S&I International Bangkok Office Company Ltd. http://www.s-i-asia.com IP News No. 156, June 2018 Editorial Evergreening in medicine patents which cause unwarranted monopoly in vital drugs has been a problem in Thailand. Transnational drug manufacturers have tactics to obtain unmerited patent applications which lead to the high cost of healthcare and impeded the access to domestic generic drug. On May 8, 2018, the Supreme Court ordered to invalidate Valsartan, the drug for treatment of high blood pressure, after seven years in litigation. (Novartis Vs Silom Medical, Supreme Court case no.9832-9833/2560) To avoid abuse of patent by strictly screening, the Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) takes five to eight years for innovative step examination. The large patent examination backlog is attributable to the multinational pharmaceutical industry. However, the companies usually send threatening legal notices to generic companies seeking to produce a similar drug even if it is not yet certain that the patent will be granted. Meanwhile, the military government has exercising a special power to expedite the approval of patent applications with aim to eliminate the patent backlog problem. However, the public and organizations opposed as it could benefit evergreening patents. The group suggested that the power should be used to restructuring on efficiency of patent procedure in Thailand. In addition, the drug patent should promote invention instead of prevent access to essential lifesaving drugs for poor patients. Apapan S. Milde Patent Attorney 1. Experts slam monopoly by large companies through abuse of patents (From The Nation, Thailand, May 19, 2018) Bangkok An academic seminar by the Thai Drug Watch Centre highlighted the problem of patent evergreening. Original-drug manufacturers have used the evergreening tactic to sought patents for products that get some minor revamp, Dr Usawadee Sutapuk, a researcher and lecturer at Payap University s Faculty of Pharmacy said. The evergreening problem and
the Intellectual Property Department s workload would be reduced if major changes were made to the patent-review process, she added. This month, the Supreme Court ruled that Valsartan could not longer be patented after the original patent expires because the second patent involved just a manufacturing method that even pharmacy students knew about. 2. Supplement maker raided (From Bangkok Post, Thailand, May 22, 2018) Bangkok Police raided a company selling food supplement products believed to contain substances banned for use as ingredients. The police and officials from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found the food supplements under the brand Kalow. The tests on seized products found the contents were mixed with fluoxetine and orlistat, drugs which are banned for use in food supplements. Fluoxetine, also known by the trade names of Prozac and Sarafem, is an anti-depressant while orlistat is a drug for treating obesity. Authorities were investigating where the food supplement manufacturers obtained the two drugs. 3. Brands join creative push (From The Nation, Thailand, May 22, 2018) Bangkok Prominent companies in Thailand say they are committed to introducing innovative products and services not only for customers but to help the country advance under the technological vision of the government s Thailand 4.0 policy. Thai Samsung Electronics, Muang Thai Life Assurance Plc, Kasikornbank and True Corporation Plc were named the Marketeer No 1 brand at the Brand Thailand 2017-2018 Awards. Boonsueb Chanchamsri at Thai Samsung said the company emphasis three pillars product innovation, brand love, and value added and premium service. Sara Lamsam of the Muang Thai Life Assurance Plc said the award in the life insurance category is the result of hard working to know and to give right service for the different needs of customers. Kasikornbank won in the digital banking category due to working on digital transformation in every aspect since its organization restructuring. TrueOnline won the award in the category of Internet service provider. 4. Ivanka s China trademarks raise ethical issues: watchdog (From The Nation, Thailand, May 30, 2018) Shanghai Ivanka Trump was granted five business trademarks in China. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (Crew), the US watchdog, said the approvals raised
potential ethics issues. The applications had been submitted in March 2017 and give Ivanka s company trademark rights on goods including bath mats, textiles and baby blankets. Ivanka Trump Makrs LLC holds more than a dozen trademarks in China and has multiple applications pending, Crew said. Ivanka Trump has profits from her various branded products, of which China is a major supplier. 5. China, Japan test platform on Thailand (From Bangkok Post, Thailand, Jun. 1, 2018) Bangkok China and Japan signed an agreement to set up an economic platform to work together in Asean. Thailand will be the first country where the platform is rolled out. Industry Minister Uttama Savanayana said China and Japan are specially interested in investing in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC). Chinese and Japanese investors are looking at investments in R&D, Thailand s 10 targeted industries and EEC infrastructure investment including the high-speed railway linking three domestic airports, he added. Thai government expects the EEC scheme will create and generate US$43 billion in economic activity during 2018-2023 and plans to hold roadshows in Japan, South Korea, China and Europe to promote the corridor. 6. Local software piracy rate dips to 66% (From Bangkok Post, Thailand, Jun. 7, 2018) Bangkok Thailand s software piracy rate caused losses of US$714 million in 2017, reported the 2018 Global Software Survey by BSA. The research team found in Thailand 66% of software installed on computers was not properly licensed, down from 69% in 2015. The rate is still higher than Asia-Pacific s average rate of unlicensed software use, which is 57%. The reduction has been influenced in part by effective enforcement by the Economic Crime Suppression Division of the Royal Thai Police and a series of education campaigns concerning the risk of unlicensed software. 7. Academy aims to accelerate corporate culture of innovation (From The Sunday Nation, Thailand, Jun. 10, 2018) Bangkok RISE Academy is aiming to contribute 1 per cent to the country s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020. The academy built the success of over 1,000 start-ups with a combined valuation of Bt3 billion and providing experiential learning for up to 500 corporate executives, by teaching them how to create innovation. It also launches RISE Innovation
Week with an aim to create a community of corporate innovators in both government agencies and large corporates. The event will be a five-day meeting for corporations, startups and venture capitalists from across the region to meet and connect. 8. Huawei patent case shows courts increasing clout (From Bangkok Post, June 13, 2018) China A smartphone patent fight between Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. and Samsung Electronics Co Could reach a global resolution through a ruling by a Chinese court. Huawei filed lawsuits in both the United States and China in 2016, alleging Samsung used its cellular communications technology without authorization and has unreasonable delayed entering into a licensing agreement. Samsung has denied the allegations and accused Huawei of seeking grossly inflated licensing fees. The Intermediate People s Court of Shenzhen, China ruled for Huawei and issued an order blocking Samsung s Chinese affiliates from manufacturing and selling 4G LTE smartphones in China. 9. Philippines intensifies crackdown on fake cigarettes (From The Nation, Thailand, June 15, 2018) Manila The Department of Finance ordered Customs Commissioner and Internal Revenue Commissioner to intensify crackdown on the illegal trade of counterfeit cigarettes. An anticigarette smuggling strike team comprised of Bureau of Customs and Bureau of Internal Revenue operatives. The team seized one filter-making machine, four unlicensed cigarettemaking machines as well as six cigarette-packing machines in Pampanga. The team will find out from what country the machines originated and how the units were allowed by that country for export since these were most probably classified as controlled items. After the government raised the excise tax on cigarettes, smuggling became rampant under the tax reform. 10. Thai, Japan team up for robotics (From Bangkok Post, Thailand, June 15, 2018) Bangkok Thailand and Japan have entered into a joint agreement to form a consortium for the development of robotics specialists, with the aim of producing at least 1,400 people skilled in the field within three years. The consortium consists of the Industry Ministry, the Technology Promotion Association (Thailand-Japan), the Japan-Thailand Economic Cooperation Society, the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) Bangkok, and Japan s
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The time frame for cooperation is 2018-21. Uttama savanayana, the industry minister said the government would promote and support the usage of robotics and system integration (SI). We are confident that these systems can improve our small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in terms of productivity, efficiency and competitiveness he said.