Attorneys from Tilleke & Gibbins’ intellectual property group in Bangkok have contributed the Thailand chapter to the recently published second edition of International Copyright Law: A Practical Global Guide. The updated edition of the book, which was first published in 2013, contains in-depth chapters on the legal framework for copyright from specialists in over 30 jurisdictions worldwide. The Thailand chapter was written by Ploynapa Julagasigorn, senior associate; Darani Vachanavuttivong, managing partner and managing director of the firm’s intellectual property group; and Suebsiri Taweepon, partner. The chapter outlines the types of work that can be protected, formalities for and duration of protection, rules relating to the ownership of copyright works, and infringement. The topics are as follows: Copyright treaties and conventions: Berne Convention and TRIPS Agreement. What can be protected: Work definition, criteria, and specific works. Formalities for protection: Thailand’s Department of Intellectual Property. Duration of protection: Literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, photographic, and audiovisual works; audio and video broadcasts; sound recordings; cinematographic work; applied art; and computer programs. Ownership of works: Initial ownership, commissioned works and works made in the course of employment, and assignment and licensing. Infringement: Primary and secondary infringement. Rights: Moral and performers’ rights. Defenses: Fair dealing/use, private use, internet safe harbors, temporary copying, and other key defenses. Enforcement of foreign copyright: Application of Copyright Act to works by foreign creators, judicial procedures, and penalties. International Copyright Law: A Practical Guide helps counsel and other professionals at multinational companies understand the varying copyright laws and practices in jurisdictions around the world, and is a resource for private-practice lawyers doing copyright-related intellectual property work. For more details, and to order the guide, please see the Globe Law and Business website. An excerpt from the Thailand chapter is available as a PDF through the button below.

Attorneys from Tilleke & Gibbins’ offices in Vietnam have contributed the Vietnam chapter to Pharmaceutical Advertising 2022 from Chambers & Partners. Pharmaceutical Advertising 2022—the fifth annual edition of this practice guide—provides information on pharmaceutical advertising regulations in 18 jurisdictions around the world. The guidance is especially useful for pharmaceutical manufacturers looking to share their products and innovations with the public in a responsible, transparent way that is compliant with local laws. The Vietnam chapter specifically the following topics: Regulatory Framework for pharmaceutical advertising Scope of advertising and general principles Advertising of unauthorized medicines or unauthorized indications Advertising pharmaceuticals to the general public Advertising to healthcare professionals Vetting requirements and internal verification compliance Advertising of medicinal products on the internet Inducement and antibribery Gifts, hospitality, congresses and related payments Transparency considerations for pharmaceutical companies Enforcement of pharmaceutical advertising rules Tilleke & Gibbins also provided the Thailand chapter to this guide. Chambers & Partners’ Global Practice Guides provide in-house counsel with expert legal commentary focusing on practical legal issues affecting business, and enable readers to compare legislation and relevant procedures across a range of key jurisdictions. The full Pharmaceutical Advertising 2022 guide—including the Vietnam chapter—is available for free on the Chambers and Partners website. The Vietnam chapter is also available as a PDF through the button below.

Attorneys from Tilleke & Gibbins’ Bangkok office have authored the Thailand chapter in Pharmaceutical Advertising 2022 from Chambers & Partners. Pharmaceutical Advertising 2022—the fifth annual edition of this practice guide—provides information on pharmaceutical advertising regulations in 18 jurisdictions around the world. The guidance is especially useful for pharmaceutical manufacturers looking to share their products and innovations with the public in a responsible, transparent way that is compliant with local laws. The Thailand chapter covers the following topics: Regulatory Framework for pharmaceutical advertising Scope of advertising and general principles Advertising of unauthorized medicines or unauthorized indications Advertising pharmaceuticals to the general public Advertising to healthcare professionals Vetting requirements and internal verification compliance Advertising of medicinal products on the internet Inducement and antibribery Gifts, hospitality, congresses and related payments Transparency considerations for pharmaceutical companies Enforcement of pharmaceutical advertising rules Chambers & Partners’ Global Practice Guides provide in-house counsel with expert legal commentary focusing on practical legal issues affecting business, and enable readers to compare legislation and relevant procedures across a range of key jurisdictions. Tilleke & Gibbins also contributed the Vietnam chapter to the guide. The full Pharmaceutical Advertising 2022 guide—including the Thailand chapter—is available for free on the Chambers and Partners website. The Thailand chapter is also available as a PDF through the button below.

