The Royal Thai Customs Department has a proactive policy to protect Thai consumers from illegal goods that damage both the Thai economy and the public’s confidence in consuming imported goods. Brand owners such as Nokia, Levi Strauss, Daimler Chrysler, HP, Casio, and Ferrari have dedicated tremendous resources and jointly proposed to provide Customs officers with product identification training to assist them in their profiling and preliminary inspection of suspect shipments.

Thailand’s recent decision to issue compulsory licences for certain drugs has been widely reported both at home and abroad. Yet, despite the extensive media coverage, few people completely understand the concept and role of compulsory licenses, particularly in relation to patents and other forms of intellectual property rights. This article introduces the key issues in the compulsory licensing debate.

The Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court (IP&IT Court) has issued a decision clarifying the ownership of a trade name following the plaintiffs’ sale of a restaurant business to the defendants—a company and its directors. This brief article summarizes the decision, which allowed both parties to separately exercise their rights to their respective trademarks, as neither party was able to establish a better right in the mark.

As the title implies, this article is a primer for foreigners on the basic requirements for working in Thailand. It describes the requirements for obtaining a work permit and the punishments for failing to abide by the law.

At the outset of a new business venture or collaboration, the primary focus of most managers is on effectively running and promoting the business. Few people anticipate disputes and, even when difficulties are encountered, litigation is usually the last resort. In fact, many parties to a dispute try to avoid the litigation process altogether, fearing that involving the Thai courts will lead to a disruption of their commercial relationships, incur unnecessary legal expenses, and will prolong the time for resolving the dispute.

On January 29, 2007, while Thai Prime Minister Sarayud Chulanont was trying to assuage concerns of foreign investors with vows to respect the rule of law, Thailand announced plans to break patents on Kaletra, useful for treatment of HIV/AIDS, and Plavix, useful for heart disease. More threats to use compulsory licenses to break further patents were later communicated. This article considers whether the TRIPS Agreement allows compulsory licensing of patents in this manner.

Two confusing economic theories mingled with commercial-economic perspectives often make the average businesspersons scratch their heads and frown. On the one hand, the policy of a free market economy encourages competition. On the other hand, because intellectual property rights (IPRs) are said to provide exclusive rights in a number of circumstances, IPRs are understood to be anti-competitive. This has led people to conclude that IPRs are monopolies, but this way of thinking is incorrect.

Since the coup in September 2006, the new government has been advocating a “reconciliation policy” (known in Thai as samarnachan). This policy is generally supported by Thai people as it is consistent with the informal processes for resolving disputes inherent in Thai culture. Based on this, alternative forms of dispute resolution would seem to be a natural fit with Thai culture. This article examines the framework for alternative dispute resolution under the current Arbitration Act.