Patent and trademark applications that fail to conform to a statutory or specified time period due to the COVID-19 pandemic shall be handled as follows:

I. Statutory period:

 (I) Applicants for reinstatement pursuant to Paragraph 2 of Article 17 of the Patent Act and Article 12 of the Enforcement Rules of the same, or Paragraph 2 of Article 8 of the Trademark Act and Article 9 of the Enforcement Rules of the same shall file a written request for reinstatement, stating that their failure to comply within the statutory period was due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and attach relevant documents of proof, in addition to making up for any required acts. In principle, TIPO will be lenient with respect to its approval, depending on the specific circumstances of each case. (Please refer to Attachments 1 and 2 regarding the provisions on statutory period in the Patent Act and the Trademark Act.)         .

 (II) Where an agent has been appointed by an applicant and the applicant has difficulty contacting its agent due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in delay of compliance within the statutory period, the agent may submit relevant documents of proof, and TIPO will make a determination based on the specific circumstances of each case.

II. Specified time period:

 (I) Where an applicant fails to comply within the specified time period due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the applicant may make relevant corrections prior to any disposition from TIPO. If the applicant deems that it is necessary to extend the original specified time period due to the impact of the pandemic, please file a written request with documents of proof attached. TIPO will be lenient in its disposition depending on the specific circumstances of each case.

 (II) Where an applicant applies for an extension of specified time period due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the extension of specified time period shall be based on regulations such as the current Examination Standards. If, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the applicant still cannot complete relevant acts within the specified time period, the applicant may file a written request for extension stating explanations with documents of proof attached. If an extension is deemed necessary after examining the documents, TIPO will grant an extension of one month in principle. However, if, based on the relevant documents of proof filed by the applicant, TIPO deems it necessary to grant an extension of a specified time period for more than one month, TIPO may grant an appropriate extension of the specified time period for more than one month, depending on the specific circumstances of each case.

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