The Italian Patent and Trademark Office issued a Decree providing for a stay of all official deadlines falling within 9 March and 3 April 2020. Many of the officers of the Italian Patent and Trademark Office are also working from remote to ensure the functionality of the system. The European Union Intellectual Property Office is currently operating as usual, although it continues to monitor developments and has postponed various events and meetings planned for March.

Italy

A few days ago, the Italian government needed to adopt a number of extraordinary measures to contain the spread of COVID-19.

The Hogan Lovells IP & Media Technology team in Milan has not been affected by the outbreak and remains fully operative and working remotely to support clients and to continue to provide high-quality services to them. The team has already implemented all necessary actions to ensure that matters are handled in the usual fashion.

In light of the spread and impact of COVID-19 around the world, the Italian Patent and Trademark Office issued a Decree providing for a stay of all official deadlines falling within 9 March and 3 April 2020. The stay concerns all deadlines involving any activity with the Italian Patent and Trademark Office, with exception of mandatory deadlines in opposition proceedings (i.e. the deadline to bring opposition, to file the PoA to commence the action and the relevant supporting arguments), as well as the mandatory deadlines to bring action before the Office Board of Appeal.

Many of the officers of the Italian Patent and Trademark Office are also working from remote to ensure the functionality of the system. Given that the majority of activities may be carried out online, we do not expect significant impact on IP matters.

EUIPO

For those with European Union Trademarks (EUTMs), the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in Alicante, Spain remains open although all staff are now working from home and it has extended all deadlines falling between 9 March 2020 and 30 April 2020 to 1 May 2020. 

We are confident that we will be able to overcome this emergency very soon and we will be stronger than ever. We thank you for your support and are available for any clarification you may need.

For further advice and insights to help your business respond to the legal and contractual challenges coronavirus presents, please visit our COVID-19 Topic Centre.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.