In Vietnam, granted patents can be amended under provisions found in Article 97 of the Law on Intellectual Property (IP Law). Under Article 97, a patent owner has the right to ask the National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP) to amend a granted patent for any of the following reasons:

Condominiums have long been one of the most popular properties for people living in Thailand’s big cities. The different units in a condominium are individually owned, while common properties, such as lobby areas or swimming pools, are jointly owned by the owners of individual condominium units.

The Thai government has focused on updating the Labor Protection Act (LPA) this year. The LPA was first amended on January 24, 2017. More recently, on June 29, the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) has approved further amendments that are now pending Royal endorsement. With the goal of encouraging local businesses and foreign investors to protect employees, the amendments address issues that the LPA did not fully cover in its previous form.Important provisions in the amendments to the LPA include:

On June 17, 2017, the Petroleum Act (No. 7) B.E. 2560 and the Petroleum Income Tax Act (No. 7) B.E. 2560 were both enacted, amending their predecessor laws. The amendments to both statutes entered into force on June 23, 2017. The amendments had been anticipated for some time, introducing production sharing agreements (PSAs) and service contracts as alternative host government instruments by which upstream oil and gas producers may invest in Thailand.

Bad faith trademark filings are not uncommon in Vietnam. In fact, bad faith is often included under the label of “dishonesty basis” as a ground for opposition or cancellation of a trademark application/registration. Generally speaking, bad faith is deemed to occur when an applicant intentionally registers a trademark to benefit from the goodwill and reputation associated with the trademark of another owner. Some notable issues of bad faith trademark filings in Vietnam are discussed below.

The Thai Customs Act was enacted in 1926, and has undergone several changes during the past nine decades of its existence. Despite the amendments, however, some provisions in the Act continued to pose problems for importers, exporters, and business operators.

On June 12, 2017, the Ministry of Commerce issued Notification 36/2017 to permit foreign-owned companies to trade and import fertilizers, seeds, pesticides, hospital equipment, and construction materials that are prescribed under the Myanmar Harmonized System (HS) commodity code. Previously, only local companies and local-foreign joint ventures were allowed to engage in such trade. The relaxation of restrictions is intended to obtain quality goods for the nation’s agricultural, healthcare, and infrastructure sectors.

The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has passed Order 21/2560 to amend laws to facilitate doing business in Thailand, with the order entering into force on April 4, 2017.Among the amended laws is the Civil and Commercial Code, which now contains a new condition in Section 1201 that requires payment of dividends by a private limited company within one month from the date of resolution made by a shareholders’ meeting or board of directors’ meeting, as the case may be.