Domnern Somgiat & Boonma Law Office Limited

Dom nem Somgiat & Boonma was established by Ina Wilhelm ina Jorgensen. B om in Bangkok on 14 November 1905,Ina was the youngest of the four children of Cad and Wilhelm ina Jorgensen, a Danish couple living in Thailand, which was then still known as Siam. At the age of 23 she joined the law firm of Tilleke & Gibbins as secretary to the partners, eventuallybecomingthe Office Manager. In 1931 Thailand's first Trade Marks Act was introduced, and the firm actively engaged in handling trademark prosecution on behalf of its clients. When the Second World Warbroke out in 1939 and subsequently affected Thailand, the partners, all British subjects, dispersed, leavingIna to look afterthe interests of thefirm
After the war ended in 1945, Brigadier Victor Henry Jaques, the last surviving partner, returned to Thailand to resume the law practice of the firm. On his retirement in 1947, he sold the name and part of the business to others and assignedthe trademark side of the businessto Ina, who then named it "Jorgensen & C o." At the outset, Briga dieaaques stillworkedin partnership withIna. When he died a few yearslater, she continued to keep the firm operating, serving clients with a sm all staff of about five people. The Trade Marks Act was at that tim e approaching its twentieth anniversary. Ina then enlisted Dom nem Garden of HarvardLaw School who ha d been a tined to the ThaiB ar. He in tum brouglt in form erRegistrar of Trademarks Som giat Sitthiski and later Chulalongkom Law School andColtmthia Law School graduate Boonm a Tejavanija. Ina retired in 1981 at the age of 76 and the firm becam e Dom nem Som giat & Boonm a a few years later.

When Thailand' sfirst Patents Act was introduced in 1979, the firm began practicing patent law. It employed a panel of chemists, engineers and experts from other scientific fields, most of whom were connected with a university. Through its foreign associates, it also began handingtra demadc and patent work outside Thailand, especially in Indo-China and other Southeast Asian countries.
Today, Domnern, as it is often called by friends and clients, has six partners consistingof five attorneys atlaw admitted to the Thai Bar, namely Rutom Nopakun, C hakrapat Mongkolsit, Kiat Poonsombudlert, Kongsoowan, and Som porn Liam paw, and a patent attorney with both legal and technical backgrounds.

Prabj ote Busdee. It ha s 135 full-tim em embers (includingthe partners) and76 outside ex pertsfrom varioustechrical fields with whom it consults regularly on technical issues. About 12.5% of all trademark applications filed in Thailand and50% of patent applicationsfiled by foreign companies in Thailand are handled by the firm. The firm also regularly handles trademark and patent work through associate firms in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanm ar (Bunn a).