The Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM) has finally issued a public notice on June 19, 2020 extending indefinitely the deadlines for various intellectual property matters (IP Filings) that became due after March 15, 2020. The public notice has been issued further to an order of the Supreme Court of India (SC) and the Delhi High Court (DHC).
In the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the SC had passed an order on March 23, 2020 (SC Order) extending the period of limitation in all matters, including IP matters, until further orders. Despite the SC Order, CGPDTM went ahead and issued several public notices on extension of deadlines for various IP Filings, which caused confusion and panic among the IP stakeholders. One such notice dated May 18, 2020 stated that all deadlines falling between March 15, 2020 and May 17, 2020 stood extended to June 1, 2020 while deadlines May 18, 2020 onwards would be as per schedule. This notice was challenged before the DHC and the DHC by its order dated June 17, 2020 stayed the same on the basis that it was violating the SC Order.
Thus, effectively, all due dates for IP Filings from March 15, 2020 stand suspended.