On October 13, Alan Adcock, partner and deputy director of the firm’s intellectual property and regulatory affairs groups in Bangkok, and Thomas J. Treutler, managing director of Tilleke & Gibbins’ offices in Vietnam, represented the firm in the virtual IP Life Sciences Conference 2021. Life sciences specialists from around the world attended the conference, which was organized to provide patent owners in the life sciences industry with pertinent information and updates relating to patent disputes and litigation in key jurisdictions. During their presentations on local Thai and Vietnamese legal regulations, Alan and Thomas offered insights on policies and risks relating to injunctions in patent disputes, the most successful patent litigation strategies in each respective country, and the cost of litigation versus the practical business benefits of patent protection.

Andrew Stoutley, chief operating officer of Tilleke & Gibbins, provided a lengthy quote to Asian Legal Business (ALB) for a recent feature on how law firms in Southeast Asia are increasingly using data analytics and information to drive their business strategy. The article featured contributions from a number of partners and executives from firms across Southeast Asia on the different ways that their firms are applying data to their operations and incorporating information and analytics into their strategic decision-making processes. In his contribution, Andrew explained that as technology has become central to virtually all operations at Tilleke & Gibbins, metrics and data have been harnessed to inform decisions at all levels. To illustrate this, he gave the example of a broad strategic planning process that the firm has undertaken to lay out strategy for the coming years. Identifying and gathering key quantitative and qualitative data points was crucial to the process, which considers every element of the firm’s planned operations for the next several years. Andrew went on to discuss the importance of determining how best to share the data with the relevant stakeholders, such as through visualizations or dashboards that allow staff to monitor the progress of operations. The other informants for the article reported a similar uptick in reliance on data—such as in competitive intelligence, billing, and matter management—and emphasized the necessity for firms to recognize the value of data as a resource that must be protected and used wisely. The full article is available on page 4 of the September 2021 issue of ALB.

On September 9 and 10, Michelle Ray-Jones, as president of the Licensing Executives Society (LES) in Thailand, together with Ploynapa Julagasigorn, the LES Thailand secretary, hosted a virtual annual conference 2021 under the theme “Supporting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Challenges and Opportunities During the COVID-19 Era.” The conference was broken down into four main sessions featuring 20 guest speakers on a wide range of topics in response to the pandemic. The first session, “COVID-19: Impacts & Plans for the future,” highlighted COVID-19 vaccine development, addressed the impact of increased remote working arrangements on infrastructure and operations, and covered challenges and shifts in human resources, sales, services, insurance, legal operations, and the use of advanced technology—such as AI-generated inventions in biotech and related IP ownership issues. In the second session, “Future Technology and Licensing Trends,” speakers discussed tech and licensing lessons learned in 2020, licensing trends in 2021, and predictions for the near future. The third session explored how food, nutrition, and agriculture collectively play a crucial role in helping humanity recover from this pandemic. The speakers talked about the booming plant-based products industry and discussed its effects on the agricultural landscape and sustainable agriculture initiatives in Southeast Asia. The last session focused on global climate change and decarbonization efforts, with speakers highlighting some decarbonization solutions and exploring possible technology-transfer strategies to enable the sharing of technologies that can fight climate change.

On September 9, Joseph Tomkiewicz, partner and co-chair of Tilleke & Gibbins’ regional energy practice, was moderator for a webinar titled “Proceeding to the Next Stages of Thailand Solar: Forecast to 2025 and Vision to 2035,” organized by Neoventure. Joined by three high-profile professionals in the energy industry in ASEAN, Joseph led an interactive session that focused on the direction of solar energy development in Thailand —especially the expected rise of floating and rooftop solar over the next decade. He also steered the discussion to cover analysis and forecast of policies and incentives for each type of solar project in Thailand, scrutinized market updates and compared business models, and led the panelists in reviewing commercial trends. The session was joined by key players in the energy industry who will have a significant role in shaping and growing the solar energy industry in Asia.