Thailand’s economy in recent years has felt the impact of a seemingly endless list of challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, global economic recession, repercussions from wars and armed conflicts, slumping exports, and recurring internal political turmoil. Many Thai companies simply went bankrupt during this time, but many others have gone through the process of business rehabilitation as laid out in Thailand’s Bankruptcy Act. This article outlines Thailand’s business rehabilitation procedures and explains how creditors can collect debts from companies involved in rehabilitation. Business rehabilitation in Thailand Under the Bankruptcy Act, a creditor, debtor, or government agency under certain circumstances can file a business rehabilitation petition when all of the following conditions are met: The debtor is insolvent or unable to pay the debt due for payment (cash-flow insolvency). The debtor is a juristic person indebted to one or more creditors for a total of at least 10 million baht. The debt can be determined in a definite amount, irrespective of whether it is due for payment immediately or in the future. There is a reasonable prospect of the debtor’s business being rehabilitated. “Insolvency” means a debtor has more debts than assets. However, the Bankruptcy Act also gives some criteria for being able to assume that a debtor is insolvent. Examples include debtors declaring to the court that they are unable to pay their debts, or debtors defaulting on debt payments after receiving at least two demand letters from a creditor (with at least 30 days between the letters). Once the court receives a business rehabilitation petition, the debtor will be protected under an “automatic stay.” This means that any creditor cannot sue or force the debtor to pay a debt, and the debtor is not allowed to pay any debt unless it falls into one of the exceptions of the Bankruptcy Act. In addition, the court will schedule

タイ工業省（MOI: Ministry of Industry）は、工場における産業廃棄物を生成した者に対して汚染者負担の原則を適用する通達を出した。工場法（Factory Act）B.E.2535（1992年）に基づいて制定された廃棄物又は未使用材料の管理に関する工業省の通知 (Notification of the Ministry of Industry on Management of Waste or Unused Materials) B.E.2566（2023年）は、廃棄物を生成した者としての工場の事業者の義務および責任の重要な転換を示しており、新しい通達の下では、廃棄物が第三者である廃棄物処理業者によって収集された時点で終了することはない。2023年5月31日に最初に発行されたこの通知は、工業省によって設定された猶予期間を経過した後、2023年11月1日に施行された。 新しい工業省通知は、廃棄物が生成されてから適切かつ完全に処分されるまで、廃棄物の管理および処分に関する廃棄物を生成した者の義務および責任を拡大するものである。これらの義務および責任には、廃棄物を廃棄物処理業者に引き渡すこと、廃棄物処分処理を監督すること、および廃棄物処理業者による不履行、事故、又は廃棄物の紛失が発生した場合に適切な措置を講じることが含まれる。 工場廃棄物に関する従前の工業省通知に基づく規則と同様に、処分のための工場敷地外での廃棄物の輸送には、依然として工業事業局（DIW: Department of Industrial Works）の許可が必要である。なお、新しい工業省通知に基づく許可は、顧客登録システム（”i-Industry system”）を介して電子的に、又は売業事業局で直接申請することができるようになった。 工業省による産業廃棄物の汚染者負担の原則の採用は、廃棄物管理責任および汚染防止コストが廃棄物を生成する者に大幅にシフトすることを予告しており、廃棄物を生成する者は新しい工業省通知に示された厳格な基準および適合確認手続を確実に遵守する必要がある。 新しい規則の詳細、又は工場に対するタイの産業廃棄物管理や環境規制について、Kobkit Thienpreecha（[email protected]）、Witchupong Chittchang（[email protected]）、又はNathat Chongcharoenphanich（[email protected]）までお問い合わせください。   備考：本和文は英文記事を翻訳したものです。原文については、以下のリンクをご参照ください。 Thailand Embraces Polluter-Pays Principle as New Regulation on Industrial Waste Takes Effect

