On 6 January 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) approved, in principle, the criteria for restricting digital asset business operators from facilitating the use of digital assets as a means of payment for goods and services (the “Draft Criteria”). The SEC, the Bank of Thailand and the Ministry of Finance also announced on 25 January 2022 that they are working together to determine how to regulate the use of digital assets as a means of payment for goods and services. Currently, the Draft Criteria has not yet come into force and is under the process of public hearings which will end on 8 February 2022. After the hearings, the SEC will consider enacting and issuing a regulation. Note that the Draft Criteria is subject to potential changes prior to its enactment. In this article, we will provide an overview of the Draft Criteria and discuss possible implications that may arise upon its enactment. Background Currently, cryptocurrency, which is a digital asset under the Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Business B.E. 2561 (the “Digital Assets Emergency Decree”), has attracted more attention as means of payment for goods and services in Thailand, particularly in the real estate sector. Despite this, digital assets are not considered legal tender under Thai law. Some digital asset business operators have expanded their businesses to cover services relating to the settlement of payments for goods and services with digital assets. This has been achieved by providing systems to facilitate the receipt of digital assets by merchants (the “Merchant”) as a means of payment for goods and services. The authorities have raised concerns over the...

The rise of open innovation and open source software has caused some organizations to rethink long-established practices, including their attitude towards intellectual property (IP) and IP Rights (IPRs). Add to this the growing presence of insurance firms, lenders and venture capitalists willing to use IPRs as collateral for financing, and a definitive shift in mindset can be seen taking place. To further fuel the trend, in late 2021, China announced amendments to its procedures to register patent pledges after the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) proposed a few amendments in its Proposal on Revision of the Patent Pledge Registration Method (Draft for Soliciting Comments), consultation period which closed on 10 August 2021. The updated measures, announced in November 2021 (http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/2021-11/17/content_5651398.htm), include provisions outlining what is needed to register a patent pledge, such as a contract (Art. 3), consent of all co-owners (Art. 4), and application requirements (Arts. 7-9), as well as provisions dealing with amendment (Art. 13) and cancellation (Art. 14). Two Words, Two Meanings It is important to note here that the term ‘patent pledges’ lacks a clear definition in general. Some may think of patent pledges as vehicles to be used by organizations to promote certain technologies, such as: IBM’s promise not to assert 500 of its patents against the development, distribution and use of open-source software Denso Wave Incorporated, which holds a number of patents on QR Code, allowing free use of the QR Code as long as the standards for QR Codes in JIS or ISO are followed Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, announcing, in 2014, that Tesla would not “initiate patent lawsuits against anyone”...

The COVID-19 pandemic has been ongoing for about two years now and has impacted the world economy and private organizations. An unexpected consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic has been an increase in white-collar crime. Private organizations, e.g., partnerships, limited companies, public companies, joint ventures, consortiums, have faced a significant decline in income resulting in reorganizations and more thorough internal audits to eliminate unnecessary costs and expenses. During such reorganizations or internal audits, these private organizations are uncovering white-collar criminal activities within their organizations. The term white-collar crime generally covers a broad range of nonviolent crimes committed by professionals or personnel in governmental or private organizations with the aim or motivation being personal financial gain or other benefits. White-collar crime in the form of employee fraud commonly occurs at least once in almost all private organizations, at various degrees of severity. In this briefing, we will provide an overview of white-collar crime in Thailand. Deep-Rooted Crime One of the problematic characteristics of white-collar crime is that it is a nonviolent crime that is usually committed by exploiting the knowledge of a profession, e.g., accounting, finance, etc., and is performed using the power entrusted to individuals by an organization. These factors allow white-collar crimes to be committed stealthily, and repeatedly. In some cases, the criminal activities can be so deep-rooted within an organization that such crimes have been ongoing for years, if not decades. Damage to an organization from such long-term criminal activities can exceed hundreds of millions of Baht. Ongoing white-collar crimes within an organization can be difficult to detect, since evidence may have been destroyed, hidden or the organization...

Presentation by Gibson Dunn Dubai at the UAE In-House Community eCongress 2021: Navigating Financial Distress Including: Directors and management duties in the zone of insolvency Preparing for M&A process to divest assets Preparing for financial resources Managing emotional health throughout this process Presenting Firm: Gibson Dunn Dubai Speaker: Hardeep S. Plahe Aly Kassam   The UAE In-House Community eCongress 2021 was attended by over 400/150 in-house counsel in UAE and the wider region. Hardeep S. Plahe and Aly Kassam from Gibson Dunn Dubai presented on Navigating Financial Distress and UAE Employment Law Update. You can watch the video of the presentation above or by clicking here. If you have any questions or would like to receive a copy of the presentation slides, please contact the presenters directly. Their contact information is below. Hardeep S. Plahe, Partner Mergers and Acquisitions, Capital Markets, Emerging Companies, Financial Institutions, Global Financial Regulatory, Investment Funds, Private Equity, Securities Regulation and Corporate Governance +971 (0)4 318 4611 hplahe@gibsondunn.com Aly Kassam, Partner Aly Kassam is a dual qualified partner (admitted in England and Wales and High Court of Hong Kong) based in the Dubai office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP Building 5, Level 4, Dubai International Financial Centre, P.O. Box 506654, Dubai, United Arab Emirates...

Presentation by Alsuwaidi & Company at the UAE In-House Community eCongress 2021: An overview of AML legislation and Dispute Resolution in the UAE today Co-hosts: Alsuwaidi & Company Speakers: Mohammed Alsuwaidi Suneer Kumar Reda Hegazy Robert Sliwinski Vida Grace   The UAE In-House Community eCongress 2021 was attended by over 400/150 in-house counsel in UAE and the wider region. Mohammed Alsuwaidi, Suneer Kumar, Reda Hegazy, Robert Sliwinski and Vida Grace from Alsuwaidi & Company presented “What do you need to know? An overview of AML legislation and Dispute Resolution in the UAE today”. You can watch the video of the presentation above or by clicking here. If you have any questions or would like to receive a copy of the presentation slides, please contact the presenters directly. Their contact information is below.   Mohammed R Alsuwaidi MANAGING PARTNER Dispute Resolution, Litigation and Arbitration 04 321 1000 Alsuwaidi@alsuwaidi.ae   Suneer Kumar SENIOR ASSOCIATE Corporate & Commercial 04 321 1000 Suneer@alsuwaidi.ae   Reda Hegazy SENIOR ASSOCIATE Dispute Resolution 04 321 1000 reda.hegazy@alsuwaidi.ae   Robert Sliwinski OF COUNSEL Arbitration and Off-shore Dispute Resolution 04 321 1000 r.sliwinski@alsuwaidi.ae   Vida Grace Serrano ASSOCIATE Corporate and Commercial, Employment and Real Estate 04 321 1000 Vida@alsuwaidi.ae Alsuwaidi & Company 252 Emarat Atrium Building, Sheikh Zayed Road, PO Box 7273, Dubai UAE...