The US Chamber of Commerce says intellectual property (IP) should be a top reform priority for the next government to increase the amount of foreign investment coming into Thailand.
There are three pieces of legislation still in the draft stage that the chamber said will improve the IP ecosystem: the Patent Law, the Copyright Law and the Technology Transfer Law.
"The longer it takes to adopt IP reform, the further behind the technology curve a country gets," said Ellen Szymanski, executive director of the Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) at the chamber. "In the next 3-5 years, I see huge socioeconomic benefits from these reforms."
Thailand ranks 42nd out of 50 countries surveyed by the GIPC in terms of quality of IP infrastructure. The US ranks No.1, while Japan is ranked eighth, the best in Asia.
Ms Szymanski said countries in the top third of the IP rankings are 38% likelier to get innovation funded and 39% likelier to attract foreign investment.
Despite its low ranking, Thailand has improved its score nominally over the six years of the survey, from 12.55 to 14.5 out of a total score of 40.
Competent IP licensing is important for scientists and researchers who make major breakthroughs but need a way to commercialise their findings. Thailand has too much red tape, Ms Szymanski said.
A lack of competent IP professionals is the greatest factor holding Thailand back, said Orakanoke Phanraksa, senior IP consultant at Thailand's National Science and Technology Development Agency.
"The major issue is a lack of human capital, not just legislation," she said. "Many research institutions lack IP professionals to get their findings patented. We need a programme to train these IP experts, and the Ministry of Education should provide scholarships for students to study IP law overseas like they do with doctors and engineers."
Ms Orakanoke was instrumental in crafting the Technology Transfer Law, legislation that will allow researchers or education institutions to own the IP from breakthroughs from government-funded grants in order to make the IP easier to commercialise.
She said the cabinet has already approved the law, and she hopes the new government will pass the law quickly if it doesn't get passed under the current regime.