Thailand has adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

Thailand has not adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

According to the Trade Secrets Act, trade secrets can be in any means or any medium which conveys a statement, story, or fact in formula, form, compilations, or assembled works, programs, methods, techniques, or processes (Section 3). The disclosure or use of trade secrets by a governmental agency that supervises the maintenance of trade secrets shall not be deemed as an infringement of rights in trade secrets in the following cases:
- When it is necessary to protect the health or safety of the public, or;
- When it is necessary for the benefit of the public, not for a commercial purpose, the governmental agency must proceed under the procedure to protect such trade secrets from being used in unfair trading activities (Section 7.2).

The Trade Secrets Act (TSA) provides a framework for effective protection of trade secrets. Any “trade information”, such as an instrument of statements, facts, or other information that meets the following three requirements, is protected as a trade secret:
- It is confidential, i.e. the trade information is not being publicly known to or accessible by persons who are not related to the trade information;
- It has a commercial value derived from its secrecy;
- Its secrecy is protected by its owner/controller, who has taken appropriate and sufficient protection measures to maintain its secrecy.
In practice, a non-disclosure agreement is commonly used to safeguard and maintain the secrecy of a trade secret.
If there is a dispute concerning the trade secret because a person infringes its secrecy, the trade secret owner can submit the dispute to the Trade Secret Committee for mediation and settlement. Alternatively, they can file a lawsuit in court against the infringer for interim and permanent injunction orders and compensations for actual damages and punitive damages. The lawsuit must be filed within three years from the date on which the infringement act and the infringer are known or within 10 years from the date of the infringement act.

Thailand is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). However, the country has been an observer of the WTO GPA since 2015.

According to Section 4 of the Budget Procedure Act, foreign companies are prohibited from acquiring shares exceeding 50% in publicly controlled firms or state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

The Foreign Business Act (FBA) of 1999 governs foreign investment in Thailand. The act defines "foreigner" as any company with at least 50% foreign-owned capital or shares, or any limited partnership or registered ordinary partnership where foreigners hold managerial control. Under the Telecommunications Business Act of 2001, foreign applicants are prohibited from obtaining Type 2 and Type 3 telecommunications licenses, limiting foreign ownership in these sectors to 49%.
Additionally, the 2011 Foreign Dominance Notification, enforced by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), establishes criteria for foreign dominance in the telecommunications sector. The regulation restricts foreign dominance, prohibiting actions like holding 50% or more of voting shares, controlling majority votes at shareholder meetings, or appointing or removing half or more of a company's directors. Prohibited behaviours also encompass dominance through shareholders, voting rights, controlling power, financial relationships, intellectual property agreements, procurement arrangements, joint business operations, and transfer pricing.

List 3 of the Foreign Business Act includes industries in which "Thai nationals are not yet ready to compete with foreigners". These are open to foreign investors provided they receive a licence from the Director-General of the Department of Business Development of the Ministry of Commerce and approval from the Foreign Business Committee. A wide range of businesses are covered under List 3, including advertising businesses. A foreign company can engage in List 3 activities if Thai nationals hold a majority of the limited company’s shares. Any company with a majority of foreign shareholders (more than 50%) cannot engage in List 3 activities unless it receives an exception from the Ministry of Commerce under its Foreign Business License application.

According to Section 16.2 of the Foreign Business Act (FBA) 1999, a foreigner intending to apply for a business license in Thailand must have a residence in the Kingdom or be permitted to temporarily enter the Kingdom. The Minister is empowered to issue Ministerial Regulations prescribing conditions to be observed by foreign license grantees, such as the number of foreign directors who must have a domicile or residence in the Kingdom or the period for maintaining the minimum capital in the country (Section 18).

According to Art. 5 of the Thai Foreign Business Act (FBA), when granting permission to foreigners to operate businesses under the Act, consideration must be given to both the beneficial and adverse impacts on national safety and security, the country’s economic and social development, public order, good morals, national values related to arts, culture, traditions, and customs, as well as the conservation of natural resources, energy, and the environment. Other factors include consumer protection, the size of enterprises, employment, technology transfer, and research and development.
Section 8 of the FBA outlines three categories of controlled business activities:
- List 1: Business activities that are prohibited to foreigners for specific reasons;
- List 2: Business activities concerning national safety, security, or those that affect arts, culture, traditions, customs, folklore handicrafts, natural resources, and the environment;
- List 3: Business activities in which Thai nationals are not yet prepared to compete with foreigners, such as the telecommunications sector (the Annex of the FBA provides detailed information on the businesses included in Lists 1, 2, and 3).

Foreign acquisition of a domestic, locally incorporated entity is allowed. Mergers in the telecommunication industry are regulated by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC or the NBTC). Regarding the notification, the following circumstances are considered a merger:
(1) a licensee or its controlling shareholder mergers with other licensees (when one licensee will cease to exist);
(2) a licensee or its controlling shareholder acquires wholly or partly the assets of other licensees;
(3) a licensee or its controlling shareholder acquires more than 30% of the total voting rights of another licensee or significant control over another licensee (Clause 2(5)).
Therefore, the acquirer must file a merger review petition to the NBTC at least 60 days before the execution. The NBTC may only grant permission to the acquirer to execute a merger that does not cause market dominance. In addition, the NBTC authorises the examination of the effect of a permitted merger on competition.
Regarding the notification of the significant market power, the significant market power (SMP) is defined as operator capability that may pose a barrier to competition in the relevant market. The NBTC shall assess the non-competitive markets and the markets that have barriers to competition. Moreover, the NBTC shall identify the significant market power operators as per the requirements laid down in this notification.

Pursuant to Art. 14 of the Foreign Business Act, any initial foreign investment is subject to a minimum capital requirement of THB 2 million (approx. USD 56.000). In the case of restricted businesses (including advertising), the requirement is equivalent to 25% of the total three-year average expected annual expenditure but not less than THB 3 million (approx. USD 84.000).

Section 14 of the Patent Act 1979 (amended in 1999) stipulates that an applicant for a patent must possess one of the following qualifications: (i) be a Thai national or a juristic person with its headquarters located in Thailand; (ii) be a national of a country that is a party to a convention or international agreement on patent protection to which Thailand is also a party; (iii) be a national of a country that permits Thai nationals or juristic persons with headquarters in Thailand to apply for patents in that country; or (iv) be domiciled in, or have an industrial or commercial establishment in, Thailand or a country that is a party to a convention or international agreement on patent protection to which Thailand is also a party.
To file patents, the Ministerial Regulation No. 21 states that if the patent applicant does not reside in the Kingdom of Thailand, the applicant shall authorise an agent or patent attorney registered with the Director-General of the Department of Intellectual Property to act on his behalf (Clause 13). Moreover, the Power of Attorney (POA) shall be attached with the revenue stamp of 30 Thai Baht (around 1 USD) for each patent agent/patent attorney/application. The POA document, if not in a foreign language, must be translated into Thai (Clause 15).

Thailand is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).