After previously announcing what was supposed to
have been the final (for now) blanket extension of time, the
Canadian Intellectual Property Office has made yet one further
automatic extension, effectively until August 31, 2020. This is to
account both for continuing COVID-19 disruptions and certain
critical maintenance to CIPO's systems, which was to occur at
the end of the previous (final) automatic extension and would have
meant CIPO's online and fax services would have been
unavailable for a period.
These extensions now effectively cover deadlines falling between
March 16, 2020 and August 30, 2020. No further automatic extensions
are anticipated in the short term, though should the evolving
situation with the pandemic warrant, we may see these again. As we
noted when CIPO made its last announcement,
further extensions of time may still be available on a case-by-case
basis, due to 'exceptional' circumstances that are
'beyond the control of the person concerned'
