It’s not much, but it’s something.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is extending filing and payment deadlines by 30 days for papers due between March 27 and April 30, inclusive, if a delay was caused by the COVID-19 crisis. The extension comes without cost and covers many filings with the USPTO and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Qualifying late-filers merely need to state that the coronavirus materially interfered with their ability to act in a timely fashion.
The USPTO clarifies that “[c]ircumstances that qualify as materially interfering with timely filing or payment include, without limitation, office closures, cash flow interruptions, lack of access to files or other materials, travel delays, personal or family illness, or similar circumstances.”
The extension applies to responses to office action, statements of use, requests to extend the time to file a statement of use, and the renewal of trademark registrations, among other filings.
The USPTO is also waiving the petition fee to revive abandoned applications or reinstate cancelled or expired registrations if the failure to act was caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Official guidance on the extensions is available here and here.
This doesn’t offer much relief, but it’s better than nothing. It would be much more meaningful if the USPTO waived payments and extended filing deadlines for six months. That would benefit many more trademark owners and represent a helpful baby step toward restarting the economy.