On June 16, 2022, Vietnam’s National Assembly ratified the latest amendment of the country’s Intellectual Property Law, which will take effect on January 1, 2023 (except for the provisions on sound marks, which took retroactive effect on January 14, 2022, and the provisions on test data protection for agrochemicals, which will come into force on January 14, 2024). For the amended IP Law to be enforced consistently and efficiently, the government is actively working to issue a decree guiding the implementation of the amended IP Law (the “new decree”). The new decree, after being ratified, will also take effect on January 1, 2023, replacing Decree No. 103/2006/ND-CP and Decree No. 105/2006/ND-CP, two decrees issued in 2006 to guide the previous IP Law of 2005. Due to the urgency of promulgating a legislative document conforming with the amended IP Law when it takes effect, the government will formulate and promulgate the new decree under a simplified procedure. The drafting agency circulated the first draft of the new decree to seek opinions from concerned parties on October 10, 2022. The new decree is seen as comprehensive guidance to key aspects of the IP Law, including the establishment and enforcement of industrial property rights, IP representation, measures to promote IP activities, IP-related export and import control; IP assessment, and state management of intellectual property. The new decree generally consolidates provisions of the two previous decrees without many changes. The highlight of the new decree is some new provisions on controlling security for patents and secret patents (Article 14); Hague applications for industrial designs (Articles 22, 23, 24) and cancellation/invalidation of Hague registrations for industrial designs (Article 32.5); and compensation for patent owners (Article 43). The new decree is currently being reviewed by the drafting agency before submission for appraisal and validation, and

Tilleke & Gibbins’ intellectual property team in Bangkok has provided the latest updates to the Thailand chapter of Practical Law’s Intellectual Property Transactions Global Guide, a high-level comparative overview of intellectual property (IP) laws and regulations in 36 jurisdictions worldwide. The Intellectual Property Transactions in Thailand chapter focuses on business-related aspects of IP, such as the value of intellectual assets in M&A transactions and the licensing of IP portfolios. The topics covered include the following: IP assignment and licensing: Basis/scope and formalities, trade secrets and confidentiality, main terms for assignment/licensing Research and development collaborations: Improvements and derivatives, joint ownership Conducting IP audits to determine the contents of an IP portfolio IP aspects of mergers and acquisitions: IP due diligence, warranties and indemnities, transfer of IP rights Lending and security interests over IP rights Settlement agreements in IP litigation Agreements regarding rights over IP created by employees and consultants Competition law and exploitation of IP rights Tax (e.g., for IP licensing) and nontariff trade barriers To read the full Intellectual Property Transactions in Thailand chapter, please visit the Practical Law website.

Patent specialists from Tilleke & Gibbins have contributed the Myanmar chapter to the 2023 edition of Patents: Practical Cross-Border Insights into Patent Law from International Comparative Legal Guides (ICLG), published by Global Legal Group. This comprehensive guide provides readers with an in-depth look at patent laws and regulations in 23 jurisdictions around the world. Each chapter of the guide, which is in Q&A format, is organized into eight sections: Patent Enforcement Patent Amendment Licensing Patent Term Extension Patent Prosecution and Opposition Border Control Measures Antitrust Law and Inequitable Conduct Current Developments The complete Myanmar chapter is available as a PDF below. The Myanmar chapter—and the full Patents guide—are also freely available on the ICLG website.

When Vietnam’s newly amended IP Law takes effect on January 1, 2023, bringing the country’s IP regime more in line with international standards, some of the most noticeable impacts will be in the copyright area. Some important changes in the amended IP Law are summarized below. Reproduction Reproduction is defined as the act of copying, in whole or in part, a work, sound or video recording, or broadcast program fixation by any means and in any form. Therefore, copying only a part of a copyrighted work would still be considered an act of reproduction and could be subject to relevant sanctions. Distribution Rights It is clearly provided that distribution rights are limited to products in a tangible form. Therefore, the act of making a work, sound or video recording, or broadcast program fixation available in digital form (through the internet, for example) will not be considered an act of distribution. Exceptions to Copyright Infringement The amended IP Law widens the scope of exceptions to copyright infringement. Exceptions have been added for, among others, persons with disabilities. The reproduction, performance, and communication of a work in an accessible format (when the persons involved have legal access to the original or copy of the work) is permitted. In addition, exceptions (including distribution rights) are added for not-for-profit organizations authorized by the government to operate in a related field. It is also notable that “works of art” and “the collection and anthologizing of works” are excluded from the permissible exceptions. Enforcement Against Infringements There are significant changes in the approach to identifying acts of copyright and related rights infringement. Specifically, instead of listing all the possible acts of infringement, the amended IP Law states that any acts violating moral rights and economic rights that do not fall under the stipulated copyright or