Thailand has issued a series of regulations implementing the Employee Welfare Fund, which was established under the Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 (1998) (LPA) but had remained unimplemented since the law’s enactment. The Employee Welfare Fund provides financial support to employees in cases such as termination of employment, death, and other circumstances as specified by the Employee Welfare Fund Committee. Under the LPA, employers with more than ten employees are required to register their employees with the Employee Welfare Fund if they do not offer employees a provident fund or comparable assistance for employment termination or death. With the new regulations detailed below, employers are now able to comply fully with this requirement. Implementation Timeline and Details On November 15, 2024, the Royal Decree Determining the Period for Starting the Collection of Savings and Contributions to the Employee Welfare Fund was officially enacted and published in the Government Gazette. According to this royal decree, contributions to the Employee Welfare Fund will commence on October 1, 2025. Two ministerial decrees followed on November 22, 2024—one setting the withholding and contribution rates, and the other outlining minimum levels of financial assistance due in cases of employment termination or death. The Ministerial Notification Specifying the Rate of Savings and Contributions stipulates the required rates for contributions to the Employee Welfare Fund and establishes a five-year initial period with reduced contribution rates. From October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2030, employers and employees are each required to contribute 0.25% of wages to the Employee Welfare Fund. Starting October 1, 2030, employers and employees will each be required to contribute 0.5% of wages. The Ministerial Notification Specifying Criteria and Procedures for Employers to Provide Assistance in Cases of Employment Termination or Death establishes the guidelines employers must follow when offering financial assistance to employees in the event of termination of

On November 30, 2024, the Data Law was officially promulgated after an accelerated preparation process that began in February 2024. The Data Law is set to take effect on July 1, 2025. Having extraterritorial effect, the Data Law will impact both local and foreign individuals and enterprises. As noted in our previous legal update, the Data Law governs digital data, the National Data Center, the National General Database, digital data products and services, digital data management, and the rights, obligations, and responsibilities of agencies, organizations, and individuals related to digital data activities. This legal update provides an overview of the Data Law, with a deep focus on the key provisions likely to impact businesses operating or offering services in Vietnam. New Data Definition and Classification The Data Law broadly defines “digital data” as data about objects, phenomena, and events, which can include one or a combination of audio, images, numbers, text, or symbols represented in digital format (hereinafter referred to as “data”). This definition is very broad and potentially covers any information recorded or represented in digital forms, including personal and nonpersonal data (such as business data, transactional data, trade secrets, etc.). Data is further categorized into different types that can be used by public bodies. However, the rights and obligations associated with each type of data are not clearly addressed. The data classification criteria include: The nature of data sharing (shared data, private data, open data); The importance of data (core data, important data, and other data); Any other criteria to meet the requirements of data administration, processing, and protection, as determined by the data owner. While the Data Law requires private organizations to categorize data based on its level of importance, it still grants these organizations the right to categorize data based on other criteria. Cross-Border Data Transfers and Processing Under the Data Law, agencies, organizations, and

With intellectual property playing an ever-increasing role in economic development, the need to harness, promote, and protect ASEAN innovation remains urgent as integration progresses. Among its objectives, the ASEAN Economic Community aims to transform the region into a hub of innovation and competitiveness and ensure that the region remains an active participant in the international IP community. With ASEAN member states increasing IP generation and further committing to global IP regimes, the region is increasingly looking toward sophisticated IP ownership and holding structures. IP Holding Companies ASEAN-based companies continue to centralize ownership of their IP assets in offshore holding and licensing vehicles—an approach multinational companies headquartered elsewhere have been using for a number of years. IP-intensive companies look to locate their IP portfolios in low-tax jurisdictions with strong IP registration and protection laws. The company then licenses the IP to operating companies in the group or to third-party licensees, franchisees, agents, distributors, and other partners in return for royalties or license fees. These special-purpose vehicles are typically referred to as IP holding companies. IP holding companies are popular because they can help corporations minimize tax, gain tax benefits or concessions, protect IP from bankruptcy or other claims against the parent company, and focus management attention on the IP portfolio as an income generator. Tax and IP Holding Companies Tax is the primary reason most companies park their IP in separate IP holding vehicles. Sometimes, companies choose to establish their IP holding company in a no-tax, low-tax, or preferred-tax jurisdiction close to their home country. The selected jurisdiction should also be a country with a large and well-established tax treaty network. Double taxation treaties are key considerations in jurisdiction shopping. If the IP assets need to be pledged as security for future borrowings or if they are to be included in the parent company’s asset sheets

