Under new Food and Drug Administration requirements, certain cosmetic products may need to be reclassified and re-registered. Previously, there had been three categories of cosmetics: general cosmetics, controlled cosmetics, and specially controlled cosmetics. Under the ASEAN Harmonized Cosmetic Regulation Scheme, all cosmetic products will need to be registered with the Thai FDA within the controlled cosmetics category, and the other two categories will be eliminated.

Unlike trademarks or patents where registration is required to obtain full legal protection to help verify ownership, qualified copyright works enjoy protection under the Thai Copyright Act from the moment of creation of the work by the originator and do not require registration. Like most countries, Thailand recognizes the creation of a copyright work once an idea is expressed into some tangible medium of expression. Again, as in many countries, no registration procedure is available in Thailand except for a mere recordation.

When an applicant lacks a true understanding of the intended purpose of the patent system, has little or no experience in drafting a specification, and is not knowledgeable in patent laws and regulations, the chances his applications may be rejected based on avoidable grounds are high. This article examines a number of applications that demonstrate the dangers inherent in a weak grasp of applicable patent laws and deadlines.

This chapter provides an overview of dispute resolution procedures in Thailand in a question-and-answer format. Topics covered include how to initiate proceedings, timetables, remedies, and appeals, as well as information on arbitral proceedings.

Circular 22/2009/TT-BYT issued by the Ministry of Health, effective May 24, 2010, has clarified certain issues related to intellectual property rights and drug marketing approval in Vietnam. The Circular emphasizes that the applicant for marketing approval for a drug shall be responsible for any infringement of IPRs used on or in relation to the drug. Consequently, proof of IP cleanness for a drug, such as search reports, registration certificates, or application acceptance decisions, is no longer required by the Drug Administration of Vietnam for obtaining drug marketing approvals.

In Thailand, Registrars seeking to solve the problem of a mistakenly registered trademark may call upon the solution in Section 61 of the Thai Trademark Act, which permits the Board of Trademarks to re-examine such marks. Based on this section, the Board conducts re-examinations on distinctiveness, dissimilarity, and morality grounds only when an authorized person, limited to either an interested person or a Registrar, files a cancellation petition to the Board citing Section 61.

Copyright Litigation, published by The European Lawyer Reference, provides guidance to parties who find themselves involved in copyright litigation in a foreign country or in multijurisdictional disputes. The Thailand chapter provides an overview of how copyright cases are tried in the jurisdiction by examining sources of law, the court system, enforcement options, civil procedures, final remedies, appeals, and more.

Traditionally, consumers involved in commercial disputes filed lawsuits seeking damages for the defendant’s wrongdoing. Consumers were limited to seeking actual damages, which were deemed compensatory and which arose proximately from breach and/or wrongdoing of the defendant.