On May 31, 2016, the Ministry of Commerce introduced a Prakas  (regulation) on the Procedures to Record and File Permission Letters for Imported Goods Bearing Exclusive Trademarks. For the first time, this regulation sets out the procedures to register an exclusive distributorship at the Department of Intellectual Property Rights (DIPR).

The PLC Energy and Natural Resources Global Guide 2016/17  provides an overview of electricity laws and regulations in jurisdictions around the world, structured in a Q&A format. Vinh Quoc Nguyen, a senior attorney-at-law in Tilleke & Gibbins’ Ho Chi Minh City office, authored the Vietnam chapter of the electricity guide.

The electricity component of Energy and Natural Resources, published by Practical Law Company, provides a Q&A-style overview of power issues and regulations across 23 jurisdictions worldwide. The Thailand chapter, written by Cynthia M. Pornavalai and Santhapat Periera, partners at Tilleke & Gibbins, details the country’s domestic electricity market, regulatory structure, and procedures and requirements. In particular, it covers the following subjects:

Recently, the Cabinet passed a resolution that amends Thailand’s Trade Competition Act B.E. 2542 (1999). The draft amended law has since been submitted to the National Legislative Assembly for further consideration. Businesses should be aware of and prepare for the major changes ahead, as the newly proposed law may become effective at the end of this year.The Office of Thai Trade Competition Commission (OTCC) is the main enforcer of Thailand’s Trade Competition Act. Overall, the Act aims to regulate fair competition among business operators in the following key areas:

Presented in a Q&A format, the PLC Life Sciences Multi-jurisdictional Guide  provides a comprehensive overview of life sciences laws and regulations in jurisdictions around the world. Lawyers at Tilleke & Gibbins wrote the Vietnam chapter of the guide, which covers the following subjects in detail:

PLC Life Sciences Multi-jurisdictional Guide 2016/17  is a Q&A-style guide which provides an overview of the regulatory frameworks of the life sciences industries across multiple jurisdictions worldwide.

Changes to how Thailand handles well-known marks mean that rights holders will have to change their strategies and best practices to protect their marks.In Thailand, protection over a trademark is usually granted once a trademark is registered. A registrar will not grant the registration of a mark that is identical or similar to a prior-registered trademark, as it may lead to confusion among the public as to the owner or origin of the goods.

Vietnam’s new Law on Cyber-Information Security (LCIS) was passed on November 19, 2015, and it will take effect this year on July 1. This is the first comprehensive law ever issued in Vietnam on the security of “cyber-information,” which is information exchanged in a telecommunications or computer network environment.