The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has published the Draft Guidelines for Digital Fraud Management, which aim to help financial service providers tackle digital fraud and ensure safety and trust in the Thai financial system. These draft guidelines, which are available for public comment until March 18, 2025, provide a comprehensive framework for financial service providers, covering prevention, detection, management, and resolution of digital fraud, as well as support for customers affected by fraud. The BOT tentatively plans to implement these draft guidelines on April 1, 2025, along with circular letters on the minimum required measures for tackling “mule accounts” (deposit or e-money accounts used as tools to receive and transfer funds obtained through the commission of any offense) and measures to strengthen Thailand’s customer due diligence and enhanced due diligence procedures. Under the draft guidelines, “financial service providers” include financial institutions and special financial institutions under the Financial Institution Business Act and payment providers under the Payment Systems Act. Commercial banks, special financial institutions, and operators of transferable e-money services must adhere to every requirement in the draft guidelines. Other financial service providers (e.g., payment providers other than operators of transferable e-money services) can implement the draft guidelines as deemed appropriate to their services, products, and service channels. Digital Fraud Management Requirements The draft guidelines establish the following key requirements: Policy and oversight. Directors and senior executives of financial service providers must set and adopt appropriate “end-to-end” fraud management policies and KPIs to manage digital fraud, covering prevention, monitoring, detection, management, resolution, and support for affected customers. Fraud management processes. Financial service providers must establish a clear framework for managing digital fraud throughout the customer lifecycle, from customer onboarding to service termination, according to industry standards at a minimum and covering at least the following processes: Know your customer (KYC) and customer due diligence (CDD): Providers must

2025年2月4日，泰国投资委员会（BOI）发布公告第 Por. 3/2568 号，调整长期居留签证（LTR Visa）的申请资格、标准及条件。新规自公告发布之日起即时生效。 LTR 签证计划旨在促进经济发展，并吸引高潜力的外国人士来泰居留。此次最新调整旨在扩大适用范围，使更多专业人才、投资者和高管能够符合申请资格，以加强泰国的外国人才储备并提升其竞争力。 此次调整主要影响 LTR 签证计划下的三个类别，即泰国远程工作专业人士（Work-from-Thailand Professionals）、全球富裕人士（Wealthy Global Citizens）和高技能专业人士（High-Skilled Professionals）。具体调整如下： 泰国远程工作专业人士（Work-from-Thailand Professionals） 此次调整对泰国远程工作专业人士类别的申请资格作出以下修改： 雇主收入要求降低：申请人所属雇主的收入要求由过去三年内累计1.5 亿美元降低至5,000 万美元。 合资格雇主范围扩大：符合条件的外国雇主现在包括以下全资子公司： 在任何国家证券交易所上市的公司；或 至少运营三年，过去三年累计收入不少于 5,000 万美元的私营企业。 取消工作经验要求：申请人不再需要满足特定的工作经验要求。 其他要求保持不变。 全球富裕人士（Wealthy Global Citizens） 此次调整取消了对申请人年收入需达到 80,000 美元的要求，其他申请条件保持不变。 高技能专业人士（Highly Skilled Professionals） 此次调整扩大了申请资格，新增职业教育或高等教育领域的讲师为符合条件的申请人，并取消了工作经验要求。 其他类别 此次 LTR 签证调整未对富裕退休人士（Wealthy Pensioners）类别作出任何变更。然而，公告扩大了 LTR 签证持有人的符合资格的受养人范围，涵盖父母及更广泛的家庭成员。

Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance has released a draft Decree on Tax Administration for E-Commerce and Digital Platforms (“Draft Decree”), introducing significant tax compliance obligations that could reshape how digital platforms, and individuals and business households conducting business through the platforms, manage their tax responsibilities. Aimed at strengthening tax enforcement, the Draft Decree requires e-commerce and digital platforms to actively track and withhold taxes from business households and individual sellers, and remit payments to tax authorities. While it has not yet been promulgated, the Draft Decree is expected to take effect on April 1, 2025, leaving platforms with a limited window to prepare for compliance. Who Is Affected by the New Tax Rules? The Draft Decree significantly broadens the tax administration scope beyond traditional e-commerce platforms to cover a wide range of digital economy participants. Specifically, the Draft Decree places direct tax-related responsibilities on two major categories (collectively, “Regulated Operators”): E-commerce and digital platforms with payment functions (e.g., platforms that process buyer payments via e-wallets, bank transfers, cards, or cash-on-delivery); and Other digital-economy players that enable e-commerce transactions, including (i) intermediary service platforms connecting service providers with consumers, (ii) digital content platforms, (iii) online advertising providers, (iv) cloud computing and data storage providers, (v) social media platforms engaged in business activities (e.g., live-stream, in-app