Closing out the year, Thailand’s Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) has gifted green innovators with a chance to take a faster route for examining their patent and petty patent applications under the “Target Patent Fast-Track” program. This route prioritizes environmentally sustainable inventions, and significantly accelerates the preliminary and substantive examinations of selected applications at no additional official fee. The program was publicly announced on December 2, 2024, in the DIP Notification on the Expansion of Technological Fields under the Target Patent Fast-Track Program, which took effect on December 15, 2024. The expedited process is open to both Thai and foreign applicants, provided the requirements in the notification are met. Under the fast-track program, a first office action for qualifying applications can be expected within 6 months during the preliminary examination stage. These applications will also be issued a first office action within just 12 months in the substantive examination period after publication. The DIP begins accepting formal requests for selection to participate in the program from January 1, 2025, onward. Each applicant can submit only one application per fast-track patent program per month, as selected applications cannot belong to the same applicant. No more than 10 applications per month will be chosen to participate in the fast-track route, with the results being announced on the 5th of every following month. To be eligible for selection, applications must comply with all the fast-track requirements specified in the recent DIP notification, particularly: The patent or petty patent application must have been filed with the DIP for at least three months, or a substantive examination request has already been filed in the case of patent applications. Each application must contain no more than 10 claims throughout its participation in the program. The application must be electronically filed in Thailand first or through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Receiving Office

The EU-Thailand Free Trade Agreement is drawing a lot of interest as the fourth round recently concluded in Bangkok. Despite negotiations starting in 2013, there was a ten-year pause before we saw the first round of negotiations end in September 2023. The initial plan was for four rounds of negotiations, with the free trade agreement (FTA) finalized in 2025. However, following the fourth round it is clear that the negotiations are still ongoing. Now, the question is: how much closer are the EU and Thailand to concluding their FTA? The EU initially submitted 13 chapter proposals for the FTA, followed by a further 12, and these became the springboard for the negotiations. Given the complexity of agreeing on an accord of this size, there will probably be additional proposals submitted in 2025. These chapters have seen sector-specific negotiation groups formed, and although it has been difficult to truly gauge the status, steady progress has been made in each. Arguably one of the biggest points of discussion pertains to the customs process for imports and exports. Both sides aim to align their practices in relation to rules of origin and custom rates, with preferential tariff treatments offered to goods originating from Thailand and the EU, as well as talks of eliminating or reducing relevant taxes. The desire for a faster customs clearance can be seen in EU proposals for clearance of goods on arrival. Although there has been progress in agreeing to a more simplified customs process, more work needs to be done before we hear news of the agreed-upon fees and charges, or confirmation of what goods would be allowed temporary admission. When we consider customs clearance, it is important to also examine what this FTA could mean for rightsholders. One piece of good news is that it appears all three rounds

