EPO and EUIPO extend deadlines for pending IP applications

In a notice dated 15 March, the European Patent Office has announced its intention to extend deadlines for pending patent applications until 17 April 2020 and that it may extend these deadlines further. Strictly speaking this extension is not in place until it has been published in the Official Journal later this month. This is in recognition of the COVID-19 outbreak and the resulting restrictions on movement and circulation of persons, as well as on certain services, exchanges and public life in general, which qualifies as a “general dislocation”. Separately, the EU Intellectual Property Office, which deals with EU trade marks and designs, has extended deadlines until 1 May 2020. Whilst these extensions provide a safety net we continue to recommend and are ourselves working to existing deadlines. If you have any questions about whether these deadline extensions apply to a particular matter, please contact us.