The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has announced in a press release that all time limits to the Office that would expire between March 9, 2020 and April 30, 2020 will be extended until May 1, 2020.
In doing so, the Office refers to the provision of Art. 101 para. 4 of the European Union Trade Mark Regulation (EUTMR). According to this provision, in the event of an unforeseeable event which interrupts or disrupts communication between the EUIPO and the parties to the proceedings, the Executive Director of the EUTMR may extend all time limits until a date to be determined by him.
The coronavirus outbreak was declared a pandemic by the WHO on March 11, 2020. According to the EUIPO, this unforeseeable event had a significant impact on global communication and was covered by the provisions of Art. 101 para. 4 UVM should be included.
The provision of Art. 101 para. 4 EUTMR also stipulates that the anticipated end of the unforeseeable event must be taken into account when determining the time period. Here, the EUIPO has chosen April 30, 2020. It remains to be seen whether this date is still realistic in the coming weeks.
On March 18, 2020, the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) also announced that in all ongoing IP procedures granted by the DPMA, time limits will be extended until May 4, 2020, or that no decision will be made until then due to expiry of the time limit. However, separate notifications will no longer be issued in this regard. Time limits to be set by the office will be determined generously according to the situation. However, time limits set by law cannot be extended by the DPMA. In this case, the DPMA refers to the re-establishment of rights.