On March 11, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom declared that the COVID-19 outbreak "can be characterized as a pandemic."  At the time of the announcement, the WHO noted that there were 118,000 cases reported globally; in its situation report for June 10, the WHO indicates that to date there have been 7,145,539 cases globally.  The WHO's declaration in March -- and global developments since then -- raise the question of how the pandemic has been affecting the patent community.

We have been reporting (see links below) on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, World Intellectual Property Organization, European Patent Office, IP Australia, Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ), Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (INPI), Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI), National Office of Intellectual Property (ONAPI) in the Dominican Republic, Intellectual Property India, National Intellectual Property Office (NIPO) in Sri Lanka, Israel Patent Office, Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (NOIP), and Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DGIP) in Indonesia, as well as U.S. Federal courts, including, in particular, the Supreme Court and Federal Circuit.  Today, we present an update regarding COVID-19-related extensions for several of the above patent offices:

Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO)

• CIPO has designated any deadline falling between March 16, 2020 and July 3, 2020 as being a day where any time period ending on one of those dates is extended to the next day, which means that, effectively, any deadlines for Canadian applications falling within between March 16, 2020 and July 3, 2020 are extended to Monday, July 6, 2020 (see CIPO website).

European Patent Office (EPO)

• The EPO has announced that it will temporarily waive the additional fee due when a renewal fee is paid late. This waiver will only be applicable from June 1, 2020 until August 31, 2020 with respect to European patent applications where a renewal fee has fallen due on or after March 15, 2020, and the renewal fee was not paid by the due date (see EPO website).

Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM) - Intellectual Property India

• The Delhi High Court stayed (until further orders) the operation of two public notices issued in May by the IPO, which had set a new deadline of June 1, 2020 for the submission of documents in proceedings under the Patents Act. As a result, all due dates from March 15, 2020 currently stand suspended.

Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DGIP) -- Indonesia

• The DGIP has extended the closure period of the DGIP's Intellectual Property Service Counter until further notice.

Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial (IMPI)

• IMPI has announced that the suspension of activities and interruption of terms has been extended until the Government’s COVID restrictions are lifted (the suspension of activities and suspension of terms began on March 24, 2020). IMPI may resume its normal activities between June 15 and June 30, 2020, but this will depend on the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico City.

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

• The USPTO has waived the petition fee pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 1.17(m) when patent applicant or patent owner files a reply with a petition under 37 CFR 1.137(a) in those instances when patent applicants or patent owners were unable to timely reply to an Office communication due to the effects of the coronavirus outbreak, which resulted in the application being held abandoned or the reexamination prosecution terminated or limited.
• The USPTO has also waived requirements for submitting an original handwritten signature personally signed in permanent dark ink or its equivalent for certain correspondence with the Office of Enrollment and Discipline and certain payments by credit card.
• Pursuant to Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the USPTO previously extended deadlines for the filing of certain patent-related documents or payment of certain required fees (as specified in the USPTO's April 28, 2020 notice) that would have been otherwise due between March 27 and May 31, 2020, to June 1, 2020.
• Pursuant to Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the USPTO has extended deadlines for the filing of certain patent-related documents or payment of certain required fees (as described in the USPTO's April 28, 2020 notice) that would have been otherwise due between March 27 and June 1, 2020, which "will now be deemed timely filed if filed by July 1, 2020."  However, the additional extensions are "[f]or small and micro entities only" (emphasis added).