With the latest COVID-19 outbreak in Thailand becoming more severe and widespread, travel restrictions and social distancing measures may prevent applicants for patents, petty patents, and design patents from submitting documents or amendments by the required deadline. In order to ease the burden on applicants, the Director-General of the Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) has issued a notification, effective on April 16, 2021, extending the deadline for submission of documents and amendments in response to office actions with the DIP.

According to the notification, any office action deadline which was due to fall from April 16 to May 31, 2021 will now automatically be postponed to May 31, 2021. Applicants may submit their responses to office actions from June 1 – June 30, 2021.

The extended deadlines apply to the following procedures:

• Amendments in response to office actions;
• Submission of documents per an office action or examiner’s instructions; and,
• Requests for extensions of time for amendments or document submission in response to office actions.

Applicants who are able to do so may still choose to submit any documentation, amendments, and requests for extensions within the original deadline stipulated in an office action.