Thailand rises in Global Innovation Index

Thailand has moved up two places in the 2024 Global Innovation Index (GII) to 41st out of 133 economies, driven by research and development spending by the private sector, says the National Innovation Agency (NIA).
The index, compiled annually by the World Intellectual Property Organization (Wipo), ranks global economies according to their innovation capabilities.
Thailand is amending its law on copyright, patents and geographical indication protections, as well as launching a fast-track registration process to align with international standards.
The country is also building its brand to gain global recognition in terms of intellectual property rights, said NIA executive director Krithpaka Boonfueng.
Thailand was stuck in 43rd place in the rankings from 2021-23, she said.
The country this year rose in the innovation input sub-index to 41st from 44th, and to 39th from 43rd in the output ranking. The improvements demonstrate the effectiveness of Thailand’s innovation inputs in generating greater outputs, noted the survey.
The country’s business sophistication factor also rose two spots to 41st.
Thailand has held the top position for share of GDP spent on R&D by businesses for five consecutive years. This reflects the commitment of the private sector to enhancing innovation capabilities through continuous investment in R&D.
Pattamawadee Pochanukulin, president of Thailand Science Research and Innovation, said the agency plans to support funding via various models, not only in academic fields, collaborating more closely with industries and startups.
She said the agency wants to widen the government market for startups.
Sacha Wunsch-Vincent, head of economics and statistics at Wipo, said Thailand should set up a GII national task force to promote innovation and update its progress every six months.
He said it would be a challenge for Thailand to climb beyond 40th place as the nation is competing with more developed countries with strong innovation.
However, Mr Wunsch-Vincent pointed to Thailand’s creativity, suggesting it build products and services that can become global brands or acquire global trademark recognition from intellectual property.
Nusara Kanjanakul, inspector-general of the Commerce Ministry, said the country needs to strictly enforce intellectual property rights and encourage the use of such rights and soft power, such as creating merchandise for crowds eager to catch a glimpse of the baby pygmy hippo Moo Deng.
Waritthi Teeraprasert, an expert in business strategy development and innovation at the Creative Economy Agency, said human development and area-based development are essential for promoting the creative economy, soft power and innovation.
This can then be applied to enhance the benefits and add value to products or services through design and creativity,while embracing heritage to strengthen cultural identity in specific areas.
Creating shared emotions, as demonstrated by the hit movie How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, can serve as an innovative tool for products, said Mr Waritthi.
Chiyawan Chongvatana, an expert in international intellectual property rights at the Department of Intellectual Property, said it uses artificial intelligence to assist auditors in validating data to accelerate the patent screening process.
The department aims for fast-track patent registration to reduce the time it takes to approve trademarks to within four months and patents within 12 months for targeted industries.