my buddies in the back of an Army truck back when I was eating Army food!

They (Thai folks) have never been around me before they invented Nexium. I should have bottled & patented those smells!

--------------------------------

Now if they could just ban some sounds such as those teenagers riding around with 97 speakers all over their trucks.... That would be cool.

The Govt. should look into drafting a bill for noise pollution in Thailand...

I produce farts using unnatural means, specifically som tam laos with MSG and bicarbonate of soda washed down by a cold Chang beer. I want to trademark the high-pitched squally squishy sound and sell it to Thai Soap Operas. It's an alternative to the Timpani drum for "surprised" faces.

My 82 year old Aunt (she's cool as hell - wish she was my Mom), was telling me about when she was young & out on a date at what is now a state park in Florida in 1950 or so.

She said a "Hollywood movie crew" came in to record all the night time wildlife noises to use in their movies. I thought that was cool.

I grew up right next to a swamp, though on a bit of a hill looking down at it.....there was not, and still is not a house for 5 miles north of where I grew up.

Mom still lives there. The nights noises are too cool.

Thai mosquitoes........they leave me alone. I'm immune to mosquitoes. They were the size of bees where I grew up.

The Govt. should look into drafting a bill for noise pollution in Thailand...

You reckon???

They most likely already have. Just it's buried in the rule book & they don't enforce it.

Theres 1 thai soap that uses the first few bars from the Simpsons theme as a sound effect... that must be copyright infringement, unless FOX loves the thai soaps.

Get in quick and trademark that 'booooiiiinnnnnggggg!!!!!' on the TV soaps

I was working in Pathum Thani right after the 2011 floods. I had a 15 minute drive to work every morning & I'd try to listen to the radio.

All I got was 15 minutes of "booooooooooiiinnnnnnnnggggggg!!!!!!!!!" on the radio, interspersed with how well the rice scam, errrr... scheme was going. Next it would go "boooooooooiiiiiiiiinnnnggggggg!"

I've met Thai bar girls in Pattaya that spoke better English than the university educated radio folks. It was sad.

All I wanted was some Doobie Brothers to start my day.

Get in quick and trademark that 'booooiiiinnnnnggggg!!!!!' on the TV soaps

Was EXACTLY what I was thinking when I saw the headline. If you trademark that one, I shall trademark the penny whistle glissando and laugh track.

The Govt. should look into drafting a bill for noise pollution in Thailand...

Quit making sense your giving me a headache (some guy outside is playing with his new toy the car alarm)

Considering all sounds are 'natural' in origin, and those formed into music are often plagiarised by the likes of ice cream merchants, anyway, application of this law should prove interesting , to say the least.

Heaven knows how they plan to eventually bottle and trademark odours.

BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, as they will never reveal how much money they spent and,

will of course, announce, without any evidence, that the program was a

howling success !

To register a trademark, you must be able to represent the mark graphically. This requirement becomes more complex when applied to sounds and scents but not impossible.

Obviously, existing sounds and scents in the public domain and nature cannot be trademarked.

Some famous trademarked sounds: http://mentalfloss.com/article/65162/18-sounds-you-probably-didnt-realize-were-trademarked

What about the pro-government adverts on TV that use a corrupt version of "Auld lang syne"? Or are we to believe this is an original Thai folk song?