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Notice of 10 March 2020

in view of the spread of the coronavirus Sars-CoV-2 and its impact

In view of the spread of the coronavirus Sars-CoV-2 and its impact, the German Patent and Trade Mark Office draws attention to the following: The German Patent and Trade Mark Office will take the current situation into appropriate account in managing IP procedures, within the scope of legal options.

This applies specifically to granting requests for the extension of time limits set by the German Patent and Trade Mark Office. The German Patent and Trade Mark Office cannot extend time limits specified by law. However, the German Patent and Trade Mark Office draws attention to the option of re-establishment of rights. Any person who, owing to the current situation, has not observed a time limit imposed by law without any fault on his part can subsequently have their procedures re-established upon request. They will then be in the same position as if they had observed the time limit. The unit in charge will check in the individual case whether the conditions are met.

Please refer to the relevant provisions in the individual IP laws for the requirements and the scope of application of re-establishment of rights. The German texts are available at externer Link www.gesetze-im-internet.de.

The provisions concerning re-establishment of rights are set out for procedures

  • in patent matters in Section 123 of the German Patent Act (Patentgesetz)
  • in trade mark matters in Section 91 of the German Trade Mark Act (Markengesetz)
  • in design matter in Section 23 (3), third sentence, of the German Design Act (Designgesetz) in conjunction with Section 123 (1) to (5) and (7) of the German Patent Act
  • in utility model matters in Section 21 (1) of the German Utility Model Act (Gebrauchsmustergesetz) in conjunction with Section 123 of the German Patent Act and
  • in semiconductor matters in Section 11 (1) of the German Semiconductor Protection Act (Halbleiterschutzgesetz) in conjunction with Section 123 of the German Patent Act.

Last updated: 11 November 2024