transactions), (vi) online education, gaming, and digital entertainment platforms generating revenue from digital transactions, (vii) Vietnam-based partners of foreign digital service providers facilitating local payments for overseas platforms, and (viii) intermediary payment service providers handling financial transactions for e-commerce activities. Under the Draft Decree, Regulated Operators will be required to track, report, and enforce tax compliance for both resident and nonresident individuals and households conducting business through their platforms (“Sellers”). What New Tax Obligations Do Platforms Face? Onshore platforms For the first time, Regulated Operators will bear direct tax enforcement responsibilities. This represents a significant

The recent freeze on US foreign aid has led to the suspension of billions of dollars in foreign assistance as well as widespread layoffs at contracting organizations around the world. Under this situation, USAID-funded offices in all jurisdictions, including Cambodia, may face the challenge of determining whether they need to lay off their employees. Employers in Cambodia may take different steps in response to this and other instances of sudden financial stress in order to manage their workforce in accordance with Cambodian laws and regulations. Suspension Cambodia’s Labor Law allows employers to suspend employment contracts due to a major economic or material issue or any unexpected difficulty that results in the suspension of operations. To impose this employment contract suspension, the employer must initially submit a suspension request to the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training (MLVT), detailing the reasons for the requested suspension. If the reasons are deemed valid and the request is approved, the suspension period cannot exceed two months. During the suspension period, the employer must continue providing accommodation for employees if this benefit is already being provided. In some circumstances, the suspension period can be extended if necessary (as happened during the COVID-19 pandemic). However, financial difficulties alone may not be a valid reason for extension. The decision is at the discretion of the MLVT labor inspectors on a case-by-case basis. Therefore, given the uncertain timeline of financial difficulties that may significantly impact the employer’s budget, suspending employment contracts might be ineffective. Mass Layoffs Under Cambodia’s Labor Law, mass layoffs due to a significant reduction in an establishment’s operation or an internal reorganization foreseen by the employer are permissible. The layoff order must be based on professional qualifications, seniority period, and family burdens of the employees. The first employees to be laid off must be those with the least professional ability, followed

Licensing specialists at Tilleke & Gibbins in Bangkok have contributed the Thailand chapter to the newly issued Licensing 2025, a comprehensive guide from Lexology Panoramic to licensing in various jurisdictions around the world. The Thailand chapter covers the following topics: Laws and licensing arrangements: Unfair Contract Terms Act, Trade Competition Act, pre-contractual disclosure, registration of international licensing, implied obligations, Civil and Commercial Code, Trademark Act, Patent Act, Trade Secrets Act Intellectual property issues: Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, contesting the validity of licensor’s IP rights, invalidity and expiry of IP rights, security interests, proceedings against third parties, sublicensing, jointly owned IP, first to file, scope of patent protection, trade secrets, copyright Software licensing: Perpetual licensing, legal requirements, user restrictions Royalties and payments, currency conversion, and taxes: Relevant legislation, restrictions, taxation of foreign licensors Competition law issues: Restrictions on trade, legal restrictions, and IP-related court rulings Indemnification, disclaimers, and damages: Prevalence and enforceability of indemnity provisions and contractual waivers of damages Termination: Right to terminate, impact of termination Bankruptcy: Impact of licensee or licensor bankruptcy Dispute resolution: Governing law, arbitration, enforceability, injunctive relief, contractual waivers The Thailand chapter was authored by Alan Adcock, partner, and Kasama Sriwatanakul, counsel, both in the Thailand regulatory affairs team. The full Thailand chapter is available below as a PDF. Tilleke & Gibbins also contributed the Vietnam chapter to Licensing 2025. Readers can gain 30 days of complementary access to the full Licensing 2025 guide and the rest of Lexology Panoramic’s varied offerings through this link.

