Last week, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom declared that the COVID-19 outbreak "can be characterized as a pandemic," cautioning that the WHO has "rung the alarm bell loud and clear."  At the time of the announcement, the WHO noted that there were 118,000 cases reported globally in 114 countries.  In its latest situation report, the WHO indicates that as of March 18, there have been 191,127 cases in 160 countries.  The Director-General also stated that "[t]his is not just a public health crisis, it is a crisis that will touch every sector – so every sector and every individual must be involved in the fight."  The WHO's declaration last week – and global developments since then – raise the question of how the pandemic is affecting the patent community.

Since Sunday, we have reported on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), European Patent Office (EPO), IP Australia, Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ), Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (INPI), Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), and U.S. Federal courts, including, in particular, the Supreme Court and Federal Circuit.  Today we present recent developments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico and at the Federal Circuit.

Earlier today, Mexican patent law firm Olivares notified the patent community regarding developments in its country.  Olivares advised that both federal and local jurisdictional authorities have suspended their activities from March 18 to April 19, 2020, and have decreed that no procedural terms will run during that period.  The suspension and interruption of procedural deadlines is being carried out by the Supreme Court of Justice, Collegiate Circuit Courts, Single-judge Circuit Courts, District Courts, Civil and Commercial Courts, and Federal Court of Administrative Affairs, including the Special Chamber for Intellectual Property Matters and the Special Chamber for Environmental and Regulatory Matters.

However, Olivares also noted that the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI), the Federal Copyright Office (INDAUTOR), the Federal Commission on Sanitary Risks (COFEPRIS), and the Consumer's Protection Bureau (PROFECO) continue to operate in a normal manner, and have not declared any suspension of their procedural terms and deadlines.

In a notice posted on its website today, the Federal Circuit announced that all cases scheduled for argument during the April 2020 sitting will now be conducted by telephonic conference and no in-person hearings will be held.  Parties in all cases will receive an updated notice in their respective cases.

Patent Docs will continue to monitor and report on patent-related developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic.  In addition, we encourage our readers to let us know about developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic at other patent offices.