The stall will delay the visa program by 6 months

Source: http://www.uscg.mil/ 

The Department of Homeland Security has announced that the fast track processing of H1-B visas will be temporarily shut down.

According to Breitbart, Homeland Security officials have requested DHS chief John Kelly to shut the “premium processing” loophole for six months which will, according to employers and U.S immigration lawyers,  likely delay approval of H-1B visa requests for months.

The decision has brought about mixed reactions and comes four weeks before the deputies were required by law to quickly distribute roughly 65,000 more H-1B visas.

Employers and companies have slammed the decision because the visa program allowed for U.S. and foreign companies to import cheap white-collar contract-workers into the U.S. labor market.

However many viewed the H1-B program as a measure designed to take jobs away from Americans.

Canceling the H1-B visa program has been one of Trump’s major campaign promises.  “I will end forever the use of the H-1B as a cheap labor program, and institute an absolute requirement to hire American workers first for every visa and immigration program,” he said in a March 2016 statement. “No exceptions,” he added.

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The law hopes to boost trade of Indonesian products in international markets

Lexology reports Indonesia’s trademark law has been amended to enhance “trademarks in line with international conventions and standards” and to boost the creative economy development as well as the trade of Indonesian products in international markets.

Thailand’s leading trademark lawyers assist in registration and enforcement of trademark and copyright in Thailand

The changes under New Trademark Law include, as reported by Lexology;

1. “Introduction of Non Traditional Marks. The New Trademark Law introduces protection to Non Traditional Marks in the form of (a) Sound Marks, (b) 3D marks and (c) Hologram Marks.
2. Simplification in the trademark application process whereby the New Trademark Law introduces minimum requirements for filing a trademark application.
3. Changes in the trademark application procedures will be implemented.
4. The New Trademark Law allows submission of a renewal application within 6 months after the end of the registration period.
5. Introduction of heavier criminal sanctions, in particular with respect to trademark infringement that will endanger human health, the environment and will cause death.
6. Provision on the protection of Geographical Indications.”

The law came into effect on November 27^th.

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Supreme Court Reviews Law on Disparaging Trademarks

Trademark Protection in Thailand

The decade long lawsuit was over the right to use his name for real estate services

Photo by Gage Skidmore

Donald Trump has not only won the election, but also a decade long trademark dispute in China for the right to use his name for a variety of real estate services reports Wall Street Journal.

Currently, the Trump trademark is used to sell products that are not owned by Trump. Some of those products include ammunition, explosives, poker cards and condoms.

According to WSJ, of the 53 registered trademarks under the Trump name in China, only 21 are actually owned by Trump.

International Intellectual Property Lawyers in Thailand specialize in trademark registration and enforcement in Thailand

The lawsuit started when Trump’s application to register his Trump trademark in China had been rejected due to the fact that another man, Dong Wei had previously applied to register the same trademark.

The report says that since Trump was unknown to majority of the Chinese population at the time, it was a fair ruling. After several repeated attempts, Donald Trump finally won the right to a Trump trademark for his real estate business soon after he won the U.S presidential election.

Read the original article here

Related articles:

Supreme Court Reviews Law on Disparaging Trademarks

Trademark Protection in Thailand

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Importers fear regulation of 3D printers may affect Thailand in the competitive field

BangkokPost reports a new import regulation on 3D printers has been passed by the Commerce Ministry of Thailand which requires imports of 3D printers to fall under the already existing import-related regulations.

This regulation did not bode well with 3D manufacturers around Thailand with some claiming that it could affect the country’s position in the technological field.

Siam Trademark Associates have English speaking lawyers that specialize in protecting intellectual property in Thailand

According to BangkokPost, the regulation, which has not yet been implemented, was made to prevent people from using 3D printers to make guns.

Wiwat Arunruangsiriloet, an importer of 3D printing, said that the legislation should only restrict the import of metal 3D printers that are capable of making 3D-printed guns.

Read more on the story here

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

New law requires certification of electricians by October 2016

Kunini reports that under the 2014 Skill Development Promotion Act, all building electricians will be required to obtain proper certification by the Department of Skill Development (DSD) prior to employment.

According to the report, more than a thousand electricians have already been certified by the DSD which hopes that at least 40,000 electricians will be certified by the end of September.

Siam Trademark lawyers specialize in trademark and copyright registration in Thailand

Failure to obtain certification before working as an electrician will result in legal penalties under the Act.

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Image Credit: Pexels

Citigroup suing AT&T claiming to own trademark on “THANKYOU”

Banking giant Citigroup is suing technology company AT&T for apparently stealing their trademark of “Thank You” by using the phrases “thanks” and “AT&T THANKS” for its Universal Card campaign.  

According to Citibank’s federal lawsuit which was lodged on Friday June 10, AT&T should be held accountable for “unlawful conduct” amounting to wanton trademark infringement.

              Chaninat and Leeds assist with Thailand trademark law

Stated in Citibank’s lawsuit it says:

For many years, Citigroup has used trademarks consisting of and/or containing the term THANKYOU, including THANKYOU, CITI THANKYOU, CITIBUSINESS THANKYOU. THANKYOU FROM CITI, and THANKYOU YOUR WAY, in connection with a variety of customer loyalty, reward, incentive, and redemption programs (collectively, the “THANKYOU Marks”).

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Thailand Business Law Center (TBLC) is presenting a series of video interviews with business entrepreneurs in Thailand.

Entrepreneurship has long been the main vehicle of economic growth in Thailand. With the objective of promoting small and medium enterprises in Thailand and the creative  spirit of entrepreneurship, TBLC, in conjunction with Thai Law Forum is conducting a series of interviews. TBLC has interviewed the entrepreneurs behind some of Thailand’s most interesting businesses including Firehouse, an American restaurant on Sukhumvit Soi 11; Raitongs Organics Farm; Star Crystal Salt, a Himalayan crystal salt import company; and Wear You Want, an online clothing company.

Watch the interviews below:

In 2008, TV star Usanee “Nok” Wattana, did a photo shoot with magazine shoot and one of the images has now ended up on the front of the book “Thai Hookers 101″ reports The Malaysian Chronicle.

According to the Malaysian Chronicle, Nok did not, directly or indirectly grant permission for the photos to be used anywhere else, let alone on the cover of “Thai Hookers 101 – What You Must Know about Sex and Prostitutes before Coming to Thailand”.

Chapter headings include “The 4 Types of Thai Women, “Thai Bar Girls 101″ and “Sex with Massage Girls”.

Chaninat & Leeds specialize in defamation law in Thailand 

Nok yesterday filed a criminal complaint with the Royal Thai Police Technology Crime Suppression Division against the American author, identified only as “Seven”.

On filing the complaint, Nok said “I’m not particularly angry about the photo on the cover because this isn’t the first time my photo has been abused for commercial purposes. What makes me furious is the text on the cover and the content, which greatly insult Thai women.”

There has been no response so far from the book’s author.

Read the full report here

Hong Kong’s has introduced new Companies Ordinance which have been welcomed according to the South China Morning Post.

The new ordinance is intended to make it even easier for small companies to conduct business in Hong Kong.

 Chaninat & Leeds offers expert advice in Thailand company registration and company law 

Most importantly, the requirement of a nominal value of shares has been removed. The memorandum of association has been abolished and merged into the articles of association.

The new law also allows companies to dispense with annual general meetings by unanimous shareholder consent and also facilities virtual meetings using conferencing technology.

Read the full report here

Cambodian manufactured garments which play a major role in supplying clothing to western shopping malls are having trouble with their workers fainting en mass. The Global Post  reports that the fainting may be caused by bad diet, long working hours, poor ventilation, and toxic fumes.

The latest reported incident occurred earlier this month, in a factory which supplies Puma Sportswear.

Government statistics suggest that, since 2011, between 1,500 and 2,000 Cambodian factory workers have fainted each year — often in groups of 100 or more.

 Thailand Attorneys specializing in Thailand Employment Law can assist with unfair dismissal and workplace accidents  

The International Labor Organization has looked into the causes of fainting episodes. European labor rights activists have fainted on floors at H&M, Levi’s and Gap in protest.

Union rallies are planned for later this month to try and secure a national monthly wage for garment workers.

Read the full report here