Full-service outfit Apisith & Alliance enters the rankings this year due to several notable efforts in trade mark and copyright contentious work. Managing partner Apisith John Sutham, a key contributor to the firm's IP practice, led a team that acted for Pin Shine Electronics Thailand in a copyright infringement case. The team was able to reduce damages claimed by the injured party from Bt18 million to 4 million ($600,000 to $133,000).
Sutham, with senior associate Pollawat Suppattarasaet, also advised A-List, a leading designer brand in Thailand, in an opposition against a UK trade mark application. The client ultimately decided to sell the trade mark to the counterparty, marking its first trade mark sale on an international level.
In another noteworthy case, the duo is filing an appeal for One Systems Group, one of the country's largest manufacturers of loudspeakers and sound systems, against the Korean Intellectual Property Office's refusal to register the client's mark.