Founding Partner
Important information about the US Patent and Trademark Office and COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
The US Patent and Trademark Office has recently issued new guidelines which may impact some deadlines associated with your Patent or Trademark pending at the US Patent and Trademark Office.
The US Patent and Trademark Office has granted a 30-day extension for some types of Patent and Trademark deadlines for small and micro entities which are falling between March 27, 2020 and April 30, 2020. The current USPTO guidelines do not provide extensions for deadlines outside this date range. So if the due date for a response is May 1, 2020 or greater, the 30 day grace period will not apply. Also, please note that not every type of deadline is subject to the 30 day grace period. It is important to contact us if you have a due date in this range so we can advise if you qualify for an extension if needed under your circumstances.
To qualify for an extension, the applicant will have to show that the delay was due to an impact from the COVID-19.
If you are aware of an upcoming deadline which you may miss due to the COVID-19 it is extremely important that you contact us to discuss the situation before the deadline, since not all deadlines will be subject to this extension.
Thank you,
The Gearhart Law Team