EUIPO

For those with European Union Trademarks (EUTMs), the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in Alicante, Spain remains open although all staff are now working from home and it has extended all deadlines falling between 9 March 2020 and 30 April 2020 to 1 May 2020 (in practice 4 May, since 1 May is a public holiday, followed by a weekend). In a recent update the EUIPO confirmed that is to be read literally and encompasses all procedural deadlines in relation to trade mark and design matters, irrespective of whether they have been set by the Office or are statutory in nature. The extension applies not only to the first instance proceedings but also to all proceedings which are pending in front of the EUIPO's Boards of Appeal (including the statutory deadline to file an appeal to the Boards). Parties are reminded that this extension does not apply to proceedings before other authorities, even if mentioned in the Regulations. This is in particular the case with regard to the time limit for bringing an action before the General Court against decisions of the Boards of Appeal (Article 72(5) EUTMR and Article 61 CDR).

For those with pending proceedings in front of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the CJEU remains open but priority is given to those cases that are particularly urgent (urgent proceedings, expedited proceedings and interim proceedings). Procedural time limits for instituting proceedings and lodging appeals continue to run and parties are required to comply with those time limits. By contrast, the time limits prescribed in (non-urgent) on-going proceedings are extended by one month with effect from 19 March 2020. Those time limits shall expire at the end of the day which, in the following month, is numbered the same as the day on which the time-limit should have expired or, if that day does not exist in the following month, at the end of the day of the last day of that month.

For those with pending proceedings in front of the General Court of the European Union (GC), there has been little change to existing deadlines. The GC remains open and is endeavouring to deal with cases as normal. Priority shall be given to cases that are particularly urgent. Time limits, including time limits for instituting proceedings, shall continue to run and the parties are required to comply with those time limits. However in order to take into account the legitimate difficulties that the parties are currently facing, the time limits that will be fixed by the registry, with effect from 19 March 2020, shall be adapted.

EPO

The EPO has said that all oral proceedings scheduled until 17 April 2020 before the Examining division and the Opposition division will be postponed until further notice unless already scheduled as videoconference. Before the Boards of Appeal no oral hearing will be held until 17 April 2020. On 15 March, the EPO also announced that all deadlines are extended until 17 April 2020.

Germany

The German PTO has confirmed that all deadlines set by the Office are automatically extended until 4 May 2020, so parallel to the notice given out by the EUIPO. Any deadlines to be set in the meantime will be set generously. The Office stated, however, that it cannot extend any statutory deadlines, so these will have to be met or a request for restitution in integrum would have to be filed.

The GPTO will not send out any summons for oral hearings until further notice and any hearings that have been scheduled already will be postponed. Affected parties will be notified individually.

According to the GPTO, operations continue via remote office capabilities. However, there will be delays with regard to all tasks performed by the GPTO due to staff absences.

Japan

Proceedings before the Japan Patent Office (the "JPO") (including IP prosecution procedures and IP-related trials) appear to be continuing as usual, at least for now. Although the Japan Patent Attorneys' Association is reported to have requested the JPO to postpone all submission deadlines uniformly, as of 19 March 2020, the JPO has not yet decided to take any special measures to remedy any potential delays caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.

Mexico

Both Mexican Trademark Office and the Copyright Bureau remain open and operative as usual. Part of the officers and examiners of the Mexican Trademark Office are working remotely. It is still possible to file new applications, submissions and requests in proceedings, etc. either physically or electronically. Deadlines are running and parties are required to comply with deadlines. Thus, we recommend continuing proceedings as usual to avoid any adverse situation that might affect IP rights.

In the meantime, both government offices will no longer hold face-to-face meetings until further notice but can be reached through phone and e-mail.

WIPO

WIPO has said it has put in place remote working arrangements for its staff to ensure that the processing of applications filed via its Global IP Services is not affected. It is continuing to process applications filed through the PCT, Madrid System and Hague System and to administer other IP and related systems.

WIPO has also closed its Geneva headquarters to everyone apart from those who are essential to the delivery of its business continuity protocol.

WIPO has published detailed information on the extension of time limits under the Madrid Protocol and Hague Agreement. These result from the disruption caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic.

