On April 15, 2020, the Lao Prime Minister’s Office issued Notification No. 481/PMO, which provides further recommendations on the implementation of PM Order No. 06/PM issued on March 29, 2020, including the extension of the earlier lockdown measures imposed in Laos to May 3, 2020, and reiterating that measures to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic should remain in effect until further notice. 

On March 6, 2020 the Ministry of Finance issued Circular 13/2020/TT-BTC (Circular 13), which amends and supplements Circular No. 13/2015/TT-BTC on inspection, monitoring, and suspension of customs procedures for exported and imported goods subject to requests for intellectual property rights protection; and control of counterfeit and IP-infringing goods. Circular 13 will officially enter into force on April 20, 2020.Some of the noteworthy changes include the following:

The latest issue of Asia Franchise & Business Opportunities  magazine features an article by two of Tilleke & Gibbins’ intellectual property specialists in Bangkok.

Like many government agencies in Vietnam, the Copyright Office of Vietnam (COV) has temporarily closed during the COVID-19 pandemic to safeguard the health of its staff as well as its visitors.As a result, the COV is no longer directly receiving applications for registration of copyright and related rights at its office through April 15, 2020. (This period could be extended, depending on the developments of the epidemic.)These procedures can still be conducted through one of the following options: