Patent Act Section 6 — Novelty and prior art

An invention is new if it is not part of the prior art (งานที่ปรากฏอยู่แล้ว). Prior art includes an invention already publicly available or in use in Thailand before the filing date; one disclosed in a published document or publication in or outside Thailand before filing, including by exhibition or other public disclosure; one already patented or petty-patented in or outside Thailand before filing; one applied for outside Thailand more than eighteen months before filing and not yet granted; and one applied for in or outside Thailand and published before the Thai filing date. A disclosure that arises from an unlawful act, or that is made by the inventor (including display at an international trade fair or an official public exhibition), within twelve months before filing is not treated as a disclosure under the published-document limb.