Residents of Thailand are surely familiar with the recent news concerning the sale, to a foreign entity, of shares in a company belonging to one of the most influential politicians in Thai history, and the subsequent assessment of such sale by the Revenue Department. The defense of such assessment, and the legal procedures related thereto, confused many. This article attempts to clarify the process.

On February 4, 2008, the Vietnamese government issued an official letter outlining a master plan for the development of the automobile industry. Official Letter 819/VPCP-CN calls for measures to be put in place to attract foreign investment, especially in the area of producing auto components and parts. This article summarizes the contents of the official letter.

The National Legislative Assembly of Thailand has passed the interim cabinet’s proposals regarding Thailand’s accession to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Patent Cooperation Treaty. As described in this article, these moves represent a significant step toward Thailand’s eventual accession to the Madrid Protocol.

The Trade Competition Act (TCA) seeks to maintain a fair and open market by prohibiting business operators from exerting influence through unfair trade practices. One such unfair trade practice addressed by the TCA is exclusivity. This article provides a detailed explanation of the intricacies of exclusivity under the TCA.

The Thai government wants to turn Bangkok into the fashion capital of Asia by 2012, but has yet to deal with legal-protection issues. Possible sources of protection include design patent, copyright, and passing off, but all contain ambiguities and there are no explicit safeguards for fashion designs. This article examines the tough decisions designers must face when deciding whether to do business in Thailand.

In 2002, Thailand adopted the Trade Secrets Act which contains a provision intended to safeguard the confidentiality of marketing approval data submitted to the Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, the Patent Act clearly confers generic drug manufacturers with the ability to engage in various preparatory activities with a view to seeking regulatory approval before a patent for a particular protected drug has expired (i.e., a Bolar provision).

The Trade Competition Act (TCA) seeks to maintain a fair and open market by prohibiting business operators from exerting unfair influence through monopoly, exclusivity, price fixing, quantity fixing, tying/bundling, etc. If any two business operators act together to effect such conduct, they may be liable for violating the TCA, which carries a prison term of up to three years and/or a fine of up to THB 6 million per violation.

During times of economic crisis, many employers seek to terminate employees. In doing so, however, employers need to be mindful of the correct procedures and they must ensure that severance and other benefits are paid to employees. Otherwise, they face the risk of claims being filed by the employees in the Labor Court. This article looks at the employer’s obligation to provide severance, remuneration, and compensation, as well as exceptions to the requirements.