On the last day of March, Director of the U.S. Patent and Marks Office Andrej Lancu released a couple of notices on the exemption from time limits related both to trademarks and patent documents and fees. This extension of the Agency's deadline is under the authority provided by the recent enactment of the CARES Act, which seeks to assist applicants in coping with disturbances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement released on this news article, director Andrei Lancu stated: "Inventors and businessmen are the lifeblood of our economy, and many of them find themselves difficult due to the COVID-19 results." "Our ultimate goal is not only to ensure that the storm is weathered by inventors and businessmen, but that they can reach the ground when it happens.”. The director said the USPTO tried to provide relief while still retaining the fee-funded operations of the agency but was particularly aware of the outdated effect on SMB's and independent inventors of the coronavirus crisis.
The USPTO has listed different filings and tax payments to be extended for 30 days automatically if their deadlines slip from 27 March to 30 April. Such extensions include responses to reports or actions from the Agency, issuance of fines, repair fines, use statements, or use affidavits. The extension also contains, in addition to patent and trademark applications, filings concerning both the Patent Court and the Appeal Board (PTAB) and the TTAB.
To order to be eligible for exceptions to the deadline, these filings must be followed by a statement that the delay to filing or charging papers is due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The USPTO has provided the applicants with very broad grounds to conclude that a pause is fairly consistent with the coronavirus pandemic.
USPTO states that, if a doctor, claimant, patent owner, complainant, third-party claimant, inventor, or any other person involved in the filing or fee is directly impacted by COVID-19 the organization will find a delay because of the occurrence of the COVID-19 occurrence. While the explanation for the applicable time delay cites personal or family illness, the law also covers cases where the outbreak materially interfered in early filings or payments including office closures, cashflow disturbances, delays in commuting, inaccessibility of files or other resources.
These time limits are legendary by the USPTO, despite the value of deadlines for reaching the agency and the privileges violated in the absence of these due dates. A patent application can be unable to acquire patent rights without the chance of payment of the missing payments, for example. Missed offices would often contribute to patent applications being withdrawn and the USPTO will charge $1,000 or more to restore the withdrawn order.
In accordance with the clear submissions and payments set out in the USPTO notifications, the PTAB and the TTAB parties would have the right to receive deadlines for submission to both tribunals, even if these applications are not specified in explicit terms by the department. Parties interested in taking advantage of the extension of time will consult directly with the PTAB, like Amerika Invents Act hearings, test appeals, or intervention proceedings. The USPTO trademark notice notes that a proposal should be made or a proposal for an extension by TTAB parties requesting extensions.
The outbreak of the coronavirus shook the global economy and saw a reasonable proportion of its instability in the field of intellectual property as countries struggled to control the pandemic. For several nations, including Israel, Germany, and Canada, laws relating to persuasive licensing systems have been proposed at least to allow the use of patent covered technology for treating patients with or against COVID-19. These mandatory licenses will permit unenforceable patents by individuals. On the other hand, the United States may try to strengthen the IP security of medical technologies for treating COVID-19. Late March saw the launch of the Encouraging Breakthrough to Counter Coronavirus Act in the US House Senate. One of the provisions of the bill would expand the terms of patents of COVID-19 patients by ten years to include patents covering medicines or medical devices. Although the bill is still delaying the start of these patent terms until the national emergency is declared to end by the Trump administration, the bill provides a somewhat different understanding of how the IP will be treated in response to the needs of the coronavirus pandemic.