The People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City was recently requested to overturn an arbitral decision by the Vietnam International Arbitration Center (VIAC) relating to a non-competition clause. In the end, however, the court ruled that VIAC’s decision was correct, thus upholding a non-compete clause signed between a company and its employee. The decision represents one of the first times in Vietnam in which the enforcement of a non-compete clause was tested. Although it is not a legally binding precedent, it does show that non-compete clauses can potentially be upheld in Vietnam.

On June 12, 2018, the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme People’s Procuracy, and the Supreme People’s Court of Vietnam issued Joint Circular No. 07/2018/TTLT-BTP-VKSNDTC-TANDTC, on coordination in the enforcement of court decisions on bankruptcy. Joint Circular 07 comes into force on August 1, 2018.

When pursuing an IP enforcement case in Vietnam, rightsholders will often be advised by counsel of the need to obtain a “VIPRI opinion” as a first step. VIPRI (Vietnam Intellectual Property Research Institute), a quasi-governmental organization, is the only agency in Vietnam authorized to provide expert opinions (statutorily known as “assessment conclusions”) on IP infringement.A Useful Enforcement Aid

Last week, Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) decided to suspend the drafting process for a controversial new decree that had been proposed on the development and management of the distribution sector (the “Draft Decree”). It was anticipated that the drafting process would be completed this summer and the Draft Decree would be submitted to the government for adoption in the fall.

On May 22, 2018, the government of Vietnam promulgated Decree No. 82/2018/ND-CP on industrial and economic zones (Decree 82) replacing Decree No. 29/2008/ND-CP dated March 14, 2008, as amended by Decree No. 164/2013/ND-CP and Decree No. 114/2015/ND-CP (Decree 29). Decree 82 will come into effect from July 10, 2018. Below are some key changes of Decree 82 in comparison to Decree 29:Export-processing enterprises are allowed to conduct the purchase and sale of goods and related activities in Vietnam

Tilleke & Gibbins and other Multilaw member firms have contributed to the 2018 edition of Multilaw’s International FinTech Guide,  which covers 15 key business areas related to financial technology (FinTech) in 21 jurisdictions worldwide.

Leading intellectual property practitioners from Tilleke & Gibbins have contributed the Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam chapters of the Lex Mundi ASEAN Intellectual Property Guide: Overview of Regulatory Framework for Patent and Trademark Protection in the ASEAN Countries. The guide provides a Q&A-style overview of patent and trademark protection and compares relevant laws and procedures from throughout the ASEAN region.

The new Myanmar Companies Law 2017 will come into force on August 1, 2018, substantially reforming how companies—both domestic and foreign—do business in Myanmar. Our recent summary of the new Myanmar Companies Law provides an overview of these reforms.