In recent years in Vietnam, new policies and changes in the law have led to many situations where foreign companies are no longer allowed to operate as representative offices (ROs), or find that it is no longer optimal to do so. As a result, many companies are converting or considering the conversion of their ROs into full subsidiaries or “foreign-invested enterprises” (FIEs). This has been an especially hot topic in the pharmaceutical sector after changes brought on in 2017 by new legislation.   

On December 19, 2018, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia (MOLHR) ratified Regulation No. 38 of 2018 on Patent Applications as an implementing regulation of Law No. 13 of 2016 Concerning Patents.   This regulation came into effect on December 28, 2018. It was presented to the public by the Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DGIP) on March 19, 2019, through a local seminar organized by the Indonesian Intellectual Property Attorneys Association (AKHKI) and the DGIP.   

On January 30, 2019, Myanmar’s long-awaited Trademark Law was signed into law, effectively establishing the framework for a comprehensive trademark registration system open to both foreign and domestic trademark owners. This highly anticipated move by the government marks an essential step in its efforts to increase Myanmar’s attractiveness as a destination for foreign investment.   

Thailand has a strong reputation for modernizing digital business regulations in line with international standards, in order to make the jurisdiction an attractive location for international businesses, and its push to do so sometimes has extremely wide-reaching effects on the legal system as a whole. A recent example is Thailand’s Electronic Transaction Act B.E.

Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019) (PDPA), approved by the government earlier this year, was published in the Government Gazette on May 27, 2019.

This article was first published on Franchise Law Insider—a blog maintained by US Law Firm Quarles & Brady LLP—and was co-authored by Sher Hann Chua, a consultant at Tilleke & Gibbins’ Bangkok and Yangon offices, and Bob Smith, a partner in the Washington, DC office of Quarles & Brady LLP.

The Myanmar Ministry of Commerce has set the timeline for foreign-owned and joint venture companies importing or exporting specific categories of goods to apply for retail and wholesale services registration. These changes are outlined in Notification 23/2019 from Myanmar’s Ministry of Commerce (MoC) supporting last year’s opening-up of retail and wholesale to foreign companies (on which see our recent article here).

On May 14, 2019, Thailand’s Cabinet approved the exemption of three categories of service business from Foreign Business License (FBL) requirements. The exemptions, which are expected to be enacted soon by Ministry of Commerce regulations, will permit foreigners to freely engage in the previously restricted activities. The categories of service business to be exempted are: