National—
On February 5th, 2024, Mr. Phumtham Wechayachai, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce, issued an order to the Thai Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) to investigate a case in which Thai elephant pants were illegally imported from China and neighboring countries, being sold at popular tourist attractions at lower prices.
Thai elephant pants and other Thai unique design pants such as Korat Cat recently registered copyrights as Thai intellectual property, according to the DIP officials.
Thai elephant pants gained tremendous popularity and were in the top trends on X. However, there were illegally imported elephant pants from China and other neighboring countries in a massive amount selling at lower prices, causing controversy on social media.
After receiving an order from the Minister of Commerce, the DIP officials launched an inspection on counterfeit elephant pants in famous tourist districts and informed vendors to understand the importance of intellectual property to protect the interests and creativity of the Thai people.
Furthermore, the DIP and Customs officials intensified an inspection measure on imported goods at the Thai border and integrated with relevant agencies to deter counterfeit products on local markets including other Thai intellectual properties.
