On Thursday, October 21, 2021, two attorneys from the intellectual property department in Tilleke & Gibbins’ Bangkok office will present a Thai-language webinar on the importance of trademarks for garment manufacturers. Ploynapa Julagasigorn, senior associate, and Waralee Sripawadkul, associate, will team up to address trademark registration in Thailand and abroad. In the first part of the webinar, Ploynapa will cover trademark registration in Thailand, focusing especially on the importance of trademark registration, legal rights, distinctive qualities of successful trademarks, procedures, registration duration, and enforcement.  She will also outline procedures in civil trials, criminal trials, and alternative dispute resolution. Waralee will then present on trademark registration in other countries. She will explain the importance of a trademark validation outside of Thailand, discuss application requirements, advise on how to properly prepare an application, and share practical advice on issues that brand owners should be aware of. This webinar, which is organized in conjunction with the Thai Garment Manufacturers Association (TGMA), will provide brand owners with a clear understanding of how to acquire trademark protection in order to fully protect their intellectual property in Thailand and internationally. Attendance is free for TGMA members and THB 700 for nonmembers. To attend, please complete the webinar registration form.

On September 16, 2021, the Thailand Recognized Group of the Asian Patent Attorneys Association (APAA) elected councilors and standing committee members for the new term, and six attorneys from Tilleke & Gibbins across nearly all IP practices won places on APAA Thailand’s various committees and executive bodies: Darani Vachanavuttivong – APAA Thailand Council Wiramrudee (Pink) Mokkhavesa – Anti-counterfeiting Committee Sukontip Jitmongkolthong – Copyright Committee Napagate Ratana – Design Committee Suebsiri Taweepon – Emerging IP Rights Committee Peeyakorn Suparugbundit – Patent Committee The APAA advocates for intellectual property protection throughout Asia by fostering connections among IP professionals and organizations, cooperating with other organizations in the region, and arranging activities for members to promote understanding of IP laws in Asia. For more information on the APAA, please see the APAA website.

The Cambodia chapter of the ASEAN Intellectual Property Association (ASEAN IPA) recently held elections for the leadership team for the 2021–2023 term, and on September 16, it was confirmed that Sokmean Chea, an associate in Tilleke & Gibbins’ Cambodia office, has been reelected as a councilor of the association. The ASEAN IPA—of which Darani Vachanavuttivong, co-managing partner of Tilleke & Gibbins, is the president—promotes intellectual property issues and the importance of enforcing intellectual property rights in the ASEAN region. The association builds cooperation and understanding among legal and business experts who are concerned with intellectual property in the ASEAN countries, in order to encourage the development and protection of intellectual property in the ASEAN countries. Each country in ASEAN has its own national chapter, charged with carrying out the ASEAN IPA mission on a national level and marshalling support for the association’s regional initiatives. As one of three councilors on the five-person ASEAN IP Cambodia executive leadership team, Sokmean will provide guidance and oversight of the Cambodia chapter’s activities for the 2021–2023 term. For more information about the ASEAN IPA, please see the ASEAN IPA website.

Andrew Stoutley, chief operating officer of Tilleke & Gibbins, provided a lengthy quote to Asian Legal Business (ALB) for a recent feature on how law firms in Southeast Asia are increasingly using data analytics and information to drive their business strategy. The article featured contributions from a number of partners and executives from firms across Southeast Asia on the different ways that their firms are applying data to their operations and incorporating information and analytics into their strategic decision-making processes. In his contribution, Andrew explained that as technology has become central to virtually all operations at Tilleke & Gibbins, metrics and data have been harnessed to inform decisions at all levels. To illustrate this, he gave the example of a broad strategic planning process that the firm has undertaken to lay out strategy for the coming years. Identifying and gathering key quantitative and qualitative data points was crucial to the process, which considers every element of the firm’s planned operations for the next several years. Andrew went on to discuss the importance of determining how best to share the data with the relevant stakeholders, such as through visualizations or dashboards that allow staff to monitor the progress of operations. The other informants for the article reported a similar uptick in reliance on data—such as in competitive intelligence, billing, and matter management—and emphasized the necessity for firms to recognize the value of data as a resource that must be protected and used wisely. The full article is available on page 4 of the September 2021 issue of ALB.