Meetings of mind
Events back in full swing
Stepping into the second quarter of 2024, regional and international legal conferences have finally come back into full swing and vigour since the world has returned to normalcy post-health crisis, while being in recovery mode in the second half of last year. From the upcoming International Trademark Association’s (INTA) annual meeting in Atlanta in May to the record turnout at the Inter-Pacific Bar Association’s (IPBA) annual conference in Tokyo in April, Asia’s top legal minds have been gathering to discuss and shed light on notable regulatory challenges and developments in the Asia-Pacific region.
For our Cover Story, ahead of INTA’s annual meeting we took a deep dive into the association’s plans and ambitions for addressing some of the pressing intellectual property-related issues affecting Asian markets, based on an interview with Walter Chia, INTA’s chief representative officer for Asia-Pacific, based in Singapore.
Besides unresolved problems, Chia looks at regulatory and legislative efforts made by different Asian economies in both strengthening IP law enforcement and removing unnecessary legal barriers for domestic and foreign businesses.
Asia-specific this issue is titled Wolves at the gate, highlighting the growing importance of corporate general counsel in protecting the interests of shareholders in the face of increasingly fierce and pervasive shareholder activism in Asia. We have illustrated the mounting prevalence of shareholder activism in Asia with the timely example of shareholders of Indian education technology firm Byju’s joining forces with tech investor Prosus in an attempt to oust the company’s founders.
Introducing our Intelligence report, titled Landmark changes, we analyse how Vietnam’s real estate sector has undergone significant shifts with recent amendments to laws on land, housing and real estate business. As global investors continue to explore business opportunities in Vietnam, amendments – including allowing foreign-invested enterprises to acquire the transfer of land use rights in industrial parks – are expected to spur overseas investment into this burgeoning Southeast Asian economy. But questions remain over how new rules under newly amended laws, which are set to take effect in January next year, will be implemented by different government bodies, with lawyers expecting clarification via decrees and circulars in the coming months.
This issue also features our popular Head to Head series, focusing on evolving laws and regulations dealing with energy, automated vehicles, and life sciences. In the energy sector, India is racing to evolve its laws to incorporate renewables into a traditional mix, while the Philippines has implemented key reforms in response to calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the utilisation of renewables.
With automated vehicles, we explore the nuances of touchstone laws in Japan and Thailand, while the life sciences articles offer insight into recent law reforms in China and India aimed at strengthening patent protection and drug innovation, among others.
Our Expert briefing series explores dispute litigation in China, and how to shake off people who coattail on your good business name.
We invite you to peruse the Vietnam Law Firm Awards 2024, where we acknowledge the country’s leading law firms for their excellence in the past year. Awards were presented to VILAF as Law Firm of the Year, IDVN Lawyers as Best Boutique Law Firm as well as four standout firms for Best Overall Law Firm and various law firms excelling across 27 categories.
Last but not least, be sure not to miss our annual Indonesia A-List, where we showcase the top lawyers in the country plus, for the first time, our list of 25 Legal Icons, true legal community leaders who have triumphed over the test of time and delivered a level of service that is reserved for the very top of their profession.
These legal experts are selected through nominations from clients both in Indonesia and around the world, as well as accolades from their international peers.