泰国推动包含赌场的娱乐综合体（Entertainment Complex）计划取得进展，内阁已于2025 年 1 月 13 日原则上批准了《娱乐综合体经营法》（Entertainment Complex Business Act）草案。 事实上，自 2019 年 3 月以来，泰国便开始研究允许娱乐综合体运营的利弊。尽管全球对该议题的最初关注在 COVID-19 疫情期间有所减弱，但泰国政府近期通过该法案草案重新推动相关立法工作。这一举措也是政府战略的一部分，旨在将非正式经济（或影子经济）和地下经济纳入税收体系，据估算，这些经济活动的规模超过泰国 GDP 的 50%。 尽管许多专家已对该法案的内容进行了分析，本文将重点探讨《娱乐综合体法案》在通过并实施后，如何在泰国法律框架下影响赌场行业的各个知识产权（IP）层面。以下是该立法可能对泰国知识产权权利产生的一些潜在影响。 公共秩序与公共政策 根据泰国法律，违反公共秩序、良好道德或公共政策可构成拒绝知识产权保护的理由。随着《娱乐综合体法案》的最终通过和实施，与博彩相关的知识产权——目前因被视为违反公共秩序而无法获得法律保护的领域——未来可能将符合法律保护并可依法注册。这一变化类似于泰国大麻合法化后的情况，大麻的合法化为该行业的商标和专利保护开辟了新的法律途径。 赌场行业的知识产权涵盖专利、商标、著作权和商业秘密等多种资产。这些知识产权权利可用于保护赌场游戏、博彩机、软件及品牌元素的独特特征。例如，在泰国，专利可用于保护与创新硬件相关的技术解决方案，而商标则可保护赌场、度假村、游戏及零售业务的名称和标识。 如果泰国法律的变更使这些知识产权的注册成为可能，不仅娱乐综合体或赌场运营商将从中受益，发明人、艺术家以及公众也将能够为与赌场及博彩相关的创作或发明获得知识产权保护，从而促进该行业的创新与发展。 知识产权许可与技术转让 赌场行业是一个高度动态且快速发展的领域，依赖知识产权（IP）来保护创新成果并维持竞争优势。随着赌场不断扩大其数字化业务，引入新型博彩技术、金融与会计解决方案以及会员忠诚度计划，**知识产权许可（IP Licensing）**的重要性日益凸显。 IP 许可使赌场及综合度假村运营商能够使用和商业化第三方知识产权。在赌场行业，引入新游戏和新技术通常需要与第三方开发商和制造商合作，因此，IP 许可尤为关键。通过许可协议，各方不仅能够充分利用知识产权，还能够确保原创创作者的合法权益得到保护，从而实现行业内的合作共赢。 博彩行业的合法化将促进技术向泰国的转移，这一过程可能涉及多个知识产权（IP）权利。例如： 专利许可：专利可用于保护博彩机的技术创新。例如，一种新的老虎机机制可授权给多家赌场使用，专利持有人可通过收取专利使用费获利。 商标许可：商标许可使赌场能够使用知名品牌和标识，以吸引顾客并建立信任。例如，本地赌场开发商可获得知名赌场品牌的商标许可，或独家授权一款热门博彩游戏，在其场所提供该游戏。 著作权许可：著作权保护博彩游戏的软件、艺术作品和音乐元素。通过许可，赌场可合法使用受著作权保护的内容，如游戏画面、用户界面及背景音乐。 商业秘密/技术诀窍许可：未注册的知识产权，如赌场行业的商业秘密和技术诀窍，可涵盖专有运营系统、持续技术服务以及资深运营商提供的咨询服务，这些无形资产可通过许可协议实现商业化。 其他知识产权保护领域包括外观设计保护，适用于博彩机或设备的独特设计，以及商业外观保护，适用于博彩机或赌场装饰中的独特元素。 泰国《娱乐综合体法案》规定，赌场内使用的博彩机必须符合娱乐综合体政策委员会（Entertainment Complex Policy Board）设定的标准，保持良好状态，并能够无误运行。运营商还必须协助政府官员对赌场内的博彩机进行检查和测试。若运营商未能在规定时间内解决相关问题，可能面临最高每日 500,000 泰铢（约 14,380 美元）的罚款，直至问题得到解决。 鉴于博彩机需符合这些可能较为复杂的标准，使用经验证可靠的设备至关重要。由于相关知识产权此前在泰国无法注册（如上所述），技术转让将成为泰国娱乐综合体运营商的必要选择，而专利、著作权（计算机程序）及商业秘密将成为此次技术转让的核心领域。 知识产权尽职调查 运营商还需确保其运营活动不会侵犯他人的知识产权。因此，在正式运营或使用任何内容或技术之前，尤其是当这些内容或技术并非由娱乐综合体运营商自行拥有或发明时，进行知识产权尽职调查或自由经营检索至关重要。 进行知识产权尽职调查（IP Clearance）可有效避免高昂的法律纠纷，以及在业务启动后因侵权问题而被迫重新品牌化或停止运营的风险。这一前瞻性措施不仅节省时间和资源，还能防止因侵权诉讼导致的声誉损害。 数据保护与合规 在博彩业和综合度假村行业中，玩家个人数据的收集、使用及保护日益受到关注。泰国《2019 年个人数据保护法》（PDPA）为此提供了相应的监管框架。目前，PDPA 的执法和合规审查正在逐步推进。近期，一家大型企业因未遵守 PDPA 规定被罚款 700 万泰铢，凸显了遵守 PDPA 规定的重要性。此外，监管机构推出了一份新的“合规检查清单”，涵盖十个重点领域，表明泰国正朝着更严格的监管要求和监督机制迈进。 《娱乐综合体法案》还将对赌场相关的其他事项进行监管，包括广告与促销、赌场许可要求、最低投资额、税收政策、允许使用的博彩机类型、营业时间、酒类销售的时间和地点限制以及赌场入场规定等。我们已在另一篇文章中对部分要求进行了讨论。 前景展望 《娱乐综合体法案》正为国内外投资者创造多种商业机会，无论是直接作为娱乐综合体运营商，还是作为知识产权许可方或技术转让方。与此同时，虚拟现实（VR）和区块链等新兴技术有望重塑博彩体验，进一步推动知识产权许可业务的发展，为市场创造更多机遇。 成功管理知识产权资产并建立稳健的许可协议的博彩运营商和综合度假村将在这一竞争激烈的市场中占据有利位置。对于考虑进入泰国娱乐综合体市场的企业而言，提前规划未来的知识产权申请将奠定坚实基础，确保高效运营，并在《娱乐综合体法案》最终通过（如果其最终版本与现有草案相近）的情况下，迅速适应市场发展。

