This post was originally published March 18, 2020 and was updated on August 6, 2020.
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (“CIPO”) announced a final blanket extension of all deadlines fixed under the Trademarks Act, the Patent Act, and the Industrial Design Act: all deadlines falling between March 16 and August 21 have been effectively extended to August 24, 2020.
Update
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (“CIPO”) has announced an end to the extensions of time it had implemented to accommodate COVID-19 related delays and interruptions to businesses. On August 5, 2020, CIPO announced one final blanket extension of all deadlines fixed under the Trademarks Act, the Patent Act, and the Industrial Design Act, such that all deadlines falling between March 16 and August 21 (inclusively) have been automatically extended to the next regular CIPO business day. (Deadlines falling on August 22 and 23 are already effectively extended to August 24, under current CIPO practice, so no additional extension of time was required.). This means that the new due date is Monday, August 24, 2020 for any deadlines falling on the dates of March 16, 2020 to August 23, 2020 (inclusively).
Of note, although CIPO and its online solutions continue to operate as normal, CIPO warns that applicants and rights holders can expect significant delays in respect of all CIPO services.
Stikeman Elliott is operating well under remote work protocols for both lawyers and staff, and we will continue to meet original CIPO deadlines upon receipt of timely instructions from clients.
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