The Legal Brief
USPTO Offers Trademark Relief in Wake of Coronavirus
March 26, 2020
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) announced relief for trademark application and registration customers affected by the coronavirus (“Covid-19”) outbreak. The USPTO considers the effects of Covid-19 to be within the meaning of an “extraordinary situation” as provided in 37 CFR 1.183 and 37 CFR 2.146 for affected trademark customers.
What you need to know:
If your trademark applications and registrations were abandoned or canceled/expired due to the inability to timely respond to a trademark-related Office communication as a result of the effects of the Covid-19 outbreak, the USPTO will waive the petition fee to revive the abandoned application or reinstate the canceled/expired registration.
The following statutory trademark-related time periods are not extended and deadlines related to these requirements must be met by trademark applicants and owners. These statutory fees are not waived:
- the 36-month period within which a statement of use must be filed and the associated fee(s);
- the periods for filing affidavits of continued use or excusable nonuse and the associated fee(s);
- the period for filing a renewal and the associated fee(s); and
- the periods for filing an opposition or cancellation proceeding at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
Since the current pandemic is a continually evolving situation, we expect the USPTO to issue further directives or notices as circumstances change. Jackson Kelly PLLC will be monitoring these developments to help you pursue and protect your intellectual property rights.