After more than 77 years under the previous legislation of 1930, a new Film and Video Act replacing its predecessor finally entered into force in Thailand on June 4, 2008. The new Act has considerable consequences for foreign producers shooting films in the Kingdom as well as for foreign films intended to be screened in the coun­try. Thailand is also unfortunately well known for the large number of pirated videos being sold on its streets. This new Act thus integrates certain provisions which may provide useful new options for sanc­tioning those selling such counterfeit products.

Until recently Thailand did not have a specific law which governed court pro­ceed­ings in respect of disputes between consumers and business operators. The newly adopted Consumer Case Procedure Act is truly one of a kind. Despite being designated as procedural law, the Act contains both procedural and substantive provisions. The new law took effect on August 23, 2008, and the media has already reported numerous com­plaints filed by consumers against busi­ness operators for various types of viola­tions. This article introduces the Act’s provisions.

When evaluating two possibly similar marks, the Registrar and the Board of Trademarks have a tendency to focus on specific elements of the marks that may be deemed similar. Usually, this means focusing primarily on certain aspects of appearance and pronunciation, while deemphasizing other important issues such as actual use of the mark in trade or the intent of the parties in seeking registration. This approach can be contrasted with the method employed by Thai courts, which consider a wide variety of factors in rendering their judgments.

Trademark owners are frequently surprised by a particular approach used by the Board of Trademarks which has now become entrenched in its practice. Over the past several years, the Board has main­tained its decision-making trend regarding marks which consist of a distinctive word or well-known house mark combined with other descriptive or nondistinctive words, in which the Trademark Registrar initially required the disclaimer of such descriptivenondistinctive words.

When faced with a dispute, the primary goal of most IP brand owners is to settle their case quickly, smoothly, and cost effec­tively. Although court procedures can pro­vide an effective means of taking legal action against an infringer, litigation usually requires a significant investment of both time and money in order to see it through to its conclusion. Brand owners who wish to seek a quick solution to a problem may con­sider alternative mediation methods to settle the dispute before going to trial.

Since ideas, concepts, processes, or solutions to design new life insurance products are patentable business methods in other countries, it is therefore surprising that life insurance companies in Thailand are able to copy life insurance products that are newly launched in the market. Business methods are new methods of doing business often found in many industries—especially in the services business sector such as insurance, banking and finance, tax compliance, and e-commerce.

In the last decade, both Thailand and Vietnam have experienced rapid growth in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. This article examines the current issues facing research-based pharmaceutical companies in each country. In Thailand, pharmaceutical companies must deal with the government’s announcement of compulsory licenses on various key patented drugs, as well as the absence of a centralized procedure for approval of clinical trials and a multitude of data protection challenges.

Since the adoption of the Law on Intellectual Property in 2005, most experts have acknowledged that Vietnam’s intellectual property regime generally complies with the requirements of TRIPS. However, enforcement mechanisms in the country have remained weak. In the last few months, Vietnam issued new legislation which is expected to improve the country’s intellectual property law enforcement regime. These new regulations are summarized in this article.