Coronavirus Updates: USPTO Grants Further Relief for Certain Patent-Related Fees and Deadlines

On Wednesday, May 27, 2020, the USPTO issued a release stating:

In accordance with the temporary authority provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today further extended the time to file certain patent-related documents and to pay certain required fees.

The USPTO has already extended various deadlines twice, with the latest extension expiring at the end of this month. However, the USPTO recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impose various hardships, especially on small businesses and individual inventors. Accordingly, as stakeholders continue to navigate the effects of the pandemic in various ways, and as more and more of them are resuming operations, the USPTO will again extend certain deadlines.

Specifically, for small and micro entities, filings that would have been deemed timely filed, if filed by June 1, 2020 pursuant to the CARES Act Notice dated April 28, 2020, will now be deemed timely filed if filed by July 1, 2020. 

For large entities, after May 31, 2020, relief will be available to those who need it on a case-by-case basis. Such requests can be submitted through a petition for an extension of time or a petition to revive. 

In the interest of maintaining flexibility and options for our stakeholders, the USPTO will also extend its waiver of the petition fee for filing a petition for the revival of applications that became abandoned on or before June 30, 2020, if accompanied by a statement that the delay in filing or payment was due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The USPTO will continue to evaluate the evolving situation around the COVID-19 outbreak and the impact on the USPTO’s operations and stakeholders.

For details on the latest extension, read the official notice on our website.

Please contact us if you have any questions regarding this item, noting that in light of the coronavirus pandemic, our office in Alexandria, Virginia has transitioned to teleworking in order to seamlessly continue the Firm's operations for our clients.