International headlines recently focused on a dramatic case of regulatory enforcement against an online pharmacy. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that a 33-year-old Thai woman was running a company with the website www.eDrugnet.com, along with at least 30 other affiliated websites. These sites sold drugs without prescriptions, despite the fact that prescriptions were required in the purchasers’ country. These e-pharmacy websites were hosted in Thailand and shipped drugs to the United States.

Almost everyone nowadays is familiar with the words “intellectual property” and “patents.” This is largely because intellectual property (IP) is a vitally important part of developing and maintaining a profitable business.Having recognized the importance of IP protection, you also need to understand the types of protection you can obtain and the benefits of each. There are several types of IP—including patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets—each of which offers different legal rights and protections.

The importance of protecting and enforcing your intellectual property (IP) rights can never be stressed enough. Without taking precautions, your business’s intellectual assets are more vulnerable to the threats of piracy, counterfeiting, and theft. Not only does this damage the growth and development of your business, but it poses serious health and safety risks to the public. Therefore, it is extremely important for business owners to be aware of the specific IP issues in every country in which they operate.

Pharmaceutical marketing is the term used to describe the business of promoting the sale of drugs or medicine. Due to the nature of pharmaceuticals and the potential impact that marketing could have on both patients and the health care profession, many countries have restrictions in place that limit advertising by pharmaceutical companies. One country that heavily regulates such practices is Vietnam; not only does it regulate advertisements in general, but it has a number of laws that specifically target advertisements in the health care sector.

In Thailand, individuals or entities that are eligible to hold ownership of land under the Land Code can acquire it by means of purchase, hire-purchase, gift, or inheritance. But there is one more way to obtain ownership of landed property, which does not require consent from the previous owner: adverse possession, colloquially known as “squatters’ rights.”

As part of Thailand’s efforts to join the Madrid Protocol by 2015, on March 1, 2013, the Thai Trademark Office announced the implementation of the 10th edition of the Nice Classification of Goods and Services for all new applications and renewals submitted after this date.

Secured transactions refer to transactions secured by collateral, which guarantees the fulfilment of an obligation to repay loans. Currently, Thailand recognises only a limited class of security that can be put up as collateral, effectively limiting the potential for greater credit availability in the economy. This article examines the types of security available under other jurisdictions as well as registration and common enforcement mechanisms with an eye towards potential use in Thailand.

James Evans, a senior consultant with the Tilleke & Gibbins intellectual property group and chair of the intellectual property committee of the European ASEAN Business Centre in Thailand (EABC), has authored a booklet that aims to deliver readers a concise and informative overview of intellectual property and trade-related issues in Thailand. James covers a broad spectrum of topics and illustrates with great accessibility the basic steps to commercialize intellectual property in Thailand. The guidebook is comprised of six chapters, each of which answers key questions in this area.