Product manufacturers and service providers consistently seek to create cool and modernized images to identify both themselves and the attributes of their goods and services. To this end, the elimination of vowels from trademarks has become an increasingly common trend. Yet, not all marks with vowel ellipsis have been successfully registered in Thailand.

As most ASEAN Food and Drug Administrations and Ministries of Agriculture labor under critical backlogs of product registration applications for the growing number of products being released into Asian markets, businesses are looking to new ways to facilitate approvals. Outsourcing product registration work to law firms is becoming an increasingly popular way for regulatory affairs departments to speed up applications as local knowledge and effective navigation go a long way in Asia.

Building on an earlier article entitled “How to Successfully Negotiate a Dispute,” this article provides clear examples of how put these negotiating techniques into practice in order to achieve outcomes that are beneficial to all parties. 

When entering into negotiations, clients often express concerns that the process may be difficult, as parties who are unwilling to compromise may become entrenched in bitter disputes. But negotiations do not have to be a painful process. Whether in an emotionally charged dispute like divorce or in any litigation or business transaction, attorneys are able to implement negotiating techniques that have been developed by dealing with adversaries on a regular basis.

Intellectual property owners receive significant benefits from the border measures that are carried out by Customs officers in Thailand. More than a million pieces of counterfeit products are stopped from entering and being distributed in the local Thai market each year, and these products are also prevented from being transshipped to other countries. This article examines the regulatory framework under which seizures take place, the standard process for seizing goods, and the forthcoming amendments to the Customs Act. 

Recent scandals, particularly the one involving melamine-tainted milk from China, have impacted consumer awareness in a big way, making consumers pay more attention to the quality and safety of the products they purchase. This is particularly true for products that are ingested, such as food and beverages. In Thailand, these products must first receive approval from the Food and Drug Administration in the case of food and drugs, and the Excise Department in the case of alcoholic beverages, before launching in the market.

In the current climate of the global economic crisis and with Thailand’s economy in recession, many businesses are desperately searching for ways to survive. If the decision has been taken that it is necessary to lay off a number of employees, employers must be careful to adhere to the correct procedures and pay the appropriate severance pay and other benefits to employees.

Recently, the members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) attempted to improve product registration efficiency and marketing approval for pharmaceutical products. The ASEAN harmonization regime hopes to improve the standard of the Food and Drug Administrations’ (FDAs) regulatory reviews in ASEAN countries. Despite these efforts, however, the lingering obstacle of a lack of intellectual property understanding continues to leave pharmaceutical companies with difficulties when dealing with product registration in several ASEAN FDAs.