(Publ. 19 MAR 2020) The two European intellectual property offices, EPO and EUIPO, have taken the decision to extend their deadlines due to the prevalent spread of the corona virus and Covid-19. Among national IP offices around the world, we see that some have taken similar measures while others continue with unchanged deadlines.

The European Patent Office (EPO) has announced that all deadlines during the period between 15 March to 17 April will be extended to 17 April. Also, oral proceedings will not be held in the premises of the EPO Boards of Appeal from 16 March 2020 until 27 March.

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has communicated a similar decision which states that all deadlines within the period March 9 to April 30 will be extended to May 1. In practice, this means an extension to Monday May 4, as May 1 is a public holiday followed by Saturday and Sunday.

The Swedish Patent and Registration Office (PRV), the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the international World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) have all announced that their work continues as usual with unchanged capacity or extended deadlines.

Many national IP offices around the world have extended their deadlines or taken other similar measures. These are, among others, the offices in China, Hong Kong, South Korea, India, Canada, the Philippines, Spain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Libya and Peru.

However, this information may change at short notice, so we ask you to keep updated on the website of each respective IP office. Please contact info@groth.eu if you have any questions.