On September 9, 2021, Laos announced a new pilot program to allow the mining and trading of cryptocurrency. Notification No. 1158, issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, provides for an electricity sale-purchase agreement with six companies involved in the pilot program. Under the notification, the six companies authorized by the prime minister to mine and trade cryptocurrency in Laos will pay a capped fee for energy they use in data processing or mining cryptocurrency. This effectively establishes a sandbox in which these six companies may mine and trade cryptocurrency—including on international cryptocurrency exchanges. The Ministry of Technology and Communications (MTC) is in charge of coordinating the program, together with the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of the Lao PDR, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Energy and Mines, the Ministry of Public Security, and Électricité du Laos. The MTC is also charged with drafting the rules of the pilot program and setting the conditions on which the participating companies can mine, sell, and purchase cryptocurrency in Laos. One of the six selected companies will also act as a coordinator for the other companies and report to the government on any benefits of cryptocurrency observed during the pilot program. The next step is for the MTC to compile data analysis from each of the other government agencies and submit the conclusions to a meeting of the prime minister and the deputy prime ministers before the pilot program is implemented. The pilot program was originally scheduled to start in September, but there has not yet been any update on the implementation of the program, which nonetheless is expected to start in the near future.

In September 2021, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) issued its Guidelines on Data Governance to provide financial institutions with recommendations on how to ensure that their data governance will be in compliance with accepted international principles. While there are no penalties for noncompliance, financial institutions should view the recommendations as minimum standard expectations for their data governance in Thailand. The BOT guidelines set forth five main data governance principles: Data Governance Policy Financial institutions should set forth their data governance policy in writing in accordance with their business size, business operations, business complexity, and data risk. The policy should cover all types of data, including data related to services from third parties or business partners, as well as provide information on the data governance structure, data lifecycle management, protection of data security and data privacy, and incident management. Financial institutions should inform their employees and other relevant parties of the policy to ensure their compliance. In addition, the data governance policy must be approved by the designated board or committee of the financial institution, and be reviewed and revised in response to significant changes. Data Governance Structure Financial institutions should establish a data governance structure with three lines of defense, supervised by an oversight committee. The first line of defense comprises data management personnel, a data approver, and data users; the second comprises a risk management unit and a compliance unit; and the third is an audit unit. While the chosen data governance structure can be tailored to the characteristics of the institution, the structure should cover all of these roles and duties, and must not contravene the principle of checks and balances. The data governance structure should also be supported by sufficient personnel and equipment, as well as a clear plan—reviewed and revised as necessary—for building awareness at all levels of the financial institution and

In August 2021, the Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DGIP) of Indonesia’s Ministry of Law and Human Rights held a virtual session on the draft revision of Patent Law No. 13 of 2016 to apprise relevant stakeholders of the draft amendments and maintain transparency in the drafting process. The Patent Law is being amended to correspond with the Job Creation Law (Law No. 11 of 2020), which requires adjustments to regulations to bring them in line with international standards, balanced with national interests. One of the purposes of the Job Creation Law is to speed up and simplify business processes, so the proposed amendments to the Patent Law aim to support this objective. The draft update to the Patent Law contains a number of notable changes, as laid out below. Computer programs Under both the current law and the draft law, computer programs are not considered inventions and thus cannot be patented. However, the draft law does allow computer-implemented inventions and computer-related inventions, while specifying that computer programs by themselves are not allowed. Discoveries The draft law allows patents for a new use of an existing product or for a new form of an existing compound that significantly increases efficacy and has no related chemical structural differences from the known compound. This allowance will be particularly advantageous for inventions related to second medical uses. Application grace period The draft law increases the time allowed for filing a patent application to 12 months after the disclosure of the invention (from the current grace period of six months). This longer allowance will especially benefit researchers and inventors who require scientific publication of their research results as well as patent protection. Patent implementation by other parties The draft law allows implementation of a patent not only in terms of production, but also through granting permission to other parties, such as through

In September 2021, Thailand’s Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) issued an updated draft royal decree for digital platforms—a potentially far-reaching royal decree that was the subject of a public hearing in July 2021. The ETDA made the changes in response to a considerable amount of feedback and comments from business operators and other stakeholders. The key changes to the draft royal decree are outlined below. Definitions The updated draft broadens the definition of digital platforms subject to the royal decree by removing mention of offering goods, services, or intangible assets, and by deleting a phrase related to contract issues. As a result, “digital platform” currently refers to any intermediary digital platform that provides a connection space for “business operators on a digital platform” and “consumers” via a computer network. Similarly, the definitions of “business operators on a digital platform” and “consumers” have been amended by excluding the offering of intangible assets through digital platforms, and the draft emphasizes that business operators on a digital platform are not included in the definition of consumers. Notification Exemption Under the updated draft royal decree, a digital platform provider under the supervision of other authorities or falling under the Electronic Transactions Commission’s list of exempted digital platform providers is exempted from the requirement to notify the ETDA of the operation of its digital platform. The commission may also exempt any other digital platform service as it sees fit. Extraterritorial Effect The draft provisions subjecting certain digital platforms located outside Thailand to the royal decree and requiring them to appoint a local representative in Thailand have been updated by removing the requirement to issue a tax invoice to consumers in Thailand. Furthermore, the updated draft makes the local representative subject to the reporting obligations and cessation requirements, whereas these obligations were not prescribed in the previous version of the draft royal

As part of its membership in Lex Mundi, Tilleke & Gibbins has published an updated edition of its Guide to Doing Business in Thailand for 2021. This guide outlines all of the key factors for starting and operating a business in the Thai market. Issues covered include: Investment incentives Financial facilities Exchange controls Import and export regulations Structures for doing business Requirements for the Establishment of a Business Operation of the Business Cessation or Termination of the Business Labor legislation, relations, and supply Tax Immigration requirements This publication is part of Lex Mundi’s Guides to Doing Business series prepared by member firms in more than 100 jurisdictions worldwide. The guides serve as a useful resource when planning an international business strategy or researching a new market.

In SIAC arbitration, respondents who refuse to respond may find themselves in a strategically favorable position. We explain the challenges in dealing with a non-responsive respondent and our recommended course of action.

Indonesia’s e-filing system became a vital tool for remote IP filings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that the increasingly feature-rich system is fully in place, it is worth considering which points could be improved in future iterations.

A registration process for plant variety protection (PVP) has been in effect in Myanmar since enactment of the New Plant Variety Protection Law 2016, which was later replaced by the New Plant Variety Protection Law 2019 (“PVP Law 2019”). In accordance with its implementation of this law, the government is encouraging private companies, associations, organizations, and individual plant breeders to apply for the protection of new plant varieties in order to increase crop production in the country. Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic in Myanmar, Tilleke & Gibbins successfully secured a plant breeder’s rights certificate for a client in June 2020, making the client the first certificate holder in Myanmar. This article summarizes the PVP application and registration process, and offers some practical insights into the authorities’ activities and approach. PVP Registration The Central Committee for National New Plant Variety Protection (PVP Committee) oversees PVP registration, which is administered by the PVP Section of the Department of Agricultural Research (DAR) in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Irrigation. To apply for plant breeder’s rights in Myanmar, an application and a technical questionnaire on the new plant variety should be filed with the PVP Section, which reviews the technical questionnaire and determines whether the plant qualifies as a new variety. Four groups are eligible to apply for PVP registration in order to secure plant breeder’s rights under the current PVP legislation: Myanmar nationals; Foreign nationals and organizations whose permanent residence is in Myanmar; Persons or entities resident in a country that has a PVP agreement with Myanmar; and International organizations. An application can be examined in one of four ways (determined by the PVP Committee): Official field trial involving planting the new variety in Myanmar; On-site field inspection of the breeder’s field by the PVP Section; Examination of test reports of the authority in the applicant’s home country; or Purchase of test reports