Further to our update from late last week, which outlined certain notices issued from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, on March 27, 2020, President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which further impacts the U.S. intellectual property system. This article summarizes important patent- and trademark-related aspects of the CARES Act.

Patents

The CARES Act provides extraordinary relief for patent applicants and their counsel for nearly any patent-related deadline that falls between March 27, 2020 and April 30, 2020. A deadline that falls within that time frame is immediately extended – at no charge to the applicant – for 30 days from the initial date of the deadline. Examples of such deadlines include, but are not limited to: replies to Office Actions; payment of issue fees; filing of documentation necessary for appeal proceedings; and Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) procedural deadlines. A full list of the patent-related due dates that fall within the scope of relief provided by the CARES Act is found here.

Trademarks

The CARES Act also provides extraordinary relief for trademark applicants and their counsel for nearly any trademark-related deadline that falls between March 27, 2020 and April 30, 2020. As with the situation for patents, a trademark-related deadline that falls within the above time frame is immediately extended – at no charge to the applicant – for 30 days from the initial date of the deadline. Examples of such deadlines include, but are not limited to: responses to Office Actions; filing statement(s) of use; filing opposition paperwork; and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) procedural deadlines. A full list of the trademark-related due dates that fall within the scope of the relief provided by the CARES Act is found here.

For patent- and trademark-related relief to be obtained, any subsequent filing with the USPTO needs to be accompanied by a statement that the delay in filing or payment (as the case may be) was due to the COVID-19 outbreak as defined in the above-linked notices issued from the USPTO.  

Importantly, and despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the USPTO remains opens for the filing of documents and fees for both patent and trademark matters.