Responding To COVID-19 | Global Intellectual Property Update

As COVID-19 continues to take a significant toll on the entire world, the intellectual property offices and courts in many of the jurisdictions in which Gowling WLG has offices have relaxed deadlines and limited hearings.  With a view to helping our global clientele navigate this challenging time, below we provide brief status updates on the IP regulatory bodies in these areas:

• Canada:  As reported in our recent alert, CIPO has announced that deadlines under the relevant Acts falling between March 16 and March 31 have been automatically extended to April 1.  The Federal Court, which hears most IP cases in Canada, has effectively closed until April 17, hearing only exceptional or urgent matters.  See our full report here.