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Michelle Ray-Jones

Partner and Director, Vietnam

Biography

Michelle Ray-Jones is a partner and the director of Tilleke & Gibbins’ Vietnam offices. She is an experienced practitioner in intellectual property and corporate and commercial law, and has been advising and assisting investors in Southeast Asia since 2014.

As an expert in international IP protection, commercialization, and enforcement, Michelle has handled legal matters for clients in a broad range of industries, including hospitality, entertainment, music, fashion, and consumer products. She has served as a strategic advisor to international clients in Southeast Asia, as well as to ASEAN clients expanding outward toward other parts of the world, and regularly assists with IP due diligence exercises, IP commercialization strategies, and local and international IP protection and enforcement. Her many years guiding clients in Southeast Asia—particularly Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia—informs her strategic advice on complex global and regional IP and corporate strategies.

Michelle represents clients in the media and entertainment industry in relation to television and film production in Southeast Asia, including drafting, reviewing and localizing agreements. She also assists clients in reviewing chain of title, content compliance, and legal policy. She is also a leading practitioner in domain name disputes, and regularly represents clients in arbitral tribunals and helps them secure satisfactory outcomes.

Michelle is the former president of the Licensing Executives Society of Thailand and is an active member of the International Trademark Association (INTA). She currently serves as the chair of the International Agreements and Harmonization Subcommittee of INTA’s Geographical Indications Committee. She is a frequent speaker and author on topics such as intellectual property rights, fashion law, licensing, and franchising law.

Michelle is licensed to practice in the State of New York and is admitted in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. She has successfully represented clients in the U.S. federal court system and before the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

Experience

  • Manages the worldwide trademark portfolios of fast-growing clients in the hospitality and food and beverage industries, and provides guidance on trademark filing, maintenance, and enforcement strategies.
  • Acts as external IP counsel for an American streaming service to provide legal assistance relating to the production of films and series.
  • Handles the Southeast Asian trademark portfolios of three of the top ten hotel companies in the world.
  • Performed IP due diligence on behalf of a buyer of a music catalog in a deal worth over USD 40 million.
  • Performed due diligence on behalf of a U.S. buyer of IP assets from a Southeast Asian seller.
  • Orchestrated the completion of a worldwide trademark coexistence agreement between a client in the hospitality industry and a U.S.-based food and beverage company.
  • Successfully stopped a large Thai manufacturer and distributor from infringing the trademark of a global life sciences company.
ABOUT Michelle

Locations

Languages

    English

Education

    JD, Brooklyn Law School

    BA, New York University

Insights

August 20, 2026
As part of its membership in Lex Mundi, Tilleke & Gibbins has released the latest edition of its Guide to Doing Business in Thailand, providing an overview of the legal, regulatory, and commercial considerations for companies establishing or expanding operations in Thailand. The 2026 edition offers practical insight into the country’s business environment, investment framework, and operational requirements. The guide covers a wide range of topics relevant to foreign and domestic investors, including: Investment incentives and promotion schemes Financial facilities and banking regulations Exchange controls and money transfers Import and export regulations Business structures and incorporation options Requirements for establishing a business Operational and compliance considerations Business cessation and insolvency procedures Employment and labor laws Taxation Immigration and visa requirements Prepared by Tilleke & Gibbins lawyers across multiple practice areas, the publication outlines key aspects of doing business in Thailand, including foreign investment restrictions, regulatory compliance obligations, corporate structures, employment requirements, and recent legal and economic developments affecting investors. The publication forms part of Lex Mundi’s Country Guides series, a global collection of jurisdiction-specific reference materials prepared by member firms around the world. Together, these guides help companies evaluate opportunities, compare regulatory environments, and plan international business activities across multiple markets. The full Guide to Doing Business in Thailand 2026 is available through the button below.
December 9, 2025
Tilleke & Gibbins is proud to announce that four litigation cases handled by the firm have been selected among the nine Distinguished Judgment Awards granted by Thailand’s Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court (IP&IT Court) for the period from October 1, 2024, to August 31, 2025. This recognition highlights the complexity, novelty, and legal significance of these cases, which were chosen based on stringent criteria including new legal issues, high evidentiary volume, and intricate legal arguments. Among these four cases, one was singled out as the “Most Distinguished Judgment” – the landmark trademark squatting case involving the trademark rights of our client, Thailand’s largest state-owned energy conglomerate, and its subsidiary. In this case, the defendants had filed 52 trademark applications mimicking our client’s marks, making it the largest trademark squatting dispute in Thai history. On April 30, 2025, the IP&IT Court ordered the cancellation of multiple infringing trademarks, setting a benchmark for IP enforcement against trademark squatters in Thailand. The other three recognized cases demonstrate Tilleke & Gibbins’ breadth of expertise in IP litigation: Patent infringement and invalidation involving trade secrets misappropriation. Trade dress infringement of a unique packaging. Landmark Luckin Coffee case involving trademark infringement and invalidation. The IP&IT Court handles approximately 200 IP civil litigation cases each year, and our IP litigation team has typically been involved in 25–30% of them, reflecting our dominant role in shaping IP jurisprudence in Thailand.
May 2, 2025
Attorneys from Tilleke & Gibbins have updated the latest edition of Doing Business in Thailand, a Q&A-style guide from Thomson Reuters Practical Law that offers an overview of key legal considerations for companies operating in jurisdictions worldwide. The contribution outlines the country’s legal and regulatory framework for foreign investment and business operations and reflects the latest legislative developments. The chapter addresses the following core topics: Legal system: Structure of the courts and the codified nature of Thai law. Foreign investment: Business restrictions under the Foreign Business Act, sector-specific regulations, exchange control rules, and investment incentives. Business vehicles: Overview of partnerships, private and public limited companies, and other legal entities. Employment: Labor protections, employment contracts, foreign worker requirements, and termination procedures. Tax: Corporate and personal income tax, indirect taxes, and tax obligations for residents and non-residents. Intellectual property: Registration and enforcement of patents, trademarks, designs, and copyrights. Data protection: Key provisions of the Personal Data Protection Act and related compliance obligations. Competition law: Regulatory framework under the Trade Competition Act. Anti-bribery and corruption: Relevant legislation and enforcement mechanisms. E-commerce and digital business: Legal regime for online transactions and digital platforms. Marketing and advertising: Consumer protection laws and regulations affecting advertising and marketing practices. Product regulation and liability: Safety standards, liability regimes, and roles of enforcement authorities. Practical Law, a legal reference resource from Thomson Reuters, publishes a range of guides for hundreds of jurisdictions and practice areas. The insurance and reinsurance guide is a valuable resource for legal practitioners, covering numerous jurisdictions worldwide. To view the latest version of the guide, please visit the Practical Law website and enroll in the free Practical Law trial to gain full access.

