USPTO Extends Certain Deadlines under Coronavirus Relief Act

​On March 31st, the United States Patent Office (USPTO) issued a Notice of Waiver of Patent-Related Timing Deadlines under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.  This waiver extends the time to file certain patent-related documents or fees which otherwise would have been due on and between March 27, 2020 and April 30, 2020.

Deadlines and Fees Impacted

The waiver applies only to the following:

1. For small or micro entities only, a reply to an Office notice issued during pre-examination processing;
2. Reply to an Office notice or action issued during examination or patent publication processing;
3. Issue fee;
4. Specific appeal documents and submissions to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB); or
5. For small or micro entities only, maintenance fees.

Note the waiver does not apply to PCT or national stage filings, the deadline for filing a non-provisional application that claims priority to a provisional, or inter partes review petitions.

The above due dates will be extended 30 days from the initial date the filing was due, provided that the filing is accompanied by a statement that the delay in filing or payment was due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Qualification

A delay in filing or payment may qualify for the extension if a practitioner, applicant, patent owner, petitioner, third party requester, inventor, or other person associated with the filing or fee was personally affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, including, without limitation, through office closures, cash flow interruptions, inaccessibility of files or other materials, travel delays, personal or family illness, or similar circumstances, such that the outbreak materially interfered with timely filing or payment.

USPTO Remains Open for Filing

On March 16, the USPTO closed to the public until further notice.  All Examiner interviews must be conducted remotely via phone or video.  However, the Office is open for the filing of patent documents and fees through such means as the USPTO electronic filing system (EFS-Web), United States Postal Service by Priority Mail Express® or with a certificate of mailing, by hand delivery to the Customer Service Window, and facsimile transmission.

The full Notice can be found here.

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