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Many Thai practitioners express a deep respect for Tilleke & Gibbins' IP practice, often recommended as one of the leading outfits. "Tilleke does a lot of good work; it is one of the oldest in Thailand," notes a lawyer. The firm has offices located in Bangkok and Vietnam with five partners and 43 associates on its IP team. The accomplished Darani Vachanavuttivong manages the IP practice with the support of three distinguished partners in their own right. Clients include Seiko Epson, Philip Morris and Daimler.

Sukontip Jitmongkolthong joined this year as the fifth partner with expertise in IP litigation. The strength of its patent practice is gradually building with a trend of increasing pharmaceutical clients, though it works on notable cases in other areas as well. For example, the firm is defending its client, a multinational gas manufacturer, in a patent infringement action.

Clients highly praise partner Alan Adcock. One explained: "Adcock is very user-friendly; he understands the issues more than any other firm does from a foreign trade mark perspective. We look for solutions and that is what Alan gives us."

Primarily based in Hanoi, Tilleke & Gibbins also has a branch office in Ho Chi Minh City. With 17 IP attorneys, patent and trade mark executives along with 23 supporting professionals, the firm is known for its strength in patents and trade marks, as demonstrated by its strong rankings across the board. The firm represents several multinational household names.

Traditionally a practice with a registration focus, the past 12 months have seen its enforcement practice grow in terms of workload and manpower. Five new hires joined the team to beef up this area. Loc Xuan Le and Linh Duy Mai both come from leading local IP firms, and will be spearheading the enforcement practice.

In patents, the team has a strong following among pharmaceutical clients. Recently, the firm represented a pharmaceutical company in defending against a patent infringement claim.

In June 2012, Loc and Linh represented Aktiebolaget SKF in a counterfeits case relating to its mark SKF for ball bearings. Through their efforts, the police seized 7,014 counterfeit items shipped from China to be sold in the Vietnam market. A fine of $22,500 was imposed, a relatively high fine that is expected to have a deterrent effect.