On October 28, Darani Vachanavuttivong, as president of the ASEAN Intellectual Property Association (ASEAN IPA), led a forum focusing on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a proposed free trade agreement among the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and several other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Joined by a Malaysian minister of domestic and consumer affairs, a representative from Malaysia’s International Division of the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, and a senior officer at Thailand’s Department of Intellectual Property, the session addressed the salient features of the RCEP, its importance, and some of its most significant implications for related industry and business operators within ASEAN.

On October 26, Tilleke & Gibbins collaborated with CCPIT Patent & Trademark Law Office in China to organize a Chinese-language webinar titled “Practical Trademark Strategies for Chinese Investors in Thailand.” Presenting in Chinese, Sher Hann Chua, a consultant in the firm’s Bangkok and Yangon offices, covered the following topics in Chinese to equip Chinese investors and brand owners to gain better understanding of relevant Thai regulations: Trademark registration procedures, examination criteria and application strategies; Trademark enforcement framework; and Trademark licensing and brand commercialization strategies.

On October 13, Alan Adcock, partner and deputy director of the firm’s intellectual property and regulatory affairs groups in Bangkok, and Thomas J. Treutler, managing director of Tilleke & Gibbins’ offices in Vietnam, represented the firm in the virtual IP Life Sciences Conference 2021. Life sciences specialists from around the world attended the conference, which was organized to provide patent owners in the life sciences industry with pertinent information and updates relating to patent disputes and litigation in key jurisdictions. During their presentations on local Thai and Vietnamese legal regulations, Alan and Thomas offered insights on policies and risks relating to injunctions in patent disputes, the most successful patent litigation strategies in each respective country, and the cost of litigation versus the practical business benefits of patent protection.

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.