Suebsiri Taweepon, a partner in Tilleke & Gibbins’ intellectual property group, and Nopparat Lalitkomon, a senior associate in the firm’s corporate and commercial group, were recently invited to be guest contributors for True Digital Park’s (TDPK) Thailand GameChanger—a weekly podcast that explores the startup ecosystem in Thailand and across Southeast Asia. During the session, Suebsiri and Nopparat shed light on a number of common legal pitfalls for Thai startups, including discussions on: the importance of getting internal and external legal documents right from the start; non-disclosure agreements and whether or not they’re enforceable; what needs to change for more startups to incorporate in Thailand; and regulations around cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens, and asset fractionalization. A recording of the video podcast is available below.  

On October 27, Tilleke & Gibbins’ dispute resolution group in Bangkok teamed up with consulting firm KPMG to offer a webinar titled “Business Rehabilitation in Thailand: Considerations for Debtors and Creditors.” The webinar aimed to help companies better understand the rehabilitation process as they look ahead toward the post-COVID-19 environment. During the session, Alongkorn Tongmee, senior associate; Jamorn Pornponwat, associate; and John Frangos, partner, introduced the Thai business rehabilitation process and detailed the objectives and benefits of rehabilitation, notable legal challenges, and key considerations that debtors and creditors should keep in mind if they become involved in business rehabilitation in Thailand. A full video recording of the session is available below.

On September 22, lawyers from Tilleke & Gibbins were featured in the Asian Legal Business Summit 2021, organized by Thomson Reuters. The summit set out to address emerging risks and compliance challenges, regulatory updates, the latest skills and practices needed to succeed in the legal industry, the evolving roles of in-house counsel, and other important issues. In the first part of the session, titled “Competition Law: Practical Guidance for the Prevention of Anti-competitive Conduct,” Kobkit Thienpreecha, partner and director of Tilleke & Gibbins’ corporate and commercial group, provided a brief history of competition law in Thailand, provided an enforcement overview, and clarified roles and responsibilities of competition authorities. Nutavit Sirikan, an associate in the same department, then shared relevant case studies, analyzed trends and regulator priorities, and provided recommendations for general counsel and business executives. A full video recording of the session is available below.

On August 26, Tilleke & Gibbins collaborated with CCPIT Patent and Trademark Law Office and the International Trademark Association (INTA) to offer a webinar titled “Trademark Registration and Protection in China – Pitfalls and Solutions” to equip companies across the region with the knowledge needed to effectively enforce and protect their trademarks in China. Darani Vachanavuttivong, co-managing partner of Tilleke & Gibbins and managing director of the firm’s intellectual property group, provided welcoming remarks on behalf of INTA, during which she addressed key objectives of the session and briefly introduced the role of INTA. Then, Somboon Earterasarun, partner in Tilleke & Gibbins’ intellectual property group, presented an overview of trademark prosecution and filings in China, analyzed common issues that brand owners frequently encounter, and shared a video presentation by CCPIT. In the video, which was presented in English with Thai subtitles, four CCPIT professionals jointly analyzed the subclass system, defined the China National Intellectual Property Administration’s criteria for determination of similar marks, outlined strategies for overcoming refusals in China, discussed common pitfalls in trademark registration, and explained trademark enforcement measures available in China. A video recording of the webinar is available below.