Normally, having to face moving goalposts would be a bad thing, but it is proving to be beneficial when it comes to IP deadlines falling during the Covid-19 pandemic.
For now, deadlines before the UK Intellectual Property Office remain extended under the ‘interrupted days’ provision, although this will be reviewed on 7th May. The UK IPO still intends to give at least 2 weeks’ notice before the automatic extension is halted.
Most deadlines before the European Patent Office have also been extended again to 2nd June, and deadlines before the EU Intellectual Property Office (for designs & trade marks) have been further extended to 18th May.
Further extensions may yet be available, depending on how quickly the pandemic is brought under control.
If you have a particular case you are concerned about, please feel free to get in touch and we can confirm the deadline to put your mind at ease
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