The Trade Competition Act (TCA) applies to all enterprises and business activities in Thailand, with certain enumerated exceptions, such as state enterprises, cooperatives, agricultural and cooperative groups, and government agencies. If you are a business operator in Thailand, especially a market-dominant operator, the TCA governs how you do business. The TCA regulates abuse of dominance, anticompetitive agreements, unfair trade practices, and interference with consumer purchases from foreign suppliers.

Vietnam, with a population of nearly 90 million people, is the 12th most populous country in the world, and the country’s pharmaceutical industry therefore has huge potential. Most major pharmaceutical companies have had a formal presence (in the form of representative offices) in the country since the mid-1990s, and they generally have well-established distribution networks in Vietnam.

Among the criteria for trademark registration in Thailand, the issue of “distinctiveness” can often present a hurdle for applicants. If the Registrar finds that an applied-for mark lacks distinctiveness on absolute grounds, the applicant will be asked to submit evidence of use of the mark to prove that it has acquired distinctiveness through use. If the evidence fails to convince the Registrar that it has acquired distinctiveness, the application will be rejected and the applicant may then file an appeal with the Board of Trademarks and at the Courts, respectively.

This chapter provides a broad overview of Thailand’s business crime laws. It deals with such issues as fraud, insider trading, embezzlement, bribery, tax crimes, money laundering, and more. The chapter also provides a clear description of the process for prosecuting white-collar crimes, from investigation through trial and appeal.

The year 2010 has witnessed a number of important steps forward for IP rights in Vietnam, beginning with amendments to the Law on Intellectual Property, which became effective on January 1, 2010, and ending with substantial developments in IP enforcement. Two of the most notable developments were the first-ever court ruling on patent infringement in Vietnam and the issuance of a new decree that revises and clarifies the sanctions for IP violations.

The rapid proliferation of mobile phones across the Kingdom demonstrates the vital importance of technology in the lives of Thai people—from metropolitan Bangkok to the rural provinces. With mobile phone companies launching new designs every other month, it is crucial to have a speedy means of protecting new designs, which are developed at significant expense. Currently, however, there is no form of design protection in synch with the accelerated time frames for production and launch demanded by trendy, tech-savvy consumers.

Unlike design laws in many countries where the functional aspect of an article is clearly excluded from protection, Thai law does not contain any limitation in this respect. Although the protection of designs has been offered to innovators under the patent law for more than thirty years, the issue regarding the functionality exception had not been brought to the attention of scholars and practitioners until recently.

On September 6, 2010, the Ministry of Finance issued new guidelines delineating procedures for foreign investment in Vietnamese enterprises via capital contribution and share purchase. This article provides an overview of several critical developments in the regime governing foreign investment in Vietnam.