Attorneys from Tilleke & Gibbins wrote the Thailand chapter for Licensing 2022, a comprehensive guide from Lexology Getting the Deal Through to licensing in 17 countries around the world. Two specialists from Tilleke & Gibbins’ Bangkok office—Alan Adcock, partner and deputy director of intellectual property, and Kasama Sriwatanakul, senior associate—authored the Licensing 2021 Thailand chapter, which covers the following topics: Laws: Unfair Contract Terms Act, Trade Competition Act, pre-contractual disclosure, registration of international licensing, implied obligations, Civil and Commercial Code, Trademark Act, Patent Act, and Trade Secrets Act. Intellectual property issues: Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, PCT, TRIPs. Contesting the validity of licensor’s IP rights, invalidity and expiry of IP rights, evidence of use, licensing unregistered IP, opposability requirements, sub-licensing, co-owners, trade secrets, and copyright. Software licensing: Perpetual licensing, import/export restrictions, improvements and modifications, user restrictions, and legal developments. Competition law: Trade Competition Act, specific restrictions on licensing agreements, and significant court decisions. Indemnification, disclaimers, and damages: Prevalence and enforceability of indemnity provisions and contractual waivers of damages. Termination: Conditions, indemnity, agency, and impact on sub-licenses. Bankruptcy: Impact of licensee bankruptcy on licensor and vice versa, protection, and rights to terminate. Dispute resolution: Governing law, arbitration, enforcement, injunctions, contractual waivers Royalties and payments: Currency conversion, tax, remittance restrictions, and jurisdiction-specific payments. The Thailand chapter is available below as a PDF. Tilleke & Gibbins also contributed the Vietnam chapter to Licensing 2022. To browse all 17 jurisdictions covered by the guide, please visit the Getting the Deal Through website.

Attorneys from Tilleke & Gibbins have written the Vietnam chapter for Licensing 2022, a comparative guide from Lexology Getting the Deal Through to licensing law and practice in 17 countries around the world. Licensing 2022, a guide that provides an overview of a wide range of licensing relationships, including licensing of copyrights, trademarks, and patents; software licenses; technology transfer agreements; and franchise agreements. The book also addresses issues of royalties and other payments, taxes, competition law, and termination of licensing relationships. The Vietnam chapter was authored by Linh Thi Mai Nguyen, partner and head of Tilleke & Gibbins’ trademark team in Vietnam; Son Thai Hoang, trademark executive; and Chi Lan Dang, associate, of Tilleke & Gibbins’ trademark team, along with corporate and commercial senior associate Tu Ngoc Trinh, who has extensive experience in franchising and competition law. The Vietnam chapter is available below as a PDF. Tilleke & Gibbins also contributed the Thailand chapter to Licensing 2022. To browse all 17 jurisdictions covered by the guide, please visit the Getting the Deal Through website.

