Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn was optimistic the United States will remove Thailand from the Priority Watch List soon.
She said the United States Trade Representative on 28 April 2017 announced the intellectual patent protection status among the US trade partners, which showed Thailand still on the PWL after having been listed since 2007.
She said that the US government will reevaluate Thailand’s status later this year if Thailand shows a positive development to address Washington’s concerns on copyright infringement issues, and that the US acknowledged Thailand’s intention to solve this issue and the establishment of an intellectual property roadmap.
The US government has expressed concerns about copyright infringement of retail products, both in stores and on line, and the delay in patent and copyright registration. Some concerns from the US will require cooperation between different organizations, such as the enhancement of protection to films and the protection to drugs and chemical test data, as well as an increase of public participation in the determination of public health policies. (NNT)