近年、タイはデジタル資産を規制し、金融エコシステムに統合するための重要な措置を講じてきた。本記事では、タイにおけるデジタル資産ビジネスを規制する枠組みについて検討し、主要な法律、規制対象の活動、および急速に進化するこの分野における最近の動向に焦点を当てている。 規制環境 2018年、タイはデジタル資産ビジネスに関する緊急法令を制定し、暗号通貨　（cryptocurrencies）およびデジタルトークン（digital tokens）に対するタイ国のアプローチにおいて重要な瞬間を迎えた。法令は、証券取引委員会（SEC: Securities and Exchange Commission）および財務省の監督の下、デジタル資産のプライマリー市場とセカンダリー市場の両方に対する包括的な規制枠組みを提供している。 プライマリー市場において、法令は、イニシャル・コイン・オファリング（ICO：initial coin offerings）を通じたデジタル資産の発行および販売を規制している。規制の重要な特徴は、ICOがSEC承認のICOポータルを通じて実施される必要があるということが要求されている点である。このアプローチは、デジタルトークン販売を通じて資金を調達しようとする企業に対して、構造化され監督された環境を提供することを目的としている。 セカンダリー市場において、法令は、デジタル資産取引所、ブローカー、ディーラー、アドバイザリーサービス、ファンドマネージャー、およびカストディアン(custodian)を含むさまざまなデジタル資産仲介業者に対する規制枠組みを概説している。 SECは、デジタル資産関連の政策を実施する際に、ライセンスを受けたデジタル資産仲介業者に対して継続的な義務を課している。これには、デジタル資産取引所での特定のデジタル資産の上場に対する制限や、支払手段としてのデジタル資産を仲介する業者に対する制限が含まれる。 規制の動向と展望 SECは、グローバルなトレンドや市場の発展に対応するために、デジタル資産規制を定期的に改正することに尽力している。このアプローチの顕著な例として、SECが規制外の即時利用可能なユーティリティトークンの分類を以下の2つのグループに分けて精緻化しようとしていることが挙げられる： グループ1：消費目的または認証のデジタル表現として発行された即時利用可能なユーティリティトークン（例：権利者が特定の権利を持つNFT、カーボンクレジットの認証）。 グループ2：グループ1に指定されていない即時利用可能なユーティリティトークン（例：ネイティブ/ガバナンストークンおよび取引所トークン）で、発行者がタイのデジタル資産取引所に上場する意図がないもの。 もう一つの興味深い潜在的な発展として、SECがデジタル資産ビジネス専用の規制サンドボックスの設立を提案していることが挙げられる。このサンドボックスでは、参加者が最大1年間、管理された環境内でイノベーションをテストすることができ、参加期間中はデジタル資産ビジネスのライセンス要件から免除される可能性が高い。 今後の展望 タイにおけるデジタル資産ビジネスの統治アプローチは、明確な規制枠組みと、市場の進展を支えるために継続的な更新が必要であるという理解を組み合わせたものである。 タイのデジタル資産分野で事業を展開している、または参入を検討している企業にとって、最新の規制更新について情報を常に把握し、新しい要件に適応する準備を整えることは、重要な競争優位性を提供し、タイのデジタル資産エコシステムに参加するための新たな機会を開く可能性がある。 タイのデジタル資産ビジネス規制の詳細については、Athistha (Nop) Chitranukroh又Pornpan Wichawut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。 Fintech Insights: Digital Asset Business Regulations in Thailand

Experts from Tilleke & Gibbins have provided updates for the latest edition of The Pharma Legal Handbook: Vietnam, published by Pharma Boardroom. This comprehensive guide to the legal framework regulating the healthcare and life sciences industries in Vietnam was authored by by the Hanoi-based team of Hien Thi Thu Vu, head of regulatory affairs for Vietnam, and Mai Thi Le, regulatory affairs consultant, the handbook is a must-read for healthcare and life sciences companies that are interested in the Vietnam market. The guide includes eight sections on various important aspects of local regulations: Regulatory, Pricing, and Reimbursement Overview Preclinical & Clinical Trial Requirements Marketing, Manufacturing, Packaging & Labeling, and Advertising Traditional Medicines and Over-the-Counter Products Product Liability Patents and Trademarks Regulatory Reforms Orphan Drugs and Rare Diseases Tilleke & Gibbins has also authored The Pharma Legal Handbook: Thailand, which was updated at the same time as the Vietnam guide. The Pharma Legal Handbook: Vietnam, like all of the country guides from Pharma Boardroom, is available for purchase on the Pharma Boardroom website.

Attorneys from Tilleke & Gibbins in Bangkok have provided updates for the latest edition of The Pharma Legal Handbook: Thailand, published by Pharma Boardroom. This comprehensive guide to the legal framework regulating the healthcare and life sciences industries in Thailand was authored by Alan Adcock, partner and director, intellectual property, and head of the firm’s life sciences practice; Dr. Atthachai Homhuan, manager of regulatory affairs; and San Chaithiraphant, senior associate. The handbook is a must-read for healthcare and life sciences companies that are interested in exploring expansion into the Thai market.