CNIPA Replies to Questions Regarding Deadlines for Handling Trademark Matters Affected by COVID-19
Further to the issuance of the “Announcement on Matters Related to Time Limits for Patents, Trademarks, and Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits Affected by the Epidemic” ("Announcement No. 350”) on 28 January 2020, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) published on 6 February 2020 the replies to questions concerning the missing of deadlines in handling trademark matters for reasons related to COVID-19, the highlights of which are as follows:
Where a party fails to meet the statutory or specified time limits for handling trademark matters for reasons related to the epidemic, the time period will be suspended from the date when the obstacle to the exercise of rights arises until the date when the obstacle to the exercise of rights is removed.
Trademark matters applicable to the suspension of the time period include: filing responses to office actions; payment of official trademark fees; providing evidence of use and reply to negotiation for applications filed on the same day; provision of evidence of use against cancellation of registered trademark on account of non-use for three years; proceeding with trademark opposition, review of trademark rejection, review of disapproval for trademark registration, review of trademark invalidation, or withdrawal of filing for review; oral defense; submitting supplementary evidence; and oral defense or submitting supplemental evidence for invalidation proceedings.
To request for the suspension of time limit, the party is required to submit a written request, stating in the request where he/she is located during the epidemic period, the specific situation giving rise to the obstacle to the exercise of rights and the time when the obstacle is removed, as well as providing the corresponding supporting materials.
In the event of missing the time limit for renewal of trademark registration for reasons related to the epidemic, resulting in the potential loss of rights, the party may file for the renewal of rights with the supporting materials within 2 months from the date when the obstacle is removed.
