[Updated – April 3, 2020] As local and national governments take measures to combat the spread of COVID-19, patent and trademark owners are facing potential difficulties with meeting prosecution and dispute deadlines.

Austria

(newly added)

All deadlines that have not expired as of March 16, 2020 have been extended to May 1, 2020. All appeals deadlines that have not expired as of March 22, 2020 have been extended to May 1, 2020.

Benelux - Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg

Public emergency restrictions are in effect in these countries. Any requests or procedures having deadlines falling on or after March 16, 2020 will not be withdrawn, if the deadlines are missed, as long as the public emergency restrictions remain in effect. Once the restrictions are lifted, any requests or proceedings whose time limits have lapsed in the interim (or whose time period for response is less than a month from the date the restrictions were lifted) will have one month for a response. These extensions also apply to opposition proceedings and payment deadlines.

EUIPO -Trademark/Design

(updated)

All deadlines in EUIPO proceedings falling between March 9, 2020-April 30, 2020 have been extended to May 1, 2020.

EPO (Patent)

All “routine” deadlines falling between March 15, 2020-April 16, 2020 are extended to April 17, 2020.

Germany

All deadlines set by the German Patent and Trademark Office are automatically extended to May 4, 2020. The extension does not apply to deadlines set by law such as priority or opposition deadlines.

France

All patent, trademark and design deadlines, except trademark opposition deadlines, are extended to July 16, 2020.

Italy
(Updated)

All patent, trademark and design deadlines falling between February 23, 2020-April 15, 2020 have been extended to April 16, 2020, except for mandatory deadlines in opposition proceedings and appeals. Any certificates and IP titles expiring between January 31, 2020 and April 15, 2020 will remain valid until June 15, 2020.

Norway

(newly added)

Deadlines have not been extended, though two-month extensions of time for non-statutory deadlines are available, if requested, before the deadline expires.

Portugal All deadlines falling on or after March 12, 2020 are suspended until further notice. Signatures are not needed for online services and face-to-face services are unavailable. Russia Patent Office and Eurasian Patent Office All patent deadlines falling between March 28, 2020-April 5, 2020 are extended to April 6, 2020. Spain All deadlines are suspended until Spain’s national state of emergency is over.

Switzerland

(newly added)

All deadlines falling between March 21, 2020-April 19, 2020 are extended to April 20, 2020. If extensions of time are needed, two-month extensions are available upon request “for all procedures” and further extensions may be granted if “important reasons are presented.”

Turkey

(newly added)

A new regulation has been issued on March 26, 2020 within the scope of the measures taken to prevent the spread of the outbreak of COVID-19. According to the regulation, all terms regarding the birth, use or expiration of a right, including the deadlines for compulsory administrative remedies, have been suspended from March 13, 2020 in order to prevent any loss of right.

Since the regulation also covers the Industrial Property Code, all terms mentioned in the industrial property legislation have been stopped as of March 13, 2020. These terms will begin to operate from the day after the suspension period ends. Terms that have 15 or less days remaining as of March 13, 2020, will be considered to be extended for 15 days starting from the day after the suspension period ends.

Right holders and attorneys will be entitled to perform retrospective legal transactions that have not been carried out between March 13, 2020 and April 30, 2020.

United Kingdom All deadlines for patents, supplementary protection certificates, trademarks, and designs falling on or after March 24, 2020 have been extended until at least April 17, 2020, at which time the UKIPO will announce whether suspension of deadlines will continue or not.