Patent Office Updates You Need to Know (August 17, 2020)

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 Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has announced that all online services will be interrupted between August 21 at 7 p.m. EDT and August 23 at 11:59 a.m. EDT.
  

• The Australian IP Office has announced that fees will not apply for certain extensions of time during the COVID-19 pandemic that are requested from September 1 to September 30, 2020.  More information is available here.
  

• The Hong Kong IP Office has confirmed the continuation of its 'special work arrangements' until at least August 23, 2020. The agency is recommending users to take advantage of its e-services or send documents by post.
  

• 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.