In recent months, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has made significant regulatory strides toward realizing its plan to allow small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and startups to access funding through public offerings. These SME and startup public offerings, or “SME-POs,” were first announced by the SEC in September 2021 and will take place on a new, dedicated secondary exchange. On December 29, 2021, the SEC issued new regulations setting out the requirements for SMEs and startups seeking to offer securities for sale to the public, and for listing securities on the newly created secondary market (which is named the “Live Exchange”). This was soon followed—on January 7, 2022—by an SEC announcement of a “New Year gift,” declining to set any fees for SMEs and startups that wish to raise funds through an SME-PO. While there were several notifications announced by the Capital Market Supervisory Board on December 29, 2021, two key notifications apply to SME-POs and the Live Exchange: Notification No. TorJor. 71/2564 re: Newly Issued Shares by Public Companies for Listings on Live Exchange and Securities Offerings on Live Exchange Notification No. TorJor. 75/2564 re: Post-obligations of Companies after Offering Newly Issued Shares for Listing on Live Exchange These notifications took effect on January 16, 2022. Under the new legal framework set out by the notifications, an SME-PO issuer must be structured as a public company, with no characteristics of an investment company (i.e., no activity related to investment in the business of other companies) or involvement in illegal activities. Businesses are also expected to receive similar tax benefits to entities that list securities on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) or the Market for Alternative Investment (MAI). The new regulations rely on an information-based approach, whereby general approval is granted without the requirement to apply for approval of the offering, no financial advisor

On February 9, 2022, the Director-General of the Department of Mineral Fuels (DMF) stated that the DMF is planning to request that the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Energy sign an invitation to open bids for Petroleum Exploration and Production Licenses in the Gulf of Thailand for the first time in 15 years. The DMF’s Chief Department expects that this auction, which will cover three offshore areas, could increase Thailand’s petroleum reserves, and it could lead to the possible discovery of new sources of petroleum for Thailand, which would boost the country’s energy resources, and reduce losses from energy imports. The plots in the Gulf of Thailand that will be auctioned in the 24th bid round are as follows: Plot No. G1/65 with a total area of 8,487 square kilometers. This area is divided into 2 sub-areas: Area A totaling 8,298.49 square kilometers, and Area B totaling 188.71 square kilometers; Plot G2/65 with a total area of 15,030 square kilometers; and Plot No. G3/65 with a total area of 11,646.67 square kilometers. This area is divided into 2 sub-areas: Area A totaling 11,028.22 square kilometers, and Area B totaling 618.45 square kilometers. Generally, Thailand initiates its concession and production sharing contract process with the announcement of an exploration area or a plot in the Government Gazette. Thereafter, the DMF Committee will consider and announce the invitation, so that private sector firms can submit their applications to receive respective rights. The DMF’s sub-committee will consider the applications by: checking the qualifications stipulated under Section 24 of the Petroleum Act; assessing the suitability of the exploration project; and determining the benefits which are offered by the applicant. After considering the requests, the DMF’s sub-committee will consider the petroleum laws and regulations, before submitting the matter to the Petroleum Committee—under the supervision of the Ministry of Energy—and the cabinet for

As internet availability and speeds have taken off in Thailand, more and more consumers in the country have adjusted their behavior by purchasing products through websites and online applications. However, they sometimes find that not all transactions turn out as expected. As online sales have increased, the number of disputes over these transactions has also continued to grow. Local news outlets are now reporting on the latest official response to this trend: a new division of the Civil Court designed to cope with the growing number of disputes from online transactions. The Honorable Chief Justice Piyakul Boonperm, president of Thailand’s Supreme Court, is aiming to expand internet shoppers’ access to justice by setting up a special division to work on cases involving online transactions. The announcement of the formation of this division was published in the Government Gazette on December 20, 2021, and the Civil Court announced shortly after that it would start operating on January 27, 2022. The announcement does not affect cases filed prior to January 27, 2022, and does not revoke plaintiffs’ rights to file cases through alternative legal means. The special division handles only disputes between buyers and sellers in an online transaction over a legal right or obligation related to consumption of goods or services in accordance with section 3(1) of the Consumer Procedural Act B.E. 2551 (2008) on what the law called “consumer cases.” This also includes bodies that can act on a consumer’s behalf by law, such as a consumer protection commission, association, or foundation approved by the Consumer Protection Commission. Only cases that can be handled remotely through the court’s electronic system fall within the scope of this announcement—cases that cannot be completely handled online will not be taken up by the new special division. Accordingly, parties must utilize the court’s e-filing system, and