Circular 22/2009/TT-BYT issued by the Ministry of Health, effective May 24, 2010, has clarified certain issues related to intellectual property rights and drug marketing approval in Vietnam. The Circular emphasizes that the applicant for marketing approval for a drug shall be responsible for any infringement of IPRs used on or in relation to the drug. Consequently, proof of IP cleanness for a drug, such as search reports, registration certificates, or application acceptance decisions, is no longer required by the Drug Administration of Vietnam for obtaining drug marketing approvals.

In Thailand, Registrars seeking to solve the problem of a mistakenly registered trademark may call upon the solution in Section 61 of the Thai Trademark Act, which permits the Board of Trademarks to re-examine such marks. Based on this section, the Board conducts re-examinations on distinctiveness, dissimilarity, and morality grounds only when an authorized person, limited to either an interested person or a Registrar, files a cancellation petition to the Board citing Section 61.

Copyright Litigation, published by The European Lawyer Reference, provides guidance to parties who find themselves involved in copyright litigation in a foreign country or in multijurisdictional disputes. The Thailand chapter provides an overview of how copyright cases are tried in the jurisdiction by examining sources of law, the court system, enforcement options, civil procedures, final remedies, appeals, and more.

Traditionally, consumers involved in commercial disputes filed lawsuits seeking damages for the defendant’s wrongdoing. Consumers were limited to seeking actual damages, which were deemed compensatory and which arose proximately from breach and/or wrongdoing of the defendant.

Condominium ownership has become an increasingly popular method of investment in Thailand by foreign investors. When making the decision to purchase a condominium, however, it is necessary for foreigners to comply with several conditions under the Condominium Act B.E. 2522 (A.D. 1979). One issue that is frequently raised by foreign investors is what will happen to their condominium if they pass away. Given the broad range of conditions attached to condominium ownership, foreign investors are justified in wondering about the requirements that will apply to their successor.

In considering the similarity of trademarks in both the registration process and during litigation, courts in many jurisdictions forbid dividing the elements of each mark to compare them separately and insist that the trademarks must be compared by considering all elements of the trademarks as a whole. The reason underlying this legal principle is that consumers are not likely to recognize all of a trademark’s separate details or elements.

Many companies have regretted trusting their employees and even business partners with their intellectual property rights (IPR).

In Hong Kong, the term “shadow company” refers to the unscrupulous use of another party’s well-known trademark in the registered name of a business, often for the purpose of conducting trade in illegitimate goods and services. In China, these companies are known as “unauthorized business enterprise name registrations.” While China and Hong Kong take action against these shadow companies, Southeast Asia is seeing a marked increase in the use of well-known trade names and trademarks in business name registrations.