USPTO extends certain CARES Act relief for small and micro entities

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic has imposed significant hardships on many of our stakeholders. As a result, the USPTO has waived certain fees under existing authority through the March 16 notice, and has extended certain patent and Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) deadlines three times under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), through the March 31 notice, the April 28 notice, and the May 27 notice.

As businesses begin to reopen or resume operations, some stakeholders will continue to require relief, particularly small businesses and individuals. By the notice issued today (the June 29 notice), under the CARES Act authority and its existing authority, the USPTO has extended from July 1, 2020, to September 30, 2020, the time for small and micro entities to pay certain patent-related fees that would otherwise have been due on or after March 27, 2020. The small and micro entity fees eligible for an extension until September 30, 2020, include: basic filing fees, issue fees, maintenance fees, and other fees as set forth in the June 29 notice. In addition to this extension, and although some of the other relief provided in past notices is ending, other extensions of time and other relief remain available to those who need it on a case-by-case basis.

As explained in the May 27 notice and the April 28 notice, the USPTO has also waived the fee for filing a petition for the revival of applications that became abandoned, if accompanied by a statement that the delay in filing or payment was due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The June 29 notice clarifies that such petitions must be filed by July 31, 2020, to be eligible for the petition fee waiver.

The USPTO will continue to evaluate the evolving situation around the COVID-19 outbreak and the impact on the USPTO’s operations and stakeholders. At this time, the USPTO does not anticipate any further blanket extensions beyond what is articulated in today’s notice.

For details on the latest extension, read the official notice on our website.

USPTO announces relief to restore priority or benefit rights for patent applicants

Pursuant to Subsection 12004(a) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and 37 C.F.R. § 1.183, and in response to the requests from stakeholders, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is extending the time period for petitioning for certain rights of priority or benefit in a patent application and waiving the associated petition fee.

The relief extends the two-month time-period for restoring the right of priority to or benefit of a foreign or provisional application for any nonprovisional application due to be filed on or after March 27, 2020, but on or before July 30, 2020.

Read the full notice on the USPTO website for further details.

Comments and patent-related inquiries concerning the notice may be sent by email to Covid19PatentsRelief@uspto.gov. If email submission of comments is not feasible due to lack of access to a computer and/or the internet, please call the Office of Patent Legal Administration at 571-272-7704 for special instructions.

The USPTO strongly encourages patent applicants to file documents and fees via the USPTO patent electronic filing systems (EFS-Web or Patent Center).

USPTO grants further relief for certain patent-related fees and deadlines

In accordance with the temporary authority provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today further extended the time to file certain patent-related documents and to pay certain required fees.

The USPTO has already extended various deadlines twice, with the latest extension expiring at the end of this month. However, the USPTO recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impose various hardships, especially on small businesses and individual inventors. Accordingly, as stakeholders continue to navigate the effects of the pandemic in various ways, and as more and more of them are resuming operations, the USPTO will again extend certain deadlines.

Specifically, for small and micro entities, filings that would have been deemed timely filed, if filed by June 1, 2020 pursuant to the CARES Act Notice dated April 28, 2020, will now be deemed timely filed if filed by July 1, 2020. 

For large entities, after May 31, 2020, relief will be available to those who need it on a case-by-case basis. Such requests can be submitted through a petition for an extension of time or a petition to revive. 

In the interest of maintaining flexibility and options for our stakeholders, the USPTO will also extend its waiver of the petition fee for filing a petition for the revival of applications that became abandoned on or before June 30, 2020, if accompanied by a statement that the delay in filing or payment was due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The USPTO will continue to evaluate the evolving situation around the COVID-19 outbreak and the impact on the USPTO’s operations and stakeholders.

For details on the latest extension, read the official notice on our website.

USPTO extends certain patent and trademark deadlines to June 1

In accordance with the temporary authority provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) signed by President Trump on March 27, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today further extended the time to file certain patent and trademark-related documents and to pay certain required fees, which otherwise would have been due between March 27 and May 31, to June 1, 2020. This is in addition to the prior extension the USPTO had announced on March 31, 2020. 

“Innovation and entrepreneurship will play a key role in our fight against this pandemic, and in the upcoming recovery of our country,” said Andrei Iancu, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. “Accordingly, the USPTO continues to assess measures to support the work of inventors and entrepreneurs during this crisis and beyond.”

For details of the latest extension, read the official Patent and Trademark notices on our website. The USPTO will continue to evaluate the evolving situation around COVID-19 and the impact on the USPTO’s operations and stakeholders.  

The new notices supersede the previously posted:

• “Notice of Waiver of Patent-Related Timing Deadlines under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act,” dated March 31, 2020;
• “Notice of Waiver of Trademark-Related Timing Deadlines under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act,” dated March 31, 2020; and
• “Relief Available to Patent and Trademark Applicants, Patentees and Trademark Owners Affected by the Coronavirus Outbreak,” dated March 16, 2020.

The USPTO will also update its answers to the CARES Act Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) in accordance with these notices.

USPTO answers frequently asked questions on CARES Act relief

The USPTO has released a series of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and answers for patent and trademark filers regarding the USPTO’s previously announced extension of certain patent and trademark-related timing deadlines under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. To access these FAQs, please go to the Extension of Deadlines under the CARES Act FAQs on the Patents and Trademarks webpages. For all other USPTO notices regarding COVID-19, please go to www.uspto.gov/coronavirus.

USPTO announces extension of certain patent and trademark-related timing deadlines under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today (March 31, 2020) announced extensions to the time allowed to file certain patent and trademark-related documents and to pay certain required fees. These actions are an exercise of temporary authority provided to the USPTO by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) signed by President Trump on March 27. 

"Inventors and entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of our economy, and we recognize that many of them are having difficulty as a result of COVID-19," said Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office Andrei Iancu. "As a result, we are working to provide as much relief as possible to our stakeholders, consistent with our ability to maintain the USPTO’s fee-funded operations. We are especially mindful of the outsized impact on small businesses and independent inventors, and we have provided additional relief for these groups. Ultimately, our goal is to ensure not only that inventors and entrepreneurs can weather the storm, but that they can also hit the ground running once it passes." 

The USPTO has made operational adjustments to keep its employees and the public safe as it remains open for business. In-person meetings, such as hearings and examiner interviews, are being conducted virtually by phone and video until further notice.

Read more details in the official Patent and Trademark notices on our website. The USPTO will continue to evaluate the evolving situation around COVID-19 and its impacts on the USPTO’s operations and stakeholders. 

Patent-related inquiries concerning this notice may be directed by email to Covid19PatentsRelief@uspto.gov and by telephone to the Office of Patent Legal Administration at (571) 272-7704 or (571) 272-7703 for reexamination.

PTAB-related inquiries concerning this notice may be directed to (571) 272-9797 or by email at Trials@uspto.gov (for AIA trials), PTAB_Appeals_Suggestions@uspto.gov (for PTAB appeals) or InterferenceTrialSection@uspto.gov (for interferences).   

Trademark-related inquiries concerning this notice may be directed to the Trademark Office of Petitions by telephone at (571) 272-8950 or by email at TMPolicy@uspto.gov. 

TTAB-related inquiries concerning this notice may be directed to Cheryl Butler at (571) 272-4259 or Cheryl.Butler@uspto.gov or to Denise DelGizzi at (571) 272-4265 or Denise.DelGizzi@uspto.gov.