The international intellectual property landscape has also felt the repercussions that the coronavirus pandemic imposes on businesses and government agencies. Many patent and trademark offices have extended filing deadlines and/or closed offices in view of difficulties with staffing and document delivery, as well as to provide relief to the strain many applicants face during this unprecedented situation.
As of the time of this publication, patent and trademark filing deadlines have been suspended in at least the following jurisdictions:
Country
|
Deadlines Resume
|
Brazil
|
6/1/2020
|
Canada
|
6/1/2020
|
EPO (Europe patent)
|
6/2/2020 (excluding annuities)
|
India |
6/1/2020 |
Indonesia |
6/1/2020 |
Mexico |
6/1/2020 |
Morocco |
N/A |
Oman |
N/A |
Pakistan |
N/A |
Peru
|
5/20/2020
|
Philippines
|
7/30/2020
|
Singapore |
6/5/2020 |
South Korea |
6/1/2020** |
Spain
|
5/24/2020
|
Tunisia |
N/A |
Turkey |
6/15/2020 |
Venezuela
|
N/A
|
*Certain deadlines, such as renewals, are excluded. Extensions must be accompanied by a statement that the reason for delay was related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
**Excludes the deadlines for entering the national phase for a PCT international application, requesting examination, requesting continued examination or appealing a Final Rejection, filing an opposition against a trademark application, responding to an Office Action in a Madrid trademark application, and deadlines related to appeals.
The newly enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides U.S. patent and trademark applicants the opportunity to obtain temporary relief from certain filing deadlines. The USPTO offers a 30-day extension to applicants who can certify they are “personally affected” by the COVID-19 outbreak and cannot meet certain patent and trademark filing deadlines that arise between March 27 and April 30, 2020. Additionally, the USPTO remains open for business via electronic filing, phone calls and video conferences.
Because the applicable rules are changing from day to day, we recommend that patent and trademark applicants adhere to original deadlines whenever possible, and check with local counsel in the applicable jurisdiction to confirm what actions will (or will not) fall within the scope of any extended deadlines.
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