The recently enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act contains a little-known provision to protect inventors during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.  Section 12004 of the CARES Act grants the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) director the temporary authority to “toll, waive, adjust, or modify, any timing deadline” established by federal patent or trademark laws and regulations during the “emergency period”—from the date of enactment of the CARES Act through May 18, 2020, 60 days after the end of the COVID-19 national emergency that President Trump declared on March 13, 2020.

The USPTO may exercise its CARES Act authority only after determining that the COVID-19 crisis: (1) materially affects the functioning of the USPTO; (2) prejudices the rights of applicants, registrants, patent owners, or others appearing before the USPTO; or (3) prevents applicants, registrants, patent owners, or others appearing before the USPTO.

On March 31, 2020, the USPTO announced that it was using its CARES Act powers to extend “the time allowed to file certain patent and trademark-related documents and to pay certain required fees.”  In doing so, USPTO Director Andrei Iancu noted that “[i]nventors and entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of our economy, and we recognize that many of them are having difficulty as a result of the effects of COVID-19.”

The USPTO’s CARES Act Notice specifies that the due date for any of 12 specific types of patent application and reexamination proceeding documents and fees due between March 27, 2020 and April 30, 2020 will be extended for 30 days.  Filers must provide a statement with their late filing that the delay was due to the COVID-19 outbreak.  The Notice provides detailed guidance regarding the specific circumstances in which a filing delay will be deemed to be “due to the COVID-19 outbreak.”

The Notice also provides similar 30-day deadline extensions for three types of Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) filings, along with related instructions regarding PTAB proceedings.  Finally, it is important to note that several of the extensions discussed above are only available to “small and micro entities,” as detailed in the Notice.

To help patent owners, applicants, and others understand and interpret this Notice, the PTO has created separate Frequently Asked Questions page for patents related to the COVID-19 deadline extensions.

Apart from these actions taken pursuant to the CARES Act, the PTO also previously announced that it will waive the fee “for petitions to revive applications that became abandoned because applicants could not meet the deadline for responding to an Office communication due to the COVID-19 outbreak” and will waive the requirement for an original handwritten signature for certain correspondence.

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Photo of Holly Fechner Holly Fechner

Holly Fechner advises clients on complex public policy matters that combine legal and political opportunities and risks. She leads teams that represent companies, entities, and organizations in significant policy and regulatory matters before Congress and the Executive Branch.

She is a co-chair of…

Holly Fechner advises clients on complex public policy matters that combine legal and political opportunities and risks. She leads teams that represent companies, entities, and organizations in significant policy and regulatory matters before Congress and the Executive Branch.

She is a co-chair of the Covington’s Technology Industry Group and a member of the Covington Political Action Committee board of directors.

Holly works with clients to:

  • Develop compelling public policy strategies
  • Research law and draft legislation and policy
  • Draft testimony, comments, fact sheets, letters and other documents
  • Advocate before Congress and the Executive Branch
  • Form and manage coalitions
  • Develop communications strategies

She is the Executive Director of Invent Together and a visiting lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She serves on the board of directors of the American Constitution Society.

Holly served as Policy Director for Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Chief Labor and Pensions Counsel for the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee.

She received The American Lawyer, “Dealmaker of the Year” award. in 2019. The Hill named her a “Top Lobbyist” from 2013 to the present, and she has been ranked by Chambers USA – America’s Leading Business Lawyers from 2012 to the present.

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Photo of Matthew Shapanka Matthew Shapanka

Matthew Shapanka draws on more than 15 years of experience from Capitol Hill, private practice, state government, and political campaigns to counsel clients significant legislative, regulatory, and enforcement matters. He develops and executes complex, multifaceted public policy initiatives for clients seeking actions by…

Matthew Shapanka draws on more than 15 years of experience from Capitol Hill, private practice, state government, and political campaigns to counsel clients significant legislative, regulatory, and enforcement matters. He develops and executes complex, multifaceted public policy initiatives for clients seeking actions by Congress, state legislatures, and federal and state government agencies, many with significant legal and political opportunities and risks. Matt also leads the firm’s state policy practice, advising clients on complex multistate legislative and regulatory policy matters and managing state advocacy efforts.

Matt rejoined Covington after serving as Chief Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, where he advised Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) on all legal, policy, and oversight matters before the Committee, including federal election and campaign finance law, Federal Election Commission nominations, and oversight of legislative branch agencies, U.S. Capitol security, and Senate rules and regulations. Most significantly, Matt led the Committee’s staff work on the Electoral Count Reform Act – a landmark bipartisan law enacted in 2022 to update the procedures for certifying and counting votes in presidential elections —and the Committee’s joint (with the Homeland Security Committee) bipartisan investigation into the security planning and response to the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.

Both in Congress and at Covington, Matt has prepared dozens of corporate and nonprofit executives, academics, government officials, and presidential nominees for testimony at congressional committee hearings and depositions. He is also an experienced legislative drafter who has composed dozens of bills introduced in Congress and state legislatures, including several that have been enacted into law across multiple policy areas.

In addition to his policy work, Matt advises and represents clients on the full range of political law compliance and enforcement matters involving federal election, campaign finance, lobbying, and government ethics laws, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s “Pay-to-Play” rule, and the election and political laws of states and municipalities across the country.

Before law school, Matt worked in the administration of former Governor Deval Patrick (D-MA) as a research analyst in the Massachusetts Recovery & Reinvestment Office, where he worked on policy, communications, and compliance matters for federal economic recovery funding awarded to the state. He has also worked for federal, state, and local political candidates in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

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