Tilleke & Gibbins authors have provided the latest update to the Thailand Q&A section of Doing Business in… , a Q&A-style guide published by Thomson Reuters Practical Law that presents an overview of recent legal developments affecting doing business in 59 jurisdictions worldwide. The Thailand chapter of the guide was written by attorneys from Tilleke & Gibbins and presents an overview of Thailand’s legal system and key laws applicable to foreign companies doing business in the country.

Vietnam’s 2015 Penal Code, which took effect on January 1, 2018, introduced the concept of corporate criminal liability to Vietnam. For the first time, companies could be held criminally liable for an assortment of offenses, including intellectual property crimes (under Articles 225 and 226 of the Penal Code). However, the enforcement of the corporate criminal liability provisions was still questioned due to a lack of actual experience of the authorities, including the police and prosecutors.

On December 24, 2019, the Ministry of Commerce issued a notification on the filing and recording of letters of exclusive importation and distribution of trademarked goods. This notification supplements the 2016 Prakas on the Procedure to Record and File Letters of Exclusive Importation of Trademarked Goods, which required importers with the exclusive right to import goods bearing specific trademarks to record that exclusivity in order to enforce their rights against third parties.

The Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs (Geneva Act of July 2, 1999 – “1999 Act”) officially took effect in Vietnam on December 30, 2019. Hague System users can now designate Vietnam in an international design application.