Congress Gives USPTO Authority to Extend Statutory Deadlines

A number of patent and trademark offices in other countries have extended prosecution and/or maintenance deadlines because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) had not joined them because it lacked authority to alter statutory deadlines. Congress has remedied the situation by passing on March 27 the “Coronavirus Aid Relief, and Economic Security Act” (CARES Act), which gives the USPTO the authority to extend statutory deadlines. The bill is on the president’s desk to sign.