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In order to implement the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council to prevent and control the epidemic of novel coronavirus infection, and effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of parties affected by the epidemics in handling patents, trademarks, and layout design of integrated circuits,etc., pursuant to the relevant laws, regulations and rules including Emergency Handling Law, Patent Law and Trademark Law as well as its implementing regulations, the Integrated Circuit Layout Design Protection Regulations and its implementing rules, etc., theCNIPA hereby announcesas follows with regard to the relevant time limits for handling patent, trademark, integrated circuit layout design and other issues:
I. Where a party misses the deadlines prescribed by the Patent Law and its Implementing Rules or the deadlines specified by the CNIPA due to the epidemics related reasons, resulting in the loss of its rights, the provisions of Paragraph 1 of Article 6 of the Implementing Rules of the Patent Law shall apply. The parties may request for the restoration of their rights within 2 months from the date of removal of the obstacle and at the latest within 2 years from the date of expiry of the period. The right restoration request fee shall be waived, but a request form for right restoration, reason statement, the corresponding evidentiarymaterials, and goingthrough the corresponding formalities that should be gone through before the loss of rights shall be necessary.
II. Where a party misses the deadlines stipulated in the Trademark Law and its implementing regulations or the deadlines specified by the CNIPA due to the epidemics related reasons, which as a result prevents him or her from handling related trademark issues, the relevant time limit should be suspended from the date when the obstacle to the exercise of rights is generated and shall continue to be counted from the date when the obstacle is removed, unless stipulated otherwise by law; if the trademark right is lost because of the obstacle to the exercise of rights, a written application may be filed within 2 months from the date on which the obstacle to the exercise of rights is removed, the reason shall be given, and the corresponding evidentiarymaterials shall be submitted for the request for restoration of rights.
III. Where a party misses the deadlines specified in the Regulations on the Protection of Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits and the Implementing Rules or the deadlines specified by the CNIPA due to the epidemics related reasons, resulting in the loss of their rights, the provisions of Paragraph 1 of Article 9 of the Implementation Rules of the Regulations on the Protection of Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits shall apply. The parties may request for the restoration of their rights within 2 months from the date of removal of the obstacle and at the latest within 2 years from the date of expiry of the period. The right restoration request fee shall be waived, but a request form for right restoration, reason statement, the corresponding evidentiarymaterials, and going through the corresponding formalities that should be gone through before the loss of rights shall be necessary.
IV. Regarding all kinds oftime limitsand expiration datesfor handling patents, trademarks, layout design of integrated circuits, etc. that fall into the 2020 Spring Festival holiday, the expiration date shall be extended to the first working day after the end of the holiday according to the arrangements for the Spring Festival holiday by the General Office of the State Council.
It is hereby notified the above.
Source: National Intellectual Property Administration of P.R.C
Date: January 28th, 2020
