Thailand’s roadmap of food safety, which was approved in 2004, aims to promote the Kingdom as the “kitchen of the world.” Animal feed, i.e., food given to farm animals, plays a major role in the food safety regime—it is part of the stages of food production, dubbed “farm-to-table,” and is an integral component in the overarching food chain. Animal feed must be as safe as meat for human consumption, and therefore registration, inspection, and control of animal feed are vigorously regulated by the regulatory authorities.

Recently, the Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center), under the supervision of Division III of the Investigation and Suppression Bureau, Royal Thai Customs Department (Customs), has developed an iteration of the software program that brand owners can use to record their marks for monitoring. In this article, we will discuss the new software program, cooperation with Customs, and Customs recordation with the Department of Intellectual Property (DIP).New Customs Software Program

As ASEAN works toward greater unification, a number of action plans have been devised to accelerate integration. One such plan is the ASEAN Intellectual Property Rights Action Plan 2011-2015 (ASEAN IPR Action Plan), which has formulated strategic goals to increase the competitiveness of the ASEAN Economic Community with respect to the use of intellectual property.

The Madrid System for the international registration of marks, governed by the Madrid Protocol, is gaining popularity across Southeast Asia. Several countries in the region are preparing to implement Madrid as part of their commitments toward regional integration via the ASEAN Economic Community, which will be created at the end of 2015. 

In Indonesia, a trademark must be “used” in a way that conforms to the format, colors, fonts, design, and goods/services in the mark’s certificate of trademark registration. If a trademark is used in a way that does not conform to its certificate of trademark registration, then the mark’s registration is in jeopardy of being cancelled on the grounds of “non-use,” even if the trademark owner has valid reasons for not using his or her mark in a way that conforms to the certificate of trademark registration (although certain exceptions do exist).

Attention has been focused on Myanmar as it seeks to liberalize its economy after decades of isolation. Influenced in part by its regional ASEAN commitments, Myanmar has promoted significant change in its foreign investment laws and regulations, resulting in substantial increases in foreign investment. The increased investment has, in turn, created a demand for both low- and high-skilled labor and a need for effective laws to regulate the labor market.

On November 26, 2014, the National Assembly of Vietnam passed amended versions of the Law on Investment (LOI) and the Law on Enterprises (LOE), replacing the 2005 versions of each law. The new laws will take effect on July 1, 2015. As these two laws form the principal legal framework for foreign companies doing business in Vietnam, the foreign investment community has been keen to discover whether the new LOI and LOE will improve on the existing law or merely reshuffle the pieces with the net result being essentially the same.

Special Economic Zones (SEZs), with their mix of tax incentives, trade benefits, deregulation, and other investment privileges, have long been a popular tool for governments to encourage economic development. Thailand and Myanmar are among the latest Southeast Asian countries to embrace SEZs. Every country in ASEAN, except Brunei, now has SEZs. Indeed, the SEZ policies in Thailand and Myanmar are part of a broader regional trend to liberalize trade and investment.