Awards & Rankings

August 13, 2026
Tilleke & Gibbins has been recognized in the inaugural Asia Top Cybersecurity & Data Law Firms 2026 list from Asian Legal Business (ALB), published in the magazine’s August 2026 edition. The new ranking highlights leading law firms across Asia with dedicated cybersecurity, privacy, and data regulation practices, recognizing firms with a proven track record of advising clients on complex cybersecurity and data law matters. Tilleke & Gibbins is one of only 21 firms included in the inaugural list, reflecting the firm’s strength in data privacy, cybersecurity, technology, and regulatory matters throughout Southeast Asia. According to ALB, the firms selected for inclusion are recognized for their capabilities in areas such as privacy compliance, incident response, digital investigations, and technology-enabled client service. The recognition underscores the continued growth and regional prominence of Tilleke & Gibbins’ data privacy and cybersecurity practice, which advises clients across a broad range of industries on data protection compliance, cybersecurity preparedness and response, technology transactions, digital platform regulation, and emerging regulatory developments. This latest honor reflects the firm’s commitment to helping clients navigate an increasingly complex digital and regulatory landscape and reinforces its reputation as a leading adviser on technology, privacy, and cybersecurity issues across the region.
May 14, 2026
Asian Legal Business (ALB) has published the ALB Asia IP Rankings 2026, the latest edition of its annual guide recognizing leading intellectual property firms across the region. Continuing the approach introduced last year, the rankings present a unified table in each jurisdiction, combining patent and trademark/copyright work to provide a more holistic view of the IP market. Tilleke & Gibbins has retained strong rankings in all three jurisdictions covered by the survey: Thailand: Tier 1 Vietnam: Tier 1 Indonesia: Tier 2 The rankings are based on work conducted between February 2025 and February 2026, covering both ongoing and completed contentious and noncontentious matters. ALB’s research draws on firm submissions, client feedback, editorial resources, and market input to identify the region’s leading IP practices. Tilleke & Gibbins’ IP team has maintained a strong track record across all ranked jurisdictions since the inception of the ALB IP Rankings in 2018. To view the full rankings, please see the May 2026 issue of ALB.
May 11, 2026
Tilleke & Gibbins has been recognized in five practice areas at the Asia Business Law Journal (ABLJ) Vietnam Law Firm Awards 2026, reflecting the firm’s continued strength across a range of legal disciplines in Vietnam. The firm received honors in the following categories: Artificial Intelligence Data Compliance and Cyber Security IP Litigation Labor & Employment Technology, Media & Telecommunications The ABLJ Vietnam Law Firm Awards highlight leading law firms across key practice areas, with multiple firms typically recognized in each category. The 2026 edition marks the fourth year of the awards program. These recognitions underscore the work of Tilleke & Gibbins’ Vietnam-based teams, particularly in technology-driven and regulatory-focused areas of practice. For more details and the full list of winners, please visit the ABLJ website.

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