Thailand at the Crossroads: Adopting Stringent Intellectual Protection for Economic Development?

Abstract

Thailand has immersed itself in the globalized trade and has relied on foreign direct investments for trade and economic development. Thailand has pursued bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements (FTA) with various countries to advance international trade and investments. In the FTA negotiations with the United States and the European Union, these countries have demanded Thailand to expand intellectual property (IP) law regime beyond the international standards required by the World Trade Organization (WTO) under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Thailand needs to maintain trade and investment relationships with the United States and the European Union, yet it is reluctant to accept the stringent IP standards. The Dissertation attempts to examine the impact of a stringent IP regime on Thailand’s economic development. The analysis identifies and focuses on factors that are important to Thailand’s economic growth. The large portion of this Dissertation examines possible impacts of the FTAs with the United States and the European Union on Thailand’s trade and investments as well as the impacts of the stringent IP regime as imposed in the U.S. and the EU FTAs on the public. The Dissertation reveals that stringent IP regime is not an important factor to attract foreign direct investment in Thailand. It also illustrates some detrimental effects stemming from the strict IP standards to the public in Thailand. The Dissertation argues that the strict IP regime in the U.S. and the EU FTAs is not suitable for Thailand’s economic development. As an alternative, the Dissertation proposes that Thailand should expand trade to potential partners in the region, as they are countries that do not require stringent IP standards like China and Southeast Asian countries. The Dissertation also suggests taking advantage of the current IP regime to transform Thailand into a creative economy by developing indigenous knowledge based on foreign technology transfers for sustainable economic development.