S44 ‘not fit’ for cannabis regulation

FTA Watch, a non-governmental body monitoring free trade agreements, has expressed its disapproval of the regime’s plan to invoke Section 44 to deal with contentious issues surrounding requests to patent marijuana extracts.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Monday he is drafting a Section 44-based order to deal with the issue. He, however, did not go into the details of the order.

Sources familiar with the issue nevertheless noted the order is likely to seek a middle ground between the requests for patents and those who oppose the move.

FTA Watch yesterday released a statement opposing such an order.

The body stated such an order goes against due process of law and conflicts with international principles.

The enforcement of the order would risk being disputed by foreign patent seekers, who may call for international arbitration in line with the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism to seek compensation, according to the organisation.

There is a strong likelihood that the Thai government would lose such cases, the group said.

The group said the root cause of the problem lies in the Department of Intellectual Property’s (DIP) ineffectiveness in enforcing its own law.

The agency failed to follow through on Section 9 of the Patent Act, which states natural extracts cannot be patented and Section 5, concerning properties of products that can be patented, which must be new or innovative, the body said.

According to FTA Watch, the government should force the DIP to follow through the law stringently.

Last week, Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong ordered the department to reject one patent request.

Advocacy groups are worried experts would be barred from conducting research into certain cannabis-based substances as companies that submitted patent requests will be given legal protection. This means the substances will be off-limits to researchers for up to five years after the department receives the companies’ applications.