Phillips & Leigh remains open for business.
We are continuing to operate all our usual services for clients, with all staff working from home to the maximum extent possible for the duration of social distancing measures.
Covid-19 and time limits
Covid-19, and the necessary measures to tackle it, have caused extreme disruption. Many Intellectual Property Offices around the world have taken measures to mitigate this either financially, or by providing extensions of time. The nature of these measures varies widely and is changing from day to day. The following summarises the provisions in the UK, European Patent Office, European Intellectual Property Office, and World Intellectual Property Organization.
UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) – patents, trade marks, and designs
24th March 2020, and subsequent days until further notice, have been declared as being "interrupted days". This means that all dates are extended indefinitely until UKIPO notifies the end of the interrupted days period. A minimum of two weeks notice will be provided to the public (not individually) before ending the interrupted days period.[ https://www.gov.uk/government/news/coronavirus-important-update-on-ipo-services]
European Patent Office (EPO) – patents
All periods expiring on or after 15th March 2020 have been extended until 4th May 2020. It is quite likely that there will be further extension. It should be noted that this does not apply to the deadline for filing divisional applications which is not considered as a time limit under EPO practice.
It may be possible in some circumstances to extend dates that fell before 15th March 2020.
[https://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/official-journal/2020/03/a29.html]
European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) – trade marks and designs
All time limits before the EUIPO are extended effectively to 4th May 2020.
[https://euipo.europa.eu/ohimportal/en/news/-/action/view/5657728]
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) – patents, trade marks, and designs
WIPO remains open for business, with no extensions of time relating to Covid.
Because WIPO interacts with many national IP offices, there are provisions to allow extensions of time in particular cases if the IP office concerned is closed for business. However because of the complexity of the international IP system, and varying national practices, it is advisable not to rely on such extensions if at all possible.
Changelog: 17/4/2020 – EPO entry updated to note that the deadline extension, which was originally to the 17th April, was widened to 4th May.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.