The Department of Intellectual Property ("DIP"), under the Ministry of Commerce, has temporarily exempted surcharges for trade mark renewals fees during the grace period, and surcharges for late annuity fees for patents, petty patents and designs.

The measures are active from 9 April 2022 to 30 September 2022.

For trade marks, this means any trade mark registrations with the 6-month grace period deadlines for renewal between 9 April 2022 to 30 September 2022 can be renewed without incurring the 20% official fee surcharge.

Similarly, this means any patents, petty patents and designs with the 120-day grace period deadlines for annuity payment between 9 April 2022 to 30 September 2022 can be paid without incurring the 30% official fee surcharge.

The measures are part of a government-wide response to the surge of COVID-19 cases in Thailand during the recent months to ease disruption by exempting government penalties, fines, and surcharges due to delays.

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