In November 2024, Thai Prime Minister Paethongtarn Shinawatra unveiled ambitious plans to enhance tax incentives for foreign film productions during a networking reception in Los Angeles, coinciding with her visit to the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Lima, Peru. This event, attended by Motion Picture Association executives and leaders from top US film companies, marked a significant commitment to boosting foreign investment in Thailand’s film industry. Thailand’s Department of Tourism (DOT) prioritized the initiative by updating the Announcement on Guidelines, Procedures, and Conditions for Applying for Benefits Under the Incentive Measures for Foreign Film Production in Thailand in December 2024 to further position Thailand as a destination for large-scale international film and television productions. Key Amendments to Film Incentives under the 2024 Announcement The 2024 announcement introduced major changes, including (1) removal of the rebate cap, previously set at THB 150 million (approx. USD 4.5 million) per project, enabling rebates based on total qualified spending, and (2) an increase in cash rebate rates. The maximum allowable cash rebate rate was increased to 30 percent from the previous cap of 20 percent. The base rate of 15 percent remains unchanged. The primary incentive available under the 2024 announcement is a 15 percent cash rebate on qualified spending in Thailand of at least THB 50 million (approx. USD 1.5 million). On top of this primary incentive, additional incentives are available; however, the total possible cash rebate is capped at 30 percent, and the additional incentives can only amount to an added 15 percent. Also, the total rebate (including both primary and additional incentives) for films with a budget of less than THB 100 million (approx. USD 3 million) is capped at 25%. To obtain a higher rebate rate, productions may apply for the following additional incentives: Compliance Requirements Foreign production companies seeking to benefit from Thailand’s enhanced film