On March 19, 2010, the Drug Administration of Vietnam issued a notification to request that local Departments of Health in all cities and provinces of Vietnam step up the inspection and supervision of cosmetics from being circulated in the market. Accordingly, the local Departments of Health are coordinating with 127 local and central government agencies to inspect and supervise distribution and after-sale activities in the cosmetics industry. This article looks at the campaign.

In Thailand, most IP owners prefer to proceed with their cases under criminal law due to the uncertainty of obtaining compensation, costs to litigate the full court case, delays of trials, and other difficulties often associated with civil litigation.  The favorable advantage of prosecuting an IP case as a criminal action is that it can result in seizure of the infringing products.  The infringer would cease or hold manufacturing and distributing their infringing products and would be prosecuted in a criminal lawsuit by the police and the public prosecutor.

Unexpected, uncontrollable events have dominated news headlines of late, such as the recent volcano eruption in Iceland, an earthquake in China, and political unrest in Bangkok.  These types of events can continue into the unforeseeable future, leaving people to wonder when they will end.  Each event undoubtedly caused tremendous loss and damage, thus raising important legal questions: Do these events constitute force majeure? And under what circumstances is it possible for a party to be held responsible for obligations stemming from these events?

In building a brand, businesses typically begin with a narrowly focused brand image, including specific trademark configurations. Over time, these trademarks tend to evolve, with new stylistic elements being introduced for marketing purposes. If the main elements of the trademark remain consistent, brand owners assume that the prior use of a slightly different mark will help to support registration of the modified versions of the mark.

Over the last decade, the ability of IP rights holders to enforce their rights in Vietnam has improved greatly. This article examines a number of key developments and the current state of enforcement practice in Vietnam, and provides some strategy tips for rights holders seeking better IPR protection.

Foreign agrichemical companies usually opt to appoint their local distributors, agents, or licensees as the local entity to apply for and maintain product registration and import licenses as usually required by Asian Ministries of Agriculture.  Such appointments are normally set out in the distribution agreement.  While on most occasions this is a mutually beneficial relationship, sometimes local partners who have built up the business for those products may begin to compete unfairly or commit other breaches which leads to difficulties in terms of terminating a partner who holds t

With the official implementation of the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement effective on January 1, 2010, companies now have an expanded opportunity to increase exports in this important and diverse market. In regard to food, however, it should be noted that companies are still required to register their products with the local Food Agencies. Even though harmonization of rules for food products is a stated aim of ASEAN members—similar to the ASEAN Harmonization on Pharmaceutical Registration already in place for pharmaceutical products—harmonized rules have not yet been implemented in this area.

Presented in a Q&A format, this chapter provides a broad overview of product liability law and regulations in Thailand subsequent to the enactment of the Product Liability Act in 2008. The chapter addresses issues such as causation, defenses, procedures, time limits, remedies, and costs.