COVID-19 update: UKIPO extends deadlines further following review

13th May 2020

Following the UKIPO’s initial review on 17 April 2020, a further review was conducted on 7 May 2020 to provide updated guidelines and maintain the period of ‘interrupted days’.

The period of interruption will continue until the UKIPO’s next review on 28 May 2020. As the UKIPO will provide customers with at least two weeks’ notice before ending the period of interrupted days, in practice all deadlines have now been extended to at least 11 June 2020. The reason for the extension of the interruption period is because of ongoing business disruption and the continued lockdown measures in force in the UK as a result of the pandemic.

The UKIPO’s approach to extending deadlines is consistent with the approach taken by the EUIPO, which has also extended its deadlines further to 18 May 2020. Further information on the EUIPO’s approach can be found here.

The UKIPO’s guidance maintains that customers should try to meet their original deadlines where possible to avoid a surge of activity towards the end of the interruption period. The UKIPO has also asked that customers correspond with the UKIPO electronically where possible, and use alternatives to post if available. For further details on how the period of interruption will affect customers in practice, see our previous BrandWrites article here.

The UKIPO will review the situation again on 28 May 2020 to decide whether the interrupted days period is extended once again.

If you have any questions on how this will impact you, please contact your usual Bird & Bird contact. For the full UKIPO guidance, see: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ipo-interrupted-days