On February 15, 2022, Thailand’s cabinet approved in principle a package of incentives to promote electric vehicle (EV) adoption in Thailand, with the aim of making the country an EV manufacturing hub in Asia. A week later, the cabinet approved further draft regulations including specific information on customs duty reductions and exemptions for certain types of imported EVs. The plan includes both tax and non-tax incentives from 2022 until 2025. In the first two years (2022–2023), the package incentivizes the widespread use of EVs in Thailand by providing exemption or reduction of import duties and excise tax, as well as subsidies to increase the demand for EVs and attract investment in the EV industry. These incentives will cover the importation of completely built up (CBU) cars and motorcycles, and the local manufacturing of completely knocked down (CKD) vehicles in Thailand. For the following two years (2024–2025), the plan promotes the use of domestically produced EVs by eliminating the exemption or reduction of import duties for CBU vehicles while maintaining the other incentives (e.g., reduced excise tax rates, and subsidies). The aim of this is to make the cost of CBU vehicles higher than locally produced vehicles to encourage operators to produce EVs in the country to meet increasing demand. Additional measures encourage the manufacturing of EVs in Thailand, including exemption of import duties for parts imported between 2022 and 2025, and treatment of the value of imported battery cells as a cost of local manufacturing (up to 15% of an EV’s retail price). This is beneficial to local manufacturers of EVs, as their activities will be entitled to a more generous incentive package than importation of EVs. At their meeting on February 22, 2022, Thailand’s cabinet further approved draft subordinate regulations, including specific reductions and exemptions of customs duty

On February 14, 2022, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a public hearing period on proposed advertising regulations for digital asset businesses. The public hearing period is now open for general comments until March 15, 2022. In the announcement, the SEC expressed their intention to provide clear digital asset advertising principles that conform to regulations in other countries, such as Singapore, the UK, and Japan. The SEC, in a meeting on February 3, agreed that the principles to be developed should apply to all digital asset businesses operating in Thailand. During the public hearing period, any interested parties may comment on the SEC’s proposed principles, which include the following key points: Advertisements that educate, inform, or give facts about digital assets, investments or services, or that provide an overall picture of digital assets, must not exaggerate, distort, or conceal information, or otherwise mislead consumers. In addition, advertisements that refer to customer numbers must only indicate the number of customers who have received approval to open an account and who are ready to use the service. Advertisements must be clear and appropriate, provide a warning on investment risks, and include clear and noticeable SEC-mandated statements in the font size stipulated by the SEC. Advertisements that present positive information or suggest an opportunity to receive returns must provide a balanced view that also discloses negative information or states investment risks. Advertisements relating to cryptocurrencies can only be made via a business operator’s official channels (e.g., the operator’s website, app, or other official online channel), and cryptocurrency cannot be advertised in public areas (e.g., billboards, public transportation, websites, newspapers and periodicals, etc.). However, advertisements for the services of a digital assets business can still be made in public areas and other channels. For example, this can be understood as meaning that

The sale of counterfeit goods online is as damaging to government efforts and consumer safety as it is to the reputation of the e-commerce platforms and brand owners involved. In this guest piece, Andy Chua, senior vice president of the IP Rights Protection Team at e-commerce giant Lazada, joins Tilleke & Gibbins’ Suebsiri Taweepon and Ploynapa Julagasigorn to discuss how stakeholders can work together to combat the growing threat of counterfeits online – with recent efforts in Thailand a prime example of effective action. This article, which was first published in World Trademark Review, is the second in a two-part series about trademark enforcement against online counterfeits.   Technological developments, government policy and the covid-19 pandemic have brought about significant changes to the lifestyle and behaviour of ordinary consumers. Shopping increasingly takes place on e-commerce platforms as people become more familiar with online transactions, encouraging many sellers to turn their focus to online platforms. While this shift to online retail has brought benefits for many, it has also provided additional ways for sellers of counterfeit goods to peddle their wares. The sale of counterfeit goods online tarnishes the reputation of e-commerce platforms among users, compromises consumer trust in brand owners’ products and undermines public authorities’ efforts in enforcing anti-counterfeiting policies. This dynamic problem cannot be resolved by a single entity alone. Instead, all stakeholders need to work together to amplify their efforts in consumer and brand protection. Collaborating against counterfeits in Thailand We see such collaborations between stakeholders in regions such as Thailand, where the Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with various parties that are committed to combatting the spread of counterfeit products online. The inaugural signing ceremony for the MOU was held on 11 January 2021, with 20 initial signatories drawn

This article discusses the anticipated challenges and opportunities for IP rights owners operating in the metaverse.