While the COVID-19 pandemic poses challenges for most businesses, currently United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) operations are proceeding without interruption. This has allowed Wilson Sonsini to continue to do our business and basic interactions with the USPTO, including filing applications and papers. The USPTO has made a number of announcements regarding coronavirus-related impacts, which are summarized below.

USPTO Notices

Most importantly, the USPTO announced that patent and trademark application deadlines and other deadlines are not being extended. As has always been our practice, Wilson Sonsini will monitor all deadlines and work with clients on replies within these deadlines.

However, if an application does go abandoned because an Applicant was unable to timely reply due to the effects of the coronavirus outbreak, the USPTO will waive the corresponding revival petition fee. If a client is impacted by the coronavirus outbreak which results in missing a deadline leading to abandonment, please notify your Wilson Sonsini attorney immediately so we can work with you on the necessary corrective actions.

For the health and safety of the public and USPTO employees, all USPTO offices have been closed to the public since March 16, 2020, until further notice. The office does remain open for USPTO employees and contractors.

Along these lines, the USPTO has also stopped all in-person interviews and meetings that were scheduled to take place at USPTO offices since March 13, 2020. These include examiner and examining attorney interviews, Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) oral hearings, and other similar in-person meetings. Alternatively, such interactions can be conducted remotely by video or telephone, and Wilson Sonsini will use these alternatives for interviews with USPTO employees.

Bruce Kisliuk and Michael Hostetler contributed to the preparation of this Wilson Sonsini alert.