On February 8, Nopparat Lalitkomon, senior associate, and Thammapas Chanpanich, associate, delivered a Thai-language webinar entitled “Personal Data Protection Guidelines for Insurance Industry.” During the session, the two speakers from Tilleke & Gibbins’ corporate and commercial group discussed the following topics: Key principles of personal data collection; Scope of establishing the principle of legality for insurance companies; Notification of data collection and data processing in accordance with the law ; Procedures of execution between insurance companies and their counterparties; and Managing personal data collected prior to the effective date of the PDPA. 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.

On January 18, 2022, Tilleke & Gibbins held a Thai-language webinar to clarify key principles of Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019 (PDPA) for human resources professionals as the law’s effective date draws closer. In the webinar, Nopparat Lalitkomon, senior associate, and Gvavalin Mahakunkitchareon, associate, in the firm’s corporate and commercial group jointly discussed the following items: Scope of personal data collection for the human resources department; Purpose of personal data processing and establishing the principle of legality; Notification of data collection and data processing in accordance with the law; Requesting consent from data subjects; Procedures of execution according to the rights of data subjects (e.g., job applicants, employees, and former employees); and Managing personal data collected prior to the effective date of the PDPA. A recording of the webinar (in Thai) is available on the Tilleke & Gibbins YouTube channel.

On January 12, Enlit Asia, a digital content platform and events organizer for the energy industry, published an article that featured the insights of Joseph Tomkiewicz, partner and co-chair of Tilleke & Gibbins’ regional energy practice. Titled “Uncertainty & Silver Linings: An Energy 2022 Outlook,” the article takes stock of some recent trends in the energy industry in Asia, and considers how power production and consumption might play out in the coming year. The writer sought Joseph’s perspective specifically on the continued volatility of natural gas prices, which spiked throughout ASEAN in 2021. Joseph explained that the price of natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) may well end up being the single most influential factor for the ASEAN power sector in 2022. The article also noted that a possible silver lining of the high prices could be an accelerated shift toward renewable and sustainable energy sources in line with the region’s targets as affirmed in the latest United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26). Overall, the article makes the case that 2022 will again be a year of transition for the energy sector in ASEAN as the world moves toward more sustainable practices and greater emphasis on environmental, social, and corporate governance goals. To read the full article, please visit the Enlit Asia website.