Dear IP Agents and the General Public,

I hereby kindly inform that the National Intellectual Property Office will be temporarily closed for Intellectual Property Agents and the General Public with immediate effect (from 30.04.2021 onwards) as one of the officers serving in this office has been identified as a close contact of a Covid -19 positive patient. Further action in this regard will be determined immediately upon receiving the PCR test report of the officer concerned.

Whilst regretting any inconvenience caused in this regard, we as responsible citizens of the country should be conscious of the prevailing situation by ensuring safety and well-being of every one. As of the previous year, 50% of our staff have been moved to Work From Home (WFH) again on a roster basis and we are committed to serve your needs through a virtual
environment.

Hence, you are kindly informed to follow the guidelines given below. (I hope that our IP Agents and those who have already sought NIPO services during the previous lockdown period are already aware about these facts.)

 Until further notice, NIPO accepts payments only via online transfers/or bank deposits. Please note that separate online transfers/ bank deposits need to be made for each payment category (such as filing of new applications/ gazette publications etc.). To this effect, please ensure to pay the exact amount specified for the required service. (Please refrain from making any excess payments or lesser amounts than the fees prescribed in the gazette and also kindly note
that all payments to NIPO are excluded from the Value Added Tax – VAT.)

 Payments should be made only during weekdays from 8.00 am to 3.00 pm. Please refrain from making payments after 3.00 pm (official working and banking hours). Any payment made after 3.00 pm will be considered as a payment made on the following working day and the application number will be allocated or transaction will be recorded accordingly. We kindly advise you to submit documents or make required statutory payments prior to the deadlines, and submit such payment receipts and documents on the same day as per the given instructions.

NB. Application/ documents need to be submitted on the same day before 4.00 p.m. along with the payment receipts, if any, together with *** the following duly filled form to NIPO to the e-mail address - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Your application or the documents will not be considered as a duly perfected application or a set of documents, if the application or the payment receipt or the form is submitted via separate e-mails or if they are forwarded to any

other email address of NIPO. Any clarification in this regard can be sought by submitting a query to the aforementioned email address. 

 *** The following form needs to be submitted along with the documents to NIPO
Format to be filled when submitting documents through e-mail:
1. Name of the Individual/ Organization who submit documents/ make payments -
2. Contact No. of the Individual/ Organization who submit documents/ make payments -
3. Amount Paid - -
4. Purpose for which payment is made (select the relevant category) - TM/PA/ ID
5. Payment Description - eg. New Applications, Publication in the Govt. Gazette
6. The File Number relevant to the payment -
7. Date and Time (Approximate time)of payment -

Details of the Bank Account of NIPO
   Payee Name - Director General of Intellectual Property 
   Account No. - 143-1-001-0-3298806
   Bank - People’s Bank
   Branch - Suduwella Branch

   E-mail Address - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

• The following captions should be included in the subject line of the email.
For Trademarks - TM/Document type/Agent/owner name/file number
eg.: (i) TM/New Application/A & B IP agent/C & D Company/New

      (ii) TM/Publication/ A & B IP agent/C & D Company /203....
For Patents - PA/Document type/Agent/owner name/file number
For Industrial Designs - ID/Document type/Agent/owner name/file number

In conclusion, I kindly request you to adhere to the above procedure adopted by NIPO in assuring an uninterrupted service to the public despite unprecedented challenges imposed by Covid-19 pandemic situation in the country.
Stay safe and take good care of yourselves!

Geethanjali R. Ranawaka
Director General – National Intellectual Property Office
29.04.2021