Laos made the news in late September when the Lao Department of Intellectual Property cancelled two trademark registrations based on their confusing similarity to earlier marks. An official from the DIP “unofficially confirmed” to lawyers at Tilleke & Gibbins that the decisions were the first of their kind in Laos, which the firm called “a positive step that puts legal provisions into actual practice.” 

Thorough, substantive examination only began to be carried out in recent years, the firm said, and cancellation proceedings against a registered mark are uncommon. Before the decision, there was, the firm said, no precedent for how to handle a cancellation decision. The decisions, then, are an important development in the country’s cancellation proceedings, and mark the alignment of the law and practice in this area, the firm noted. 

All of which is a tremendous development for Laos, which sees relatively little intellectual property work of any sort taking place within the country. There are, however, a number of high-level intellectual property lawyers in the country, whom Asia IP is pleased to name to our first-ever list of Laos’ IP Experts.  

Most of the lawyers named to our list have multiple practice specialties. Many of them are litigators, while others concentrate on prosecution work or provide strategic advice.  

All of them have something in common: they are experts in their fields and, in one way or another, they provide extra value for their clients. They are Asia IP’s Laos’ IP Experts.

– GREGORY GLASS 

Laos’ IP Experts is based solely on independent editorial research conducted by Asia IP. As part of this project, we turned to in-house counsel in Laos, Southeast Asia and elsewhere around the world, as well as Cambodia-focused partners at international law firms, and asked them to nominate private-practice lawyers including foreign legal consultants, advisers and counsel.  

The final list reflects the nominations received combined with the input of the editorial team at Asia IP, which has nearly 45 years of collective experience in researching and understanding the Laos legal market. 

All private-practice intellectual property lawyers in Laos were eligible for inclusion in the nomination process; there were no fees or any other requirements for inclusion in the process. 

The names of our 10 IP Experts are published here. Each IP Expert was given the opportunity to include their biography and contact details in print and on our website, for which a fee was charged.