Abstract:
This thesis studies the settlement of validity, infringement and ownership of intellectual property ("IP") disputes by the domestic arbitration agreed by the disputants. This research concludes that, in Thailand, there are the ambiguities in considering whether the three said issues of IP disputes are arbitrable according to Section 5 of the Arbitration Act B.E.2530 ("Arbitration Law") or not. It is caused by inexistence of court precedent and Thai legal scholars do not provide indication for interpreting whether the parties can agree to arbitrate the said IP disputes. Additionally, IP Laws and Establishment of IP Court Law cannot be used to clarify these ambiguities. The problems cause hesitation to the IP disputants in using the arbitration to settle their disputes because they are afraid that Thai court may consider those disputes are not arbitrable according to Section 5 of Arbitration Law, and may refuse to stay the proceeding or to enforce the arbitral award. The author proposes amendment of Section 5 of Arbitration Law to prescribe the non-arbitrable disputes to become the civil disputes violating public policy or required by law that it falls under the discretion of state official, and I would like to propose an approach for the Thai court to use in considering whether the parties can agree to settle the validity, infringement and ownership of IP disputes by arbitration or not. Should Thai court follow such approach, it can shed clarification that only the following IP disputes are not arbitrable: 1. the dispute the parties agree the arbitrator can revoke IP right if he consider it not valid because such dispute violates public policy; 2. the dispute the parties, having employment relationship, agree to arbitrate who own the copyright because such dispute violates public policy; 3. the dispute the parties agree to arbitrate who own the moral right because such dispute violates public policy; and 4. the dispute the parties agree to arbitrate the validity and ownership in grant procedure of patent and trademark because they are required by laws that they fall under the discretion of state official.