The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) began to allow deferral of fees for provisional patent applications on inventions related to COVID-19. This pilot program, which began on September 17, 2020, will be in effect 12 months until September 17, 2021. Under the program, payment of the provisional application filing fee can be deferred until the filing of a corresponding non-provisional application on several stipulations such as: (i) applicants must agree that t

As an extension of relief relating to the coronavirus crisis, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced that, for small and micro entities only, filings that would have been deemed timely filed if filed by June 1, 2020, will now be deemed timely filed if filed by July 1, 2020. After May 31, 2020, large entities should seek relief on a case-by-case basis, through the filing of a petition for an extension of time or a petition to revive, accompanied b

The United States Patent and Trademark Office announced a pilot program in which requests for prioritized examination from patent applicants qualifying as micro or small entities will be granted without having to pay fees associated with prioritized examination. To qualify, the claims in the application must cover a product or process that is used in the prevention and/or treatment of COVID-10 and is subject to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. The pilot progr

The United States Patent and Trademark Office announced that the due dates extended in the "Notice of Waiver of Patent-Related Timing Deadlines under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act" from March 31, 2020 have been extended further. Many of the documents or payments due between, and inclusive of both, March 27, 2020 and May 31, 2020, will be considered timely if filed on or before June 1, 2020 as long as the document or payment is submitted with a statem

Due dates for certain documents or fees at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) may be extended by 30 days if a person associated with the filing or fee (e.g., practitioner, applicant, patent owner) was personally affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The affected due dates include replies to an Office notice or action, issue fees, maintenance fees for small or micro entities, and certain submissions or fees relating to proceedings at the Patent Trial and Appeal