In this week’s Patent News – USPTO issues Notice of Waiver of patent-related deadlines under the CARES Act; UKIPO declares “interrupted days” from 24th March 2020 and other news updates.
INTERNATIONAL PATENT NEWS
USPTO issues Notice of Waiver of patent-related deadlines under the CARES Act
In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has extended the time to file certain patent-related documents and fees for applications that would have been due on or after 27th March 2020. The USPTO has granted the extension in accordance with Section 12004 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). According to the notice, deadlines that fall on and in between 27th March 2020 and 30th April 2020, in respect of filing – a reply to an office notice or action issued during the examination; payment of issue fee;notice of appeal; payment of maintenance fee, filed by a small or micro entity etc., will be extended for a period of 30 days from the date on which the actions become due. All applications filed ensuing the provided extension must be accompanied by a statement that explains that the delay was caused due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
You may click here to access the official document published by the USPTO
UKIPO declares “interrupted days” from 24th March 2020 onwards
The Intellectual Property Office, U.K has declared 24th March 2020 and the days subsequent to it as “interrupted days” under Rule 110 of the Patents Rules 2007, Rule 75 of the Trade Marks Rules 2008, and Rule 40 of the Designs Rules 2006, until further notice. Pursuant to the public notice issued by the IPO on 27th March 2020, all deadlines that fall on an interrupted day will be extended to the next non- interrupted day. According to the IPO, a notice of interruption will be published in the official Journal and will also be displayed on the website. While the extension is applicable to all statutory as well as non-statutory deadlines set under the relevant UK Actand Rules, the extension does not apply to International Treaties or Conventions such as the PCT, EPC and the Madrid System. The IPO has said that the office will evaluate and review the situation after a period of three weeks i.e., on 17th April 2020. On reviewing the situation, the period of interruption will be put to an end or continued.
You may click here to access the official notice on the GOV.UK website.
Huawei joins the Open Invention Network
Chinese multi-national company and leading global provider of information and communications technology and smart devices, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd hasjoined the Open Invention Network (OIN), the largest patent non-aggression community. The company made the official announcement on 2nd April 2020 and said that it has become a licensee and a member of the OIN community. Jianxin Ding, Head of Global Intellectual Property, said “By joining the Open Invention Network, we are demonstrating our continued commitment to innovation, and supporting it with patent non-aggression in Linux and other core open source projects.” The network currently has over 3200 licensees and members such as Google, IBM, Sony, Toyota and more.
Authored and compiled by Vibha Amarnath
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