On April 7, Dino Santaniello, head of Tilleke & Gibbins’ office in Laos, will offer a webinar titled “Intellectual Property in Lao PDR”—an event organized by the European Chamber of Commerce in Laos, the South-East Asia IP SME Helpdesk, and Tilleke & Gibbins. The event will highlight the importance of intellectual property among entrepreneurs active in Laos and will offer practical strategies for protecting intellectual property. During the virtual session, Dino will provide an overview of the intellectual property landscape in Laos, particularly since the formation of ASEAN Economic Community in 2015. The presentation will cover for main areas: An introduction to Laos’ regulatory and legal framework for intellectual property, Recent updates on trademarks and other intellectual property, Trademark registration and enforcement in Laos, and Parallel imports, franchising, and license agreements. To register for this event, please click this link.

On February 24, Tilleke & Gibbins, in collaboration with the Thai Business Association of Myanmar and the Thai Business Association of the Lao PDR, delivered a Thai-language webinar titled “How to Export Cosmetics to Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar, and Parallel Importation and Case Studies in Thailand.” The 90-minute session was led by a number of Tilleke & Gibbins’ regulatory affairs (RA) specialists: Atthachai Homhuan, director of the firm’s regulatory affairs (RA) group in Bangkok; Dino Santaniello, head of the Laos office; Ratchanee Sriplaek, RA consultant in Thailand; Saithong Rattana, associate in the Laos office; Thanathon Trakoolpolpruek, RA consultant in Thailand; and Yuwadee Thean-ngarm, director of the firm’s Myanmar office. Together, the speakers addressed the following issues: Compliance with cosmetics laws and regulations in Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar; Regulatory requirements for product labels and advertisements; Best practices and success stories related to exporting beauty products; Avoiding double importation; and Relevant case studies from Thailand. A recording of the webinar (in Thai) is available on the Tilleke & Gibbins YouTube channel.

On January 21, 2022, Tilleke & Gibbins hosted a Chinese-language webinar aimed at helping clients in mainland China understand the fundamentals of Thailand’s trademark registration process. Sher Hann Chua, a consultant of the firm’s intellectual property department, led the webinar, which was titled “Trademark Registration and Prosecution in Thailand: Issues and Challenges.” During the session Sher Hann discussed the following topics: Overview of Thailand’s trademark registration procedure; Recent developments in Thailand’s trademark prosecution framework; and Common trademark registration pitfalls for Chinese companies in Thailand and how to overcome them. A video recording of the webinar (in Chinese) is available on the Tilleke & Gibbins YouTube channel.

Partner Loc Xuan Le shared his thoughts on Vietnam’s accession to the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT), a special agreement under the Berne Convention, with a reporter from Asia IP magazine in a recent article: “In my opinion, Vietnam’s Law on Intellectual Property has already covered and satisfied WCT’s requirements, so the accession to WCT is just us acting on our commitment when we joined the EU – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. By joining WCT, Vietnam ensures that we shall provide IP rights protection at international standards, which I believe is crucial in developing Vietnam as an attractive business destination for foreign investors.” Loc further added, “On the other hand, Vietnam has a strong and growing community of artists who generate content on the Internet daily, so the official accession of Vietnam to WCT shall provide solid legal grounds to protect Vietnamese creators in the digital era. This, in return, shall act as an incentive to promote the creative sector.” Asia IP, published by the Apex Asia Media Group, is a leading source for analysis of the IP issues facing companies in Asia, and a source of market intelligence for IP owners in the region. The full article can be read at the Asia IP website.