Deputy Commerce Minister Visits DC

Deputy Minister of Commerce, Mr. Poom Sarapol, lead Thai delegations from the Department of Intellectual Property to Washington, DC during Feb 12-15, 2012 for the purpose of supporting the review of Thailand Intellectual Property Rights situation according to the Special 301 provision of 2012. The delegations had met with various agencies both public and private such as USTR, USPTO, Pharma and IIPA to discuss the improvement of Thailand’s IPR situation over the past years and the meetings received a satisfactory outcome.

During the visit, Mr. Sarapol witnessed the Memorandum of Bilateral Cooperation signing ceremony between the Director General of Thailand’s Department of Intellectual Property, Mrs. Patchima Tanasanti, and Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Mr. David Kappos. The Memorandum of Bilateral Cooperation will strengthen ties between both agencies in the areas of training and capacity building, promoting the importance of IP innovation and economic growth and IP information and best practice exchange.

Mr. Sarapol had also met the Deputy USTR, Ambassador Demetrios Marantis, to discuss the significant improvements concerning the IPR situation in Thailand. One of the major accomplishments during the past year is that Thailand had developed the proactive plan on Prevention and Suppression of IPR violation 2012-2015. This plan shall be comprised of various measures aimed at enhancing the fight against IPR violations, to include policy and structure development, legislative reviews and public awareness activities.

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