JPO's Updated Extension Guidelines Provide Second-Chance, Post-Deadline Extension: Grace Periods For OAs

Missed the first deadline for an Office Action response? Since the Revision to Japanese Patent Law effective from April 2016, the JPO has modified rules for extending the deadline for responding to Pre-Appeal Office Actions*, both minor and major. Of greatest significance, the JPO no longer maintains the strict rule that requests for an extension of time must be made on or prior to the original response deadline.

The JPO now allows a two-month extension to be filed (with requisite official fees) after the original response deadline has elapsed and at the time of filing the response. The catch is that the deadline may only be extended by two months, not the three months allowed under normal extension filing.