Today a new DG Communication was issued. It announces that 25 May 2020 has been set as the Business-As-Usual (BAU) date. All new deadlines will apply in the usual way from 25 May onwards.
In practical terms, this means:
- All deadlines (including for payments) that expire or will expire between 16 March and 24 June inclusive will expire on 25 June 2020.
- All deadlines currently running that expire on or after 25 June remain unchanged.
- All deadlines set from 25 May onwards will be for the usual period, even if the latter expires before 25 June. As these deadlines will be set after the BAU date, no extension will apply.
- As regards oppositions, in cases where the deadline for filing an opposition against a trademark application expired or expires between 16 March and 24 June inclusive, opposition may be filed until 25 June inclusive. As a result, it is still possible to file an opposition against certain applications, despite the fact that they have already been registered in the online register. The applications in question were published between 14 January and 24 April inclusive.
- As usual, responses in inter partes proceedings filed before the deadline, cause period set to expire. This is the case unless the user explicitly states that it reserves the right to use the remainder of the period.
You will find a number of examples and scenarios on our dedicated FAQ page.
Unfortunately, we are unable to inform our clients individually about the extensions to each pending deadline. It will come as no surprise that our systems are not geared to the exceptional situation in which we all find ourselves. We ask for your indulgence in this matter. To ascertain whether a time extension applies to you, please refer to the DG Communication of 20 March and the DG Communication of 25 May. Needless to say, we are doing our utmost to ensure that everything is in order for you as rapidly as possible.
Has your deadline been extended? If so, we strongly encourage you not to wait until the end of the period to respond. Doing so, may result in you having to wait longer for confirmation or a response from us.
N.B.: Communications from the DG only govern matters at BOIP. Therefore, deadlines for appeals against BOIP decisions are unaffected by them. It behoves the Benelux Court of Justice to interpret these deadlines. To the best of our knowledge, the Court has not extended the deadlines for lodging appeals.
Questions?
Do you have any questions further to this message? Check our FAQ page on this topic or contact our Information Centre. We would be happy to help!