After more than three years of deliberation and consultation with multiple stakeholders and industry experts, Myanmar’s new Science, Technology and Innovation Law (No. 22/2018) (the Law) was finally enacted into law on June 25, 2018. The Law, which repealed the old Science and Technology Development Law (No. 5/1994), is set to introduce substantial changes to collaborative innovation practices in the country.    

In recent years, Vietnam has become a magnet for high-tech investment, especially in the areas of mobile phones and mobile phone components, electronics, and software development. In step with the recent pronouncements of Vietnam’s leaders to continue promoting Vietnam as a leading destination for investment in this space, the government greeted the Year of the Pig by issuing a new decree setting forth strong incentives for investors in the science and high-tech sectors.

On October 2, 2017, Indonesia officially became the hundredth country to accede to the Madrid Protocol, which came into effect a few months later, on January 2, 2018. Following accession to the protocol, Indonesia issued Government Regulation No. 22 of 2018 on Registration of International Trademarks under the Madrid Protocol (GR No.22/2018), effective June 6, 2018, which set the requirements for two categories of applications:

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) came into effect in Vietnam on January 14, 2019, with some of its provisions on intellectual property taking effect immediately. (Under the Vietnamese legal system, when the provisions of international treaties such as the CPTPP differ from national law, the international provisions will apply.)