COVID-19 Patent & Trademark Office Updates
6/3/2020 Update:
Today the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) launched the COVID-19 Response Resource Center to provide stakeholders and other interested parties with improved access to USPTO initiatives, programs, and other helpful intellectual property (IP)-related information regarding the COVID-19 outbreak.
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As part of our dedication to helping our clients stay up-to-date on the ever-changing landscape as it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve compiled the following highlights of changes to patent, trademark, and copyright operations around the world.
As always, a complete list of countries may be found in our Google Document.
Update Highlights
- The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) released a joint message with the Japan Patent Office (JPO) regarding various initiatives to support inventors worldwide (the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH); the U.S.-Japan Collaborative Search Pilot Program; and the Global Dossier Initiative), thus facilitating the voluntary licensing of patented technologies and the commercialization of inventions effective in combating COVID-19 on June 1, 2020.
- USPTO announced that it will allow filing of initial patent term extension applications via patent electronic filing systems EFS-Web on May 29, 2020.
- United Kingdom (UKIPO) confirmed that it will be continuing with its period of interruption until at least June 22 2020, on May 29, 2020.
- European Union (EUIPO) has released a new video update noting that approximately 21 000 EUTMs need to be published over a period of weeks to avoid technical issues, on May 29, 2020.
- Other general closures & deadline extensions have been added to the document.
If you have any patent or trademark questions during this time, do not hesitate to contact us.
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VORYS COVID-19 TASK FORCE
Vorys attorneys and professionals are counseling our clients in the myriad issues related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. We have also established a comprehensive Coronavirus Task Force, which includes attorneys with deep experience in the niche disciplines that we have been and expect to continue receiving questions regarding coronavirus. Learn more and see the latest updates from the task force at vorys.com/coronavirus.
