With much of the world in some form of lockdown in a bid
to control the spread of the coronavirus, normal daily functions
can be severely hampered. What does this mean for deadlines
relating to intellectual property (IP), such as patents, trade
marks and designs?
If you use intellectual property systems around the world, you
will no doubt be aware that obtaining IP protection is driven by
many deadlines which need to be met to keep your rights alive.
In some countries, lockdown measures have seen Patent and Trade
Mark Offices closed, unable to receive or process any actions
relating to IP protection. In many cases, any deadlines that fall
during the period in which the respective office is closed are
deferred until the day of re-opening of the office in that country.
Any of those required actions can be performed on the first day the
office re-opens.
