(See here for the latest update)
Three-month extensions of time for COVID-19 related delays are now freely available for most Australian patent and trade mark deadlines.
For now, IP Australia (the Australian Patent and Trade Marks Office) has:
- provided standard text to be used in support of requests for extension of time;
- agreed to refund the usual $100 per month extension fees (see here).
The standard text includes a range of options, each to the effect that the deadline cannot be met “due to the disruptive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic”. The Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys (IPTA) has circulated an email suggesting that the standard text will be deemed to justify an extension.
These new arrangements will apply until at least 31 May 2020. Currently the new arrangements apply to requests for extension filed by 31 May 2020 and it seems that this date may well be extended in due course.
The extension process should be streamlined in the coming days. IP Australia plans to upgrade its IT systems by the end of April to enable extensions to be requested without paying the fee. IPTA suggests that at the same time the standard text will be replaced by a simple online tick-box.
In addition to these new arrangements, Australia’s (generous) ordinary extension provisions remain in place (see here).
