COVID-19 Impact on Patent Offices: Office Closures and Service Delays
As COVID-19 continues to spread and disrupt industries
across the globe, patent offices in Coronavirus affected countries are, for
lack of better term, not immune. These patent offices are responding by
implementing deadline extensions, office closures, and delays in services.
Below is a list of relevant patent offices divided by
region and their respective statuses as of March 20, 2020:
NORTH
AMERICA
- United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
- All offices closed from March
16, 2020 until further notice – all USPTO operations will continue without
interruption
- Original handwritten
signature no longer required for certain correspondence with the Office of
Enrollment and Discipline (OED) and certain payments by credit card
- Petition fees waived in certain
situations for customers impacted by the coronavirus, but does not grant
waivers or extensions of dates or requirements set by statute
- All offices closed from March
- Canadian IP Office (CIPO)
- All deadlines extended until
31 March
- Expect significant delays in
all services
- Multiple CIPO offices are no
longer receiving correspondence, including in Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto and
Vancouver
- All deadlines extended until
EUROPE
- World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
- Reserving access to its
headquarters to only personnel essential personnel
- Processing of applications
filed via WIPO’s IP services are so far not affected
- Reserving access to its
- European Patent Office (EPO)
- All deadlines due between
March 9 and April 16 are now due April 17
- The extension also applies to
PCT applications handled by the EPO
- Affected parties are not
required to file a request to the office for the extension of the time limit to
take effect
- All deadlines due between
- United Kingdom IP Office (UKIPO)
- Deadlines extended and IP
rights reinstated for those affected by the virus, granting on a case-by-case
basis
- Deadlines extended and IP
- Italian IP Office (UIBM)
- Any certificates and IP
titles that expire between January 31 and April 15 will remain valid until June
15, 2020
- Any certificates and IP
- The German IP Office (DPMA)
- The following are closed or
unavailable until further notice- Information centers
- Research rooms
- On-site consultations
- Initial consultations for
inventors
- The following are closed or
- French IP Office (INPI)
- All buildings closed to the
public
- All buildings closed to the
- Czech Republic IP Office (UPV)
- Open with reduced hours
- Norway IP Office (NIPO)
- Customer service centers will
“hold normal office hours, but staff will be taking the calls from home
- No in-person meetings
- NIPO headquarters are closed
to the public until further notice
- If specific deadlines or lost
registered rights occur during this period, applicants and registrants can request
re-establishment of those rights
- Customer service centers will
- Finland IP Office (PRH)
- Customer service building in
Helsinki is closed
- Customer service building in
- Portugal IP Office (INPI)
- All employees will be working
from home from March 16, 2020
- In-person services only
available through pre-scheduling
- All employees will be working
- Austrian IP Office
- All office deadlines in
proceedings before the registry are extended by two months without the need for
users to request a further extension
- However, all deadlines
directly resulting from the law cannot be extended
- All office deadlines in
ASIA/PACIFIC
- Chinese Patent and Trademark Office (CNIPA)
- Unaffected
- Anyone in China who would
miss the deadlines with regard to patents due to the coronavirus can apply for
restoration of their rights
- Hong Kong IP Office
- Extended all patent, design
and trademark deadlines for any filing date that fell between January 29 and
February 21
- Deadlines that fall after
these dates are currently unaffected
- Extended all patent, design
- Australian IP Office (IP Australia)
- Requests for extensions can
be made “in the normal way” and will be considered on a case-by-case
basis
- However, “some time
periods cannot be extended” and suggested that brand owners reach out to
IP professionals to check if an extension is possible
- Requests for extensions can
- Philippines IP Office (IPOPHL)
- Moved to an “online
only” service
- From 16 March until 14 April,
all manual IP filings are suspended
- Moved to an “online
- New Zealand IP Office (IPONZ)
- all services are currently
operating as usual
- users can request an
extension of time should they be affected by the virus
- all services are currently
MIDDLE
EAST/AFRICA
- Israel Patent Office
- Do not visit the registry’s
headquarters until further notice
- Can contact the Authority by
phone as usual, and submit documents online
- Regular hearings in the
Tribunal are cancelled, and new dates will be adjusted
- Do not visit the registry’s
- Saudi Arabia IP Office
- Suspended operations for at
least 16 days from 16 March
- Suspended operations for at
- African Regional IP Office (ARIPO)
- Discouragement of walk-in
enquiries and strongly encourage users to take advantage of the office’s online
services and email/phone communications
- Discouragement of walk-in
CENTRAL/SOUTH
AMERICA
- Brazilian IP Office (INPI)
- Face-to-face service is now
suspended indefinitely
- Face-to-face service is now
- Peru IP Office (Indecopi)
- Suspended all public meetings
indefinitely
- All deadlines being processed
are now suspended
- Suspended all public meetings
- Chilean IP Office (INAPI)
- Public opening hours reduced
essential queries and procedures that cannot be carried out by other means
- Extension of terms for
administrative procedures
- Public opening hours reduced