IP and Trademark Powers of Attorney

Yes. The Department of Intellectual Property requires an applicant without a domicile in Thailand to act through an agent resident in Thailand, filing a power of attorney with the application. A power of attorney executed abroad must be certified by the competent authority of that country or by the Royal Thai Embassy, and stamp duty under the Revenue Code applies when it is used in Thailand. Draft the scope to cover amendments to the application, appeals and renewals.

A Thai trademark registration runs for ten years from the filing date and is renewable for successive ten-year terms, with the renewal application filed within three months before expiry. If the original power of attorney expressly covers renewal and neither the agent nor the granting director has changed, the same instrument can be used. Where the company's authorised directors have changed, issue a fresh power of attorney and attach the current affidavit.

Thailand has been party to the Madrid Protocol since 2017. An international application requires a basic Thai application or registration, and is filed through the Department of Intellectual Property as office of origin to WIPO. The supporting documents are the company affidavit confirming the applicant's status and address, the power of attorney to the agent, and a goods and services list consistent with the basic mark. Make sure the applicant's name and address are spelt identically everywhere, or WIPO will issue an irregularity notice.

Where a group company seeks permission to use the parent's mark, or an existing owner consents to registration of a similar mark by a new applicant, the registrar asks for a letter of consent signed by the owner's authorised representative together with evidence of that authority. If the letter is executed abroad it must be certified by a notary public and attested by the Royal Thai Embassy, then translated into Thai with the translation legalised before filing with the Department of Intellectual Property.

For filings inside Thailand — the DBD, the Land Department, the Department of Intellectual Property — use the authority's Thai form. For use abroad, a single two-column bilingual document is generally preferable, with a clause stating which language prevails on conflict. That way the signing director and the receiving officer read the same instrument, and you avoid the common problem of a separate translation becoming detached from the original during legalisation.

The POA must identify the mark or application number, state whether it covers filing, amendment, renewal, appeal or withdrawal, and carry the correct stamp duty. If the principal is abroad, it must be notarised and attested by the Royal Thai Embassy before use in Thailand. The applicant's name and address must match the company affidavit exactly, since any discrepancy triggers an official action from the registrar and can add several months to the process.

You need a basic Thai application or registration first, then the international application is filed through the Department of Intellectual Property as office of origin. The papers are the international application form, the designated countries with a goods-and-services list no broader than the basic mark, the agent's power of attorney and evidence of the applicant entity. Watch the five-year dependency rule: if the Thai basic mark is refused or cancelled in that window, the international registration is affected too.

It should identify the proprietor, the permitted user, the mark and registration number, the goods and services, the territory, the term and quality-control conditions, and be signed by the authorised signatories shown on each company's affidavit. Where one side is abroad, notarise and obtain embassy attestation. A licence intended to have full effect in Thailand should additionally be recorded with the Department of Intellectual Property as the law provides.

Through a power of attorney signed by the person legally authorised to bind that company, naming the Thai representative and covering filing, amendment, responding to objections, and receiving notices from the Department of Intellectual Property. Signed outside Thailand it needs the same certification chain as any other power of attorney, plus Thai translation. Expect to also file evidence of the grantor's corporate existence to prove the signatory's authority.