New Smart Visa will Allow a 4 Year Entrance to Specialist Expatriate Workers

The smart visa will be divided among four main groups. The first being specialist workers in scientific fields who have a base salary of 200k baht. The second, similar but company executives with the same base rate and 10 years of experience. The third and forth groups will be individuals and companies wanting to invest in the target industries, the minimum will be 20 million baht.

Benefits of the smart visa are that it will provide a four year entrance into Thailand as opposed to the standard 90 day visa. Spouses and children of the successful applicant may also work in Thailand. Only a thousand of the visas will be distributed. The government adds that the smart visas will not disrupt the “local labor market”.

The targeted industries will belong to the First S-Curve and New-S Curve Industries. First S-Curve include smart electronics, automotive, medical/wellness tourism, agriculture and biotechnology and the New S-Curve categories will include medical centers, digital businesses, biochemicals, robotics and aviation. 

Chaninat & Leeds’ attorneys have assisted hundreds of couples with child custody cases in Thailand.

Applications for the smart visa will commence on the first of February, 2018. The targeted industries will be Thai-based.

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Thai Actress Shows Boyfriend’s Genital’s on Social Media

Saipan Sakuljaroensuk has been summoned to court under the Technology Crime Suppression Division for allegedly accidentally live-streaming her boyfriend’s penis on Instagram. She may be charged with a three year jail sentence or a maximum fine of 60,000 baht.

Criminal convictions and other anti social behavior may be grounds for divorce according to Divorce Attorneys in Thailand.

The Instagram live-stream function includes the ability to share photos or videos for 24 hours in which they will disappear afterwards. Screenshots of Saipan’s Instagram live feed went viral before she was able to delete it. The actress issued an apology, saying that she didn’t realize her boyfriend was in the video and it was intended for another private account.

Her manager has commented on the situation that Saipan feels guilty over what had happened and will be careful with her “online actions from now on”. The charge involves uploading pornography onto a publicly accessible system. Saipan is most notably famous for her role in Same Same but Different, starring opposite David Kross in 2009 where she played a HIV-poistive Cambodian prostitute who falls in love with a German man.

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Thailand Rockstar Opens Fire at Temple

On Thursday evening, Sek Loso live streamed his visit to a temple where he prays to a couple of Buddha statues and then shoots his handgun into the sky and ground. Thai police then issued a warrant for his surrender on Saturday.

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By Sunday, with Loso still not complying with the surrender, Thai police raid his home where they are met with Loso locked in his bedroom live streaming the incident. Loso had taken his gun out and threatened police that if anyone came in, he would shoot.

Police were then commanded to break down the door and arrest Loso for opening fire in a residential area. They will also further investigate whether he has a permit for the firearm. He is currently being held in Police Bangkok headquarters.

In the Facebook live stream Loso is seen lighting incense, praying and then firing the gun.

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Female Monks in Thailand being Ordained Despite Being Against the Law

An interview with the Huffington Post reveals that females in Thailand are not allowed to be ordained as monks. About 93% of Thailand’s population is Buddhist and only 100 females are monks compared to the 300,000 males that are monks.

Female monks comment that there is a lot of misogyny deep rooted in Thailand’s Buddhism. For example, there are a lot of sexist teachings that are not in the original texts or a lot has been left out to favor men being monks. Venerable Dhammananda adds that “they don’t listen to the Bhudda carefully”.

Thailand is so against female monks that they have even been attacked. These female monks fear for their life every time they go out for their morning walks blessing the community and receiving food.

Male monks retaliate with the explanation that women are too sensitive and not disciplined enough “to endure the hardships of a monk”, especially living in a temple, being abstinent and isolated from society.

Watch the full video here

Thai-foreign couples going through a separation require a divorce lawyer in Thailand to professionally separate assets and other legal matters.

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Journalists Facing Prosecution for Using Drones in Myanmar

Singaporean freelance camera man Lau Hon Meng and Malaysian documentary producer Mok Choy Lin were sentenced to two months in jail for using a drone, breaching Myanmar’s Aircraft Act, details The Strait Times.

Persons victimized by a breach of contract in Thailand should seek attorneys with contract and litigation experience, court disputes between Thai and foreign entities may potentially be heard by the Court of Intellectual Property and International Trade Law.

Although, Myanmar technically doesn’t have any specific legislation outlawing the use of drones, authorities do not like them over their territories. They are being charged with violating the Export and Import law. Those who export/import prohibited goods can be fined and jailed up to three years.

On top of the drone charges, immigration officials are also trying to charge the pair and their two interpreters for violating the 1947 Immigration Act. Under this Act, individuals who remain in the country after the infringement of rules can be fined and jailed up to five years.

Lau and Mok’s defense attorneys are currently working on getting the export and import charges dismissed.

Read the full story here

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Thailand to Draft New Industrial Design Act

Thailand’s Department of Intellectual Property is in the process of drafting a new industrial design law that is set to change the way industrial designs are assessed, registered and protected, both in the country and internationally.

If passed, the law would amend the Thai Patent Act, removing the industrial design aspect altogether to make way for separate legislation.

The bill would bring the following changes:

·         An Extended Term of Protection

The current protection period of ten years would be reduced to five. However, it would also have the possibility of being renewed twice, enabling a full term of up to 15 years.

·         A Creativity Requirement

The current law requires designs to be only “novel” and “industrially applicable”. The new law would introduce an extra requirement for creativity, which means that designs consisting only of well-known shapes, such as those found in geometry or nature, would not be protected.

Thailand trademark and IP attorneys specialize in patent and trademark filing.

·         New Time Restraints for Examination

The system by which applications are assessed and registered would be streamlined to take less time. The current extended period of 180 days will be cut in half, allowing an initial 60-day period with the possibility of an extention for an extra 30 days.

·         All-in-One Applications

While the current law requires applications to make individual applications for each country they wish their design to be registered in, the new legislation will allow international registration to be granted with a single application.

The bill is being drafted in preparation for Thailand’s compliance with the ASEAN IPR Action Plan, which requires all ASEAN countries to become a contracting party to the Geneva Act of 1999 under the Hague Agreement by 2018.

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Hong Kong to Criminalize Mockery of Chinese National Anthem

According to Shanghaiist (http://shanghaiist.com), disrespecting the Chinese national anthem will soon be a criminal offense in Hong Kong.

The act is already illegal in China and punishable by up to 15 days in prison with the possibility of further criminal charges being added.

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The law is thought to be implemented to combat widespread disrespect of the anthem at Hong Kong football matches, where large groups of fans have protested by turning their backs and booing while the anthem is played.

Read the full story here (http://shanghaiist.com/2017/10/16/hong-kong-national-anthem-law.php)

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