Attorneys from Tilleke & Gibbins’ office in Phnom Penh have prepared Intellectual Property in Cambodia, a comprehensive resource for understanding, protecting, and commercializing intellectual property (IP) in the country. This guide provides detailed information on various aspects of IP rights, including: Trademarks: Procedures and requirements for registration, maintenance, and enforcement. Patents: Information on obtaining patent protection, including the application process and legal requirements. Industrial designs: Steps for registering and protecting design innovations. Utility models: Guidelines for securing protection for new technical solutions. Copyrights: Details on copyright protection, registration, and enforcement. Geographical indications: Information on protecting products with specific geographical origins. The guide is designed to offer practical insights into the registration processes, legal frameworks, and enforcement mechanisms relevant to IP in Cambodia. It aims to serve as a valuable tool for businesses, legal practitioners, and individuals involved in the creation and protection of intellectual property. For more details, access the full Intellectual Property in Cambodia guide by clicking the button below.

Over the past decade, business rehabilitation proceedings in Thai courts have received a great deal of attention from debtors and creditors, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Business rehabilitation and bankruptcy proceedings have different objectives in court. As a result, Thai courts have a different perspective and set of criteria for considering and approving rehabilitation proceedings than for bankruptcy petitions. Both proceedings are outlined in the Bankruptcy Act B.E 2483 (1940). This article mainly discusses in-court business rehabilitation proceedings. Three parties can petition the court to initiate business rehabilitation proceedings: Debtors; Creditors; and Certain authorities, such as the Bank of Thailand For a debtor to be subject to business rehabilitation proceedings, it must: Be insolvent or unable to repay debt of at least THB 10 million (for corporate debtors) or from THB 2 million to less than 10 million (for SME debtors); Have debt that is determinable but has not yet become due; Be indebted to one or more creditors, where the combined total of the debt is within the required debt amounts above; and Have reasonable cause and possible ways to rehabilitate its business. Court Approval of a Petition Upon receipt of the business rehabilitation petition, the Bankruptcy Court will schedule a hearing on it. In conducting an inquiry into the petition, the court will consider whether: The facts in the petition are true; There are prospects of success for business rehabilitation; and The petitioner has filed the petition in good faith. If these three criteria are met, the court will approve the business rehabilitation. Prospects of Success In considering whether there are prospects of success for business rehabilitation, the court will look at whether the business rehabilitation petition contains reasonable grounds as well as appropriate and feasible solutions for rehabilitating the business. In that regard, the petitioner must

Myanmar’s Patent Law 2019—the country’s first legislation specifically addressing patent protection—took effect on May 31, 2024. The announcement that the law had taken effect came when the State Administration Council (SAC) issued Notification No. 106/2024 on June 1, 2024. This announcement is a key development moving toward full implementation of statutory patent protection in Myanmar. The next step will be the announcement of the Patent Rules, which will establish the requirements, official forms, and procedures related to the application and registration of patents and utility models. Another necessary announcement will be the official forms and fees for proceeding with patent-related matters at the Intellectual Property Department (IPD). Upon these forthcoming announcements, parties will be able to apply for patent registration in Myanmar. The Patent Law, which was enacted in 2019, allows for the registration of inventions that: Have not been disclosed to the public anywhere by any means before the filing date or priority date (if claimed); Involve an inventive step; and Are capable of use in any industry. Priority rights can be claimed within a year of the filing of an application with any member country of the World Trade Organization. In seeking protection for inventions internationally, priority rights cannot yet be claimed under the Paris Convention or the Patent Cooperation Treaty, as Myanmar’s ratification of these agreements is still pending. Nevertheless, the Patent Law includes provisions related to these two agreements; these provisions will take effect if the ratification process is completed. Rights owners interested in seeking protection of their inventions in Myanmar should begin evaluating their portfolios so that they can apply to register their inventions once the remaining necessary announcements have been issued. Recordation of inventions—including renewals of patents that had been recognized under Myanmar’s previously established practice—will no longer be accepted. Rights holders can

A bank guarantee or bond is a powerful tool that provides contractual parties with security and assurance. Bank guarantees are commitments made by a bank (as a guarantor) on behalf of a customer (as an obligor) to a beneficiary to ensure that certain contractual obligations will be fulfilled. If the customer fails to comply with these obligations, the bank can compensate the beneficiary up to the amount specified in the bank guarantee. Bank guarantees are widely used in Thailand as a form of security and are common in construction agreements and government procurement contracts, among others. If the beneficiary (e.g., a project owner) concludes that the counterparty in the agreement (e.g., a contractor) has breached the underlying contract in some way, the beneficiary will demand payment from the bank pursuant to the guarantee. Collecting on a Guarantee and Preventing Payment In the context of construction and procurement agreements, there are two types of bank guarantees—conditional and unconditional. A conditional bank guarantee means that the project owner must satisfy certain agreed-upon conditions (e.g., provision of proof of the breach, proof of damages, or even consent from the contractor) to demand payment. An unconditional bank guarantee means that the bank must compensate the project owner for the demanded amount (up to the limit specified in the bank guarantee) without any conditions. When a project owner concludes that a contractor has breached the underlying contract (often for nonperformance or failure to comply with a representation or warranty), the project owner will demand payment from the bank holding the guarantee. Upon receiving such a demand, Thai banks will usually inform the contractor and ask if it has any objections. Even if the bank guarantee is unconditional, in practice, a bank may be reluctant to make payment if the contractor, as the bank’s customer,