On February 23, 2008, the law governing work permits (Working of Aliens Act) generated much attention when its completely new face emerged to replace its 30-year-old predecessor. Although the implementation of the major part of this new law has been delayed pending the issuance of several ministerial rules and regulations, it would be prudent for working aliens to familiarize themselves with some key changes. This article discusses the changes introduced by the new legislation.

In the coming weeks, Thailand’s workforce will enjoy numerous public holidays. As employees prepare to supplement their public holidays with annual leave, employers and employees alike are encouraged to review the laws surrounding personal vacation in Thailand. This article addresses common mistakes concerning annual leave.

On January 10, 2008, the National Legislative Assembly unanimously decided that Thailand should become a party to the Paris Convention for the Pro­tection of Industrial Property and the Patent Cooperation Treaty. Thailand will finally become a party to the Paris Convention, the 173rd state to do so. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs deposited its instrument of acces­sion on May 2, 2008, and the Convention will become binding upon Thailand on August 2, 2008. This article looks at the primary benefits of accession.

In March 2008, the Supreme Court rendered its judgment to affirm an earlier judgment by the Central Intel­lectual Property and International Trade Court regarding the infringement of the patented poultry feeding machine of a U.S. company, GSI Group, Inc. This article summarizes the decision.

This article summarizes the results of recent raids by Seiko Epson and SKF to seize infringing goods.

As part of the ongoing suppression of products that infringe intellectual prop­erty rights, government bureaus includ­ing ECOTEC police bureau, Customs ware­houses, and Customs bureaus at indi­vid­ual ports have organized several destruc­tion ceremonies since the beginning of 2008. This article summarizes the events.

This article describes a multijurisdictional dispute between Carabao Tawandang Company Limited and Red Bull GmbH, both of which are large producers of energy drinks. Red Bull launched oppositions and cancellations against Carabao Tawandang’s Buffalo Device trademark in a number of countries, but the dispute was eventually settled amicably.

Trademark owners frequently choose to include a geographical name in their marks because it effectively draws public attention and is easy to remember. Under the current Thai practice, however, the Registrar will strictly enforce the legal provisions prohibiting registration of a geographical name as a trademark. The restrictions on geographical names are extremely onerous, and the successful registration of such names is therefore quite difficult. For trademark owners, only two exceptions to this practice remain.