CARES Act Grants Emergency Powers to Extend Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Deadlines

March 27, 2020 by

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, gives the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) emergency powers to waive or change patent and trademark filing deadlines. Specifically, the CARES Act grants USPTO Director Andrei Iancu the discretion to temporarily “toll, waive, adjust, or modify, any timing deadline” if he determines that the COVID-19 outbreak would prejudice the rights of patent owners, trademark registrants, or applicants. The CARES Act grants nearly identical discretion to the Register of Copyrights to toll, waive, adjust, or modify, any timing deadlines arising under U.S. copyright law.

We anticipate that the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the Register of Copyrights will soon be announcing additional details concerning the extent to which they will be exercising their discretion to extend deadlines under the emergency powers granted to them under the CARES Act. However, please do not assume that any deadlines associated with you or your company’s patents, trademarks, or copyrights will be extended. Brown Fox will continue to keep you apprised of any such announcements concerning the possible extension of patent, trademark, and copyright related deadlines. Please do not hesitate to contact us at Brown Fox if you have any questions.

Zach Hilton
zach@brownfoxlaw.com

Zach Hilton excels at protecting and enforcing his clients’ valuable intellectual property assets. He is a registered patent and trademark attorney with over a decade of experience in procuring patents and trademark registrations before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office…Read More

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