On July 21, 2014, the Vietnam Government issued Decree 71/2014/ND-CP (Decree 71), which sets out the prescribed remedies for competition violations. Among these include sanctions in cases of antitrust, unfair dealings, and unfair competition. While these measures are a step in the right direction, they potentially conflict with last year’s Decree 99/2013/ND-CP on administrative sanctions in industrial property (Decree 99), complicating the enforcement of Decree 99.Conflicts with Decree 99

The Thai Trademark Act provides no restriction on the registration of marks that consist of Roman letters, Arabic numerals, mathematical symbols, scientific symbols, or abbreviations. However, in practice trademark registrars order that such elements be disclaimed or reject applications for marks consisting of such elements in their entirety on the ground that these elements are common or generic terms, or have general meanings. Therefore, many applicants simply decide to disclaim such elements in their marks in order to allow the registration process to continue.

Every year, numerous companies and individuals face criminal prosecution for violating Thai customs law. The penalties include significant fines and even incarceration. This can have a profound effect on both a company and its employees and agents, and even those who may have unintentionally violated customs laws.

Reports have been circulating since the beginning of this year that the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) is looking to make a number of changes to the Act on Organization to Assign Radio Frequency and to Regulate the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Services of 2010, also known as the Frequency Allocation Act. One of the most talked-about changes would involve Section 45, which deals with allocation of spectrum.

On April 22, the People’s Court of the city of Da Nang issued a decision ordering the revocation of the “lafarge.com.vn” domain name registered by a Vietnamese individual, giving Lafarge S.A. of France a 10-day “sunrise” period to register the domain name itself. This brought to a conclusion a five-year battle over cybersquatting and set a precedent for domain name cases in Vietnam.

As a business owner or manager, you need to know the basics of intellectual property (IP) protection. Otherwise, you may fail to put in place adequate safeguards for securing IP rights, and you may not be able to fully derive the benefits of exploiting your intellectual assets.In order to realise the benefits of IP fully, you should take it upon yourself to gain a complete understanding of the IP protection system.

Getting the Deal Through has published the latest edition of Dispute Resolution, a multi-jurisdictional guide to dispute resolution in 49 countries worldwide.

In order to expand the availability of life and non-life insurance policies to those who are unable to afford standard premiums, the Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC) has been promoting microinsurance in Thailand.