On November 30, 2023, Vietnam’s Ministry of Science and Technology issued Circular No. 23/2023/TT-BKHCN detailing the implementation of some articles of the 2022 Intellectual Property Law (“IP Law”) and Decree No. 65/2023/ND-CP with respect to the establishment and protection of industrial property rights (“Circular 23”). Circular 23 took immediate effect upon issuance and provides further guidance and necessary clarifications for the implementation of the IP Law, which took effect on January 1, 2023. Some of the most critical provisions of Circular 23 related to the establishment of IP rights are discussed below. Common Procedures Circular 23 enumerates and details the cases where an application will be re-examined, as stipulated in various articles of the IP Law. The circular also adds the procedure in which a protection title can be partially granted, as newly stipulated in Article 118 of the IP Law. The procedure applies to patent, industrial design, and trademark applications. Grounds for IP rights invalidation are further detailed in the new circular. On the patent side, it provides a list of situations where claims are deemed to go beyond the scope of the specification. For trademark registrations, it specifically defines two conditions in which “bad faith” grounds can be used to cancel a registration. The circular sets out the procedure for opposing an application, as stipulated in the new Article 112a of the IP Law. Unlike previous regulations, Circular 23 sets out that the IP Office will inform the applicant of all oppositions (whether or not the opposition is grounded), except for obvious cases where the IP Office will consider the registrability of an opposed mark without informing the applicant. To facilitate applicants and related parties, some timeframes have been extended from one to two months. This includes, for example, the time limit for the applicant and the opponent to respond to the

In a significant development on December 5, 2023, the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) issued Letter No. FE-1/2937 granting authorized dealer licensed banks (ADLBs) the authority to freely transact in foreign currency trades, buying and selling at the market exchange rate for Myanmar kyat (MMK) as proposed by buyers and sellers through online trading platforms. Offshore remittances, however, must comply with the remittance criteria set by the Foreign Exchange Supervisory Committee. The online trading platform Refinitiv, initiated in June 2022 under the CBM’s guidance, facilitates the buying and selling of foreign currency between ADLBs and between banks and customers. The initiative was implemented in accordance with CBM Letter No. FE-1/789, dated June 21, 2023. The platform’s inception saw the exchange rate set at over MMK 2,900 per USD 1. Then, in August 2023, the CBM ordered banks and traders to limit foreign exchange transactions to an approved online trading platform, again with the exchange rate fixed at MMK 2,900 per USD 1. Transactions outside of online trading platforms continue to be governed by the exchange rate set by the CBM of 2,100 MMK per USD 1. Conversion Rules for Exporters On December 6, 2023, the CBM issued Notification No. 26/2023 lowering the percentage of Myanmar companies’ export earnings in foreign currency subject to mandatory conversion into MMK from 50% to 35% at the current official exchange rate set by the CBM at USD 1 to MMK 2,100. This mandatory conversion must follow the requirements for mandatory conversion of foreign currency, which remain in effect. For more details on foreign exchange developments, or on any aspect of financial regulations in Myanmar, please contact Tilleke & Gibbins at [email protected].

Thailand’s Ministry of Interior has extended the deadlines for payment of the 2024 land and building tax and related procedures by two months. The announcement was published in the Government Gazette on November 30, 2023. According to the new timeline in the ministry’s announcement, the official land and building tax assessment forms will be sent to taxpayers by the end of April 2024 (extended from February 2024) while the deadline for payment of land and building tax has been extended to June 30, 2024 (from April 30, 2024). For payments made in installments, the announcement also extended the deadline for each installment as follows: For more details on these measures, or any aspect of Thailand’s land and building tax, please contact Chaiwat Keratisuthisathorn at [email protected] or Supranee Arjjit at [email protected].

The Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs (the Hague Agreement) officially took effect in Vietnam on December 30, 2019. Since then the Hague Express Database reports that more than 1,300 international design applications have designated Vietnam, and many of them have been examined by Vietnam’s IP Office before a statement of grant of protection was issued. However, from the time the Hague Agreement took effect until the amended Intellectual Property Law took effect on January 1, 2023, there were no legal documents regulating the process and procedures for examining these applications in Vietnam. This caused some difficulties in the examination process and many applications filed from 2020 to date remain in limbo, with the applicants having submitted responses to refusals, but yet to receive further results on the grant or refusal of protection. The amended IP Law introduced Article 93.9 on the validity of international registrations of industrial designs according to the Hague Agreement. More recently, Decree 65/2023/ND-CP (Decree 65) introduced a new section on the filing and processing of Hague international design applications, with detailed regulations on the handling of Hague applications originating in Vietnam and Hague applications designating Vietnam. These new regulations have generally improved the international application process in Vietnam for both the IP Office and design applicants; however, they have not resolved some existing problems and in some cases have created more burdens for applicants. Submission of priority documents Article 24.8 of Decree 65 requires that within three months from the date of the International Bureau’s notification of the Hague Application designating Vietnam, applicants wishing to benefit from a priority must submit documents proving their priority right to the IP Office for approval. This is a completely new requirement that applies to all international design applications designating Vietnam starting from the effective date of Decree

Myanmar enacted its new Copyright Law on May 24, 2019, to replace the old Copyright Act of 1914. To implement the Copyright Law, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) issued the Copyright Rules under Notification No. 70/2023 dated October 23, 2023, establishing procedures for registration of copyright and related rights. Both the new Copyright Law and the Copyright Rules finally came into force on October 31, 2023, in accordance with State Administration Council (SAC) Notification No. 218/2023. Subsequently, the MOC issued Notification No. 73/2023 on November 20, 2023, specifying the official forms for copyright and related rights matters to be filed with Myanmar’s Intellectual Property Department (IPD). An announcement specifying the government fees under the Copyright Law is still awaited. Once these fees are announced and the IPD opens voluntary registration, the new regime for copyright and related rights in Myanmar is finally expected to be fully functional. Overview The new Copyright Law gives copyright protection for eligible literary and artistic works and for the related rights of performers, phonogram producers, and broadcasting organizations. The law also enables the use of technological protection measures to protect copyright in literary or artistic works or related rights. The unauthorized removal or alteration of digital rights management information is also strictly prohibited. The law supports voluntary registration of copyright in literary and artistic works and related rights with the IPD. In addition, although Myanmar is not yet a contracting party to the Berne Convention (under which countries extend the same copyright protection to nationals and foreigners, regardless of publication in the country), the new Copyright Law extends copyright protection to foreign works created by noncitizens and nonresidents if they are first published in Myanmar or published in Myanmar within 30 days of first publication elsewhere. The Copyright Law grants the following copyright protection terms for the economic rights

On November 13, 2023, the Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DGIP) of Indonesia’s Ministry of Law and Human Rights held an offline workshop regarding intellectual property (IP).  One of the main discussion topics was the socialization of the proposed amendments to the Industrial Design Law. The proposed amendments to the Industrial Design Law contain a number of important changes, as outlined below. Industrial design definition The definition of an industrial design is clarified and emphasized in the draft law. An object protected through industrial design rights is “the outer appearance of a product,” gives an “aesthetic impression,” can be protected in whole or in part, and may be two- or three-dimensional. Registration system The protection period for industrial designs set by the draft law is 5 years, renewable for up to two additional five-year terms. This differs from the period provided under the current law, which is 10 years from the filing date, nonrenewable. Recordal system The draft law introduces a recordal system particularly for designs that have a relatively short commercial turnaround time, such as textile products. Recorded designs have a protection period of three years from the first publication. The recorded designs can become registered design applications by filing the design through the DGIP’s registration system no later than 12 months from its first publication. Details regarding the recordal system are not yet available. Nonregistrable industrial designs The draft law clarifies that the following are not registrable as industrial designs: Designs that do not give an aesthetic impression; Designs whose features are for purposes of technical functioning only; Folklore or traditional cultural expressions that have not been developed further; Designs contrary to the provisions of laws and regulations, public order, religion, or morality; and Designs filed in bad faith. International design applications The new law introduces a provision regarding design applications that are taken from an international application. However, detailed application requirements are