USPTO

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) considers the effects of coronavirus to be an "extraordinary situation"for affected patent and trademark applicants, patentees, reexamination parties, and trademark owners. Therefore, it has announced it is waiving petition fees in certain situations for customers impacted by the coronavirus. This notice does not grant waivers or extensions of dates or requirements set by statute.

The USPTO has said it will no longer hold face-to-face meetings until further notice, including Patent Trial and Appeal Board hearings, but will continue with phone and videoconferences.

China

On 28 January 2020, CNIPA (China's National Intellectual Property Administration) published its Notice 350 (see here, in Chinese), which is applicable to both trademark and patent matters. According to the Notice, the CNIPA remains open during the coronavirus epidemic, and as a general rule, deadlines can be suspended starting from the day of the 'appearance of an obstacle' (e.g. local epidemic control restrictions) and resume after the day of the 'elimination of an obstacle' (e.g. after the epidemic control restrictions have been lifted). As to patents, the Notice also specifies that if an applicant misses a deadline because of epidemic control measures, such applicant can invoke force majeure (Art. 6 of the Implementation Regulations under the Patent Law), which means that it can apply for a reinstatement of its rights within 2 months.

Fortunately, as the intensity of the epidemic in China has lessened over the last weeks, the CNIPA is resuming its normal activities. This means that the volume of its issued decisions and granted applications is gradually increasing to a normal level.

Italy

A few days ago, the Italian government needed to adopt a number of extraordinary measures to contain the spread of COVID-19.

In light of the spread and impact of COVID-19 around the world, the Italian Patent and Trademark Office issued a Decree providing for a stay of all official deadlines falling within 9 March and 3 April 2020. The stay concerns all deadlines involving any activity with the Italian Patent and Trademark Office, with exception of mandatory deadlines in opposition proceedings (i.e. the deadline to bring opposition, to file the PoA to commence the action and the relevant supporting arguments), as well as the mandatory deadlines to bring action before the Office Board of Appeal.

Many of the officers of the Italian Patent and Trademark Office are also working from remote to ensure the functionality of the system. Given that the majority of activities may be carried out online, we do not expect significant impact on IP matters.

Spain

The Spanish government declared the state of alarm, with a lock-down of the country, on 14 March (Royal Decree 463/2020), ordering a range of measures in numerous areas, including administrative proceedings, which also affects the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office. On 16 March, the Spanish PTO issued a decision on the execution of the corresponding decree in respect of deadlines in administrative proceedings, referring to the suspension of administrative procedures under the decree and clarifying that although automatic communications and notifications may be issued that refer to deadlines without taking into account the current status of alarm, those references are not applicable and the general criteria set out in the Government Decree are to be applied. The state of alarm was initially ordered for 15 days but it appears likely that it will be extended.

The Spanish PTO continues to be operative (without on-site attendance of the public), with staff working remotely. The Spanish PTO IP Bulletin continues to be published on a daily basis during the week as usual, and decisions continue to be issued. It is possible to file new applications, submissions and requests in proceedings, etc. via the PTO's e-filing tools. In this respect, the decision of 16 March expressly clarifies that the users can continue to make normal use of the electronic services of the Spanish PTO. Electronic filing has been common practice in Spain anyway and the corresponding tools are fully operative. Accordingly, we generally recommend continuing with proceedings at the PTO rather than to delay those steps, in particular, to proceed with new filings as usual to avoid a later filing date.

UK

Operations: The UK Intellectual Property Office (UK-IPO) is currently operating as normal, with one exception in relation to hearings. The office's Aldgate Tower hearing centre in London. On 19 March the UK-IPO said that:

• It would continue to operate hearings via telephone, Skype or other virtual methods

• No further physical hearings will be booked or take place until 1 June 2020 (this date will be kept under review)

• Parties will be contacted if their current hearing arrangements need to change

Deadlines: The UK-IPO has said that it will extend deadlines where national and international legislation allows. It has also said that where a deadline has been missed, resulting in a loss of rights, they may be able to restore or reinstate the right depending on the circumstances. If you have registered IP rights which could be affected, you might want to consider keeping records of how the virus has affected your business and what you did and didn't do to mitigate loss, so you can demonstrate why the IPO's discretion should be exercised in your favour, if needed.

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