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Tilleke & Gibbins

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Editorial coverage

Thailand

With a whopping 59 fee earners, 38 of which are lawyers and 21 trade mark and patent specialists and paralegals, Tilleke & Gibbins continues to be the only firm in Thailand with a Tier one ranking across the board.

"They have been excellent," comments one pharma client. "They have been outstanding in retaining experts, understanding and litigating complex scientific issues, reporting on the status of the cases they are working on, meeting with local business and conducting settlement negotiations. I deal directly with Siraprapha Rungpry. She has a good sense of the business issues. I am very happy with her and her team."

Managing director Darani Vachanavuttivong is noted for her active involvement with the Intellectual Property Association of Thailand and contributions to the country's legal amendments. She draws praise from a client in the global food and beverages industry: "We have the direct involvement of a partner in the firm dedicated to our account with whom we have worked with consistently for many years."

A significant achievement this past year saw Srila Thongklang and Nuttaphol Arammuang defend Swiss company Jet Aviation Management in a trade mark opposition brought by ConocoPhillips. The Supreme Court ruled in favour of the client, whose mark was allowed to be registered and commercialised.

In another accomplishment, Alan Adcock and his team obtained a rarely granted Anton Piller Order from the IP & IT Court on behalf of a manufacturer of magnetic powder. The order allowed the team to seize evidence proving trade secret infringement against the alleged infringer. The case is at trial.

"They always respond to my inquiries promptly and are very helpful," says one trade mark client. "Their English is also very good, which leaves no communication barrier and allows us to work more efficiently." With regards to individuals, "Nuttaphol Arammuang, Darani Vachanavuttivong and Parichart Monaiyakul are all pleasant and easy to work with."


Vietnam

Tilleke & Gibbins has a strong international reputation in anti-counterfeiting, strategic filing advice, and commercial IP work. The firm's practice in Vietnam is led by the widely respected Thomas Treutler and Nguyen Thi Phi Nga. The firm has been handling complex patent infringement work on behalf of a leading European agrochemical producer against three local pesticides producers, resulting in one of the first assessment opinions issued on a complex patent case in Vietnam. Nguyen successfully acted for LEO Pharmaceutical Products on a number of oppositions to trade mark applications that were found to be confusingly similar to Fucidin, opening up a broader interpretation of what might be considered confusingly similar in Vietnam.

Treutler and Nguyen represented European apparel maker Lacoste in a number of actions in Vietnam in 2010. In particular, the authorities imposed a $10,000 fine on local counterfeiters, one of the largest fines ever levied in Vietnam for an IP law violation. The firm also boasts a client list that includes Honda Motor, Bayer CropScience, Boehringer Ingelheim and Shiseido.


Firm contact

This firm does not have a profile in the 2011 Handbook