Strategies in Thailand to Protect and Recover Trademarks

Trademark registration is a fundamental element of investment strategy. Cost incurred in registering a trademark is considerably lower than cost associated with challenges to bad faith registrations by business partners, distributors or others, and the examination process in a trademark …

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Why more foreign investors in Thailand are including international arbitration clauses in their contracts which include Bangkok as the venue to settle disputes

In 2020 foreign investors into Thailand will increasingly choose Bangkok as a venue to settle disputes, rather than going to settle their disputes at arbitration in Singapore or other cities in South-East Asia (such as Singapore), which are more costly …

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A Practical Tip on Arbitration Clauses involving Thailand that allows you to Have Your Cake and Eat it Too

There is little dispute that international arbitration is the best way to resolve cross-border disputes.  A 2018 International Arbitration Survey carried out by Queen Mary University of London in partnership with the White & Case law firm demonstrates that international …

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Finality of Awards: Investor-State Disputes. ICSID?

One of the key virtues of any dispute resolution mechanism is finality. Will the dispute resolution mechanism lead to a final result in a relatively short amount of time and avoid endless and expensive reviews, appeals and challenges?  If a …

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Electronic Filing of Thai Court Documents

By Auttasak Sulaiman and Sudthapa Thanathanya Filing court documents in Thailand has, until recently, required an in-person trip to the applicable court, which can be both time consuming and expensive for ongoing litigation involving multiple hearings.  While the Civil Procedure …

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New Court Established To Assist In Thailand’s Fight Against Corruption

The Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Offences represents Thailand’s latest effort in its battle against corruption.  The new court, established under the recently enacted Act on the Establishment of Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Offence B.E. 2559 (2016), …

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Permission Now Required For Supreme Court Appeals

Unlike the Supreme Court in the U.S., Thailand’s Supreme Court has provided a right of appeal for most cases heard by the Thailand’s lower courts. In particular, any factual issue heard by the Court of Appeals would be entitled to …

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Service of Process in Thailand and the U.S.

Civil lawsuits in most jurisdictions and cases start by filing a document often referred to as a complaint and then “serving” a copy of that document (and perhaps other documents) on the defendant. This is certainly true in Thailand and …

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What a Difference Discovery Makes

Discovery under the U.S. federal and state law is broad, providing plaintiffs with a variety of tools to assemble evidence for their cases, such as depositions, requests for production of documents, subpoenas, and interrogatories (written questions) and requests for admissions. …

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Service of Process – Thailand vs. U.S.

Civil lawsuits in almost jurisdictions and cases start by filing a document often referred to as a complaint and then “serving” a copy of that document (and perhaps other documents) on the defendant. This is certainly true in Thailand and …

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Are There Limits To The Creeping Extraterritorial Application Of U.S. Law?

In May 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), in connection with investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, indicted fourteen people in connection with wire fraud, racketeering and money laundering as …

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Thai Courts Open To Class Action Litigation

Thailand’s National Legislative Assembly has enacted legislation amending the Civil Procedure Code to permit class action litigation that will take effect 240 days after publication in the Government Gazette.  Generally speaking, a class action is a type of collective litigation …

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Thai Labour Unions

Thai law allows employees to form unions and sets out the requirements for forming a union.  At least ten employees at a “business location” can elect to form a union and obtain approval from the Ministry of Labour to form …

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Litigation & Arbitration in Thailand

Courts Unless subject to arbitration, most private disputes in Thailand are adjudicated in the Courts of Justice (Thailand also has a Constitutional Court, Administrative Court and a Military Court). Courts of Justice have three levels: the Courts of First Instance; …

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Arbitration and Thai Government Agencies

Thailand has traditionally been an arbitration friendly state, embracing and promoting arbitration as a method of resolving commercial disputes. In fact, Thailand was among the first countries to adhere to the 1958 Convention on the Enforcement and Recognition of Foreign …

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Legal Update: Increased Enforcement of the FCPA

The last several years have seen a dramatic increase in enforcement of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA"), which, as most AMCHAM members will know, is a broad law that criminalizes corrupt payments to foreign officials. In the prior …

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Summary Trade Competition

Thailand has had a quasi-competition law since 1979, known as the Price Control and Anti-Monopoly Act. At its inception, the law's objective was to protect consumers from inflationary pressures and from widespread collusive practices among businesses that had led to …

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Enforcement of Mortgages

There are two basic methods of enforcing a mortgage under Thai law. The first and far more common method of enforcement is to obtain a court judgment ordering the mortgaged property to be seized and sold at a public auction. …

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