When determining whether trademarks are identical or similar, trademark registrars and the Board of Trademarks used to be very consistent in their decision-making. In most cases, if a registrar refused to register a trademark and the applicant appealed the decision to the Board of Trademarks, the Board would typically confirm the registrar’s order and refuse to register that trademark. Only in unusual circumstances would the Board overturn an earlier decision by the registrar.

Myanmar still has no Trademark Act—a law was expected to come into effect in 2013, but was then postponed with as yet no firm date as to when it will be enacted. Despite this, many rights holders have already taken steps to protect their trademarks under Myanmar’s existing system by recording their marks with the Office of the Registry of Deeds and Assurances (RDA) under the Registration Act.

Kien Trung Trinh, senior attorney-at-law, and Tu Ngoc Trinh, attorney-at-law, in Tilleke & Gibbins’ Hanoi office, have co-authored the Vietnam chapter of The International Comparative Legal Guide to: Pharmaceutical Advertising 2015 (12th edition), a Q&A-style guide that provides practical, cross-border insight into pharmaceutical advertising across 35 jurisdictions. The Vietnam chapter covers the following main topics:

In Franz Kafka’s novel The Castle, the protagonist tries in vain to get in touch with a mysterious group of administrators who run a small village from a castle. The character is challenged to learn the constantly changing ways and customs of the castle’s imposing bureaucracy.

When registering a trademark in Thailand, applicants often face obstacles both in proving trademark distinctiveness and in avoiding citations for similarity to preexisting marks. Although the Thai Trademark Act allows trademark owners to prove distinctiveness through continual and honest concurrent use, this approach rarely succeeds.

On January 30, 2015, the Ministry of Finance introduced Circular 13/2015/TT-BTC guiding the implementation of regulations in the new Law on Customs on Customs enforcement against IP infringement. Circular 13 took effect on March 15, 2015, and, in line with the new law, brought about changes to the border control measures that had been in place in Vietnam for the past decade. Two months into the new regime, it appears that these changes, though seemingly not substantial, have increased the transparency as well as the effectiveness of Customs enforcement.

We are approaching the halfway mark of 2015, and many in the international business community—particularly those with investments in Southeast Asia—have questions about the current status of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).The AEC was originally scheduled to take effect on January 1 of this year, but member states pushed back the deadline to December 31, as many needed more time to prepare. With only half a year to go, this article will focus on Thailand’s laws and regulations and how they match up with the provisions of the AEC.

The first edition of Global Agriculture Law, a Q&A-style guide that provides detailed overviews of agriculture law worldwide, has been published. The guide covers key practical issues, including those affecting agricultural companies and cooperatives, land ownership and usage rights, tax and financing, crop seed business, plant variety right protection, GM crops, importing animals, gene patents, and product liability.The Thailand chapter, written by lawyers at Tilleke & Gibbins, delves into the following main issues: