Directors and officers of both local and multinational companies in Thailand are subject to a complex array of legal duties and obligations. When things go wrong, company executives may find themselves named personally in civil suits, regulatory investigations, and criminal prosecutions, putting their assets and their livelihoods at risk. Understanding the local legal and regulatory environment is therefore essential for any director or executive working in Thailand. This article aims to answer some of the most common questions posed by directors.

Part and parcel of protecting and enforcing brand owners’ intellectual property is preventing counterfeit goods that infringe their rights from ever reaching consumers. One way in which this can be accomplished is through conducting raid actions, which eliminate counterfeit products from the market and deter further violations by infringers. Removing counterfeit products from the market also protects consumers, who may be unaware of their counterfeit nature, and who may fall victim to the potentially hazardous side effects of goods produced without appropriate levels of quality control.

Following adoption of the new Labor Code (in force since May 1, 2013), the government of Vietnam recently issued Decree 102/2013/ND-CP (Decree 102) elaborating the Labor Code’s provisions on foreign nationals working in the country. Under Decree 102, which took effect on November 1, 2013, employers using foreign workers will be required to submit an annual “foreign labor demand report” to the local authorities.

In the August 2013 issue of Informed Counsel, we updated readers on the return of talks about enacting legal measures against landlords whose acts contribute to copyright and trademark infringement committed by their tenants. Tilleke & Gibbins, in collaboration with the Department of Intellectual Property, is now making progress on this project as part of an initiative to introduce legal measures, which will hopefully contribute to significantly reducing copyright and trademark infringement in Thailand.

Myanmar is at an important political and economic crossroads. Spearheaded by the reform-minded government of President Thein Sein, Myanmar has set a path toward a more liberalized democracy, greater political reconciliation, and the promotion of a mixed, internationally linked economy.

Myanmar is in the throes of substantial political and economic reform. Investors are eager to engage in the economic opportunity Myanmar has on offer, but are understandably concerned about the lack of certainty in the legal process and particularly when it comes to the resolution of commercial disputes. One reason for such caution is the fact that during its extended period of isolation, there has been a substantial and near total absence of large scale commercial litigation in the Myanmar courts.

In Thailand, the government grants special privileges to certain types of business entities in order to incentivize their creation. One such type of business entity is the Regional Operating Headquarters (ROH), which benefits from a number of tax incentives.There are, however, some requirements that must be met before a company can be categorized as an ROH. First, the company must be incorporated in Thailand. Second, the company must conduct business in Thailand by providing support services to its associated companies and/or branches, wherever they may be.

It has become conventional practice throughout the world for countries with established systems of intellectual property to offer copyright protection for computer programs. Indonesia, for example, provides copyright protection for computer programs for a period of 50 years from the date of first publication.