Notice of Right to Claim Priority Based Upon Applications Previously Filed in Thailand As a result of an exchange of letters between the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the Department of Intellectual Property of Thailand, the following benefits for U.S. applicants in Thailand have become available: Patent applications filed in the United States may serve as the basis for the right of priority in Thailand if a subsequent application is filed in Thailand on or after January 1, 1996. In the case of applications for invention patents, the subsequent filing must be made within 12 months from the first filing date of the application in the United States and in the case of applications for design patents, within 6 months from the first filing date in the United States. Thailand, therefore, is deemed a foreign country which affords privileges in the case of applications filed in the United States or to citizens of the United States similar to those afforded under 35 U.S.C. 119. Accordingly, an application for patent for an invention or a design filed in the United States on or after January 1, 1996, by any person who has, or whose legal representatives or assigns have, previously regularly filed an application for a patent for the same invention or design in Thailand shall have the benefit of the filing date in Thailand in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 119 and 172. March 11, 1997 L. J. GOFFNEY for BRUCE A. LEHMAN Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks