The Canadian Intellectual Property Office has yet again (the previous and fourth extension discussed here) extended its earlier automatic extensions until at least June 15, 2020. These extensions, to deal with COVID-19 disruptions, now effectively cover deadlines falling between March 16, 2020 and June 14, 2020. As CIPO has not indicated this is the last extension, further extensions are still anticipated. CIPO also indicates that it is “working to eliminate any residual delays in services that have occurred as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak”, though delays are still occurring.

As a best practice, we recommend still meeting the original deadlines for all Canadian trademark matters, where possible. Clark Wilson LLP’s trademark group remains accessible and available to assist, and is working to meet such deadlines where we have timely instructions.

CIPO’s latest announcement on these automatic extensions, first made March 17, 2020 (and last updated May 26, 2020), can be found here.