On March 11, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom declared that the COVID-19 outbreak "can be characterized as a pandemic," cautioning that the WHO has "rung the alarm bell loud and clear." At the time of the announcement, the WHO noted that there were 118,000 cases reported globally; in its latest situation report, the WHO indicates that there have been 634,835 cases as of March 29. The WHO's declaration earlier this month -- 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 further developments in Mexico, Indonesia, and at the Federal Circuit in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last week, Mexican patent law firm OLIVARES notified the patent community that the Mexican Patent and Trademark Office (IMPI) had issued a decree stating that no terms would run from March 24 to April 19, 2020. At the time, OLIVARES noted "that IMPI will remain open and that it will be possible to file applications and briefs even though their filing date will be considered as April 20, 2020," and that the suspension would not apply to the release of preliminary injunctions imposed by IMPI during an infringement proceeding.
On Friday, OLIVARES provided an update on IMPI developments, noting that the IMPI issued an additional decree on March 26, suspending all of its activities from March 27 to April 19, 2020. As a result, it will not be possible to file motions until April 20, 2020. While it will be possible to pre-file applications online, such applications will have to be digitally signed on April 20, at which time an application number will be assigned by the IMPI. The IMPI decree also indicated that the Office could summon a limited staff to attend to procedures that are necessary to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic, or related to the release of preliminary injunctions imposed by the IMPI during an infringement proceeding.
On Saturday, OLIVARES provided a further update, noting that the Ministry of Health had issued a decree in which it was suspending, due to force majeure, the legal terms during the period from March 26 to April 19, 2020, in all administrative actions and procedures that are processed with the Ministry of Health, its administrative units and decentralized administrative bodies, including the Federal Commission for the Protection Against Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS). As a result, only authorizations for medicines, medical devices, and import of supplies strictly related to attending to the COVID-19 pandemic may continue before COFEPRIS during said period. COFEPRIS issued a statement in which it specified that its Comprehensive Services Center (CIS) would also remain open to receive and attend to non-COVID-19-related procedures necessary to continue the supply of medical products in response to the health needs of the Mexican population.
Last week, we noted that the Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DGIP) in Indonesia had announced that until April 5, the Intellectual Property Integrated Service Counters at the DGIP would be closed and that dispensations would be provided by the DGIP for the late filing of all formality documents for Intellectual Property applications that would otherwise have been due in March 2020. On Friday, Indonesia patent law firm LSP Partnership notified the patent community that the DGIP was temporarily closed (with LSP indicating that such closure would run until March 31), that IP applications could be filed online (except for the payment of annuities), and that the DGIP would provide extensions of time for any formality documents and payment of fees (including for patent maintenance) that are due in March 2020, and up until the DGIP resumes for services.
In a notice posted on its website on Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit noted that the Clerk's Office has issued new guidance on how counsel may accomplish service outside of CM/ECF (Case Management/Electronic Case Files), which is most frequently required when serving pro se parties or confidential materials. In particular, the Court explained that:
Under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 25(c)(2), parties may electronically serve each other outside of the court's electronic filing system "by sending it by other electronic means that the person to be served consented to in writing." Service through this method is complete on "sending, unless the party making service is notified that the paper was not received by the party served." Fed. R. App. P. 25(c)(4). The court is not involved when parties agree in writing to provide service through alternate electronic means, such as through email. Consistent with the court's November 1, 2019 notice, the filing party must include a proof of service noting the form of service [emphasis in original].
The Clerk's Office also recommended two other options when a person to be served does not consent to an alternate method of service. Those options can be found in the new guidance.
Patent Docs will continue to monitor and report on patent-related developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, we encourage our readers to let us know about developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic at other patent offices.
