On April 28, 2020, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) further extended the time to file certain patent and trademark-related documents and to pay certain required fees pursuant to the temporary authority provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”). Deadlines and fees which would have otherwise been due between March 27, 2020, and May 31, 2020, have now been extended until June 1, 2020. The PTO also added two more types of patent filings for which due dates may be extended:
- requests for re-hearings of Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) decisions on motions under 37 CFR § 41.125(c) or judgments under 37 CFR § 41.127(d); and,
- petitions to the Chief Administrative Patent Judge under 37 CFR §41.3
Additionally, the PTO has clarified the relief available for trademark applicants or trademark owners who were unable to timely submit a filing or payment in reply to a PTO communication due to the COVID-19 outbreak, which resulted in the application being held abandoned or the registration being canceled/expired. Specifically, the PTO explained that this relief only applies to applications and registrations that became abandoned or were canceled/expired on or before May 31, 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Additionally, the petition to revive must include a statement that the delay in filing or payment was due to the COVID-19 outbreak. For the full text of the newest Patent and Trademark Notices (collectively, “Notices”), please click here and here.
The April 28, 2020 Notices supersede the previously posted “Notice of Waiver of Patent-Related Timing Deadlines under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act,” dated March 31, 2020; “Notice of Waiver of Trademark-Related Timing Deadlines under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act,” dated March 31, 2020; and, “Relief Available to Patent and Trademark Applicants, Patentees and Trademark Owners Affected by the Coronavirus Outbreak,” dated March 16, 2020. The PTO continues to evaluate the evolving situation around COVID-19 and the impact on the PTO’s operations and stakeholders.
For further details including a full listing of all filings and fees affected by the PTO’s extension, see our April 21, 2020 blog, “Director Of Patent And Trademark Office Extends Certain Filing And Payment Deadlines Pursuant To CARES Act.” If you have any questions regarding these provisions of the CARES Act and whether you may be eligible for relief, please contact Dan Holmander at dhomander@apslaw.com
