Last updated: May 26
Dear customers, colleagues, and friends:
The Spanish government, by Royal Decree published in the Official State Gazette on Saturday, March 14, declared a state of emergency throughout Spain for a period of 15 calendar days. This declaration, which has been extended on several occasions—including most recently on May 8—is intended to protect the health and safety of citizens, contain the spread of COVID-19, and strengthen the public health system. In connection with this declaration, we would like to inform you of the following:
1. As we have already reported, we have suffered the loss of our President, Alberto de Elzaburu, in recent weeks. The rest of the ELZABURU staff—professionals, technicians, and administrative personnel—remain, almost in their entirety, in good health.
2.- As part of the contingency plan designed by the Firm, the entire staff continues to work remotely from home, thanks to the long-standing implementation of virtual desktops that enable remote work, with full access to the databases for case management. Systems have also been set up to ensure that phone calls can be answered. In this context, we can guarantee our full operational capacity, with our usual efficiency, security, and quality. We recommend reading the 7th statement, “The Spanish Justice System Gets Back on Track,” particularly section 6.
3.- That, in accordance with the successive extensions granted by the Spanish government, administrative deadlines—that is, those affecting proceedings before the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office—remain suspended at least until May 25. The Office continues to operate normally, as do its electronic services. ELZABURU recommends complying with the deadlines and not delaying the filing of applications or other procedures, to the extent possible.. We recommend reading the 7th statement, “"The Spanish Justice System Gets Underway"
4.- Similarly, procedural deadlines and court dates in Spain have been suspended; however, we recommend reading the statement prepared for this purpose. Access the press release “"The Spanish Justice System Gets Underway"
5.- That, in parallel with and in line with the extension of the state of emergency, the EUIPO has issued a new Decision, No. EX-20-4, pursuant to which a new automatic extension of deadlines has been granted, through May 18. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the EUIPO remains fully operational; therefore, deadlines and due dates should continue to be observed as usual. ELZABURU recommends not delaying the filing of trademark applications, to the extent possible, since the Decision does not affect the filing date of applications or their priority.. The EUIPO has not granted any further extensions of deadlines. Please find attached the decision issued in this matter.
6. The European Patent Office (EPO) has announced that all deadlines expiring on or after March 15, 2020, are extended until June 2, 2020. The extension applies to parties and representatives in proceedings under the EPC and the PCT. If the disruption continues beyond June 2, 2020, the European Patent Office (EPO) may issue another notice informing users of further extensions to the deadlines.
7. We are all confident that the solidarity of Spanish society and the rest of the world, along with the responsible actions of the authorities, will allow us to return to normalcy in a short time.
We would like to take this opportunity to send a message of solidarity and hope to all our customers, friends, and colleagues, confident that in a few weeks the worst will be behind us. By standing together, we will soon overcome this disease, based on the fact that in most cases of infection, symptoms will be mild due to the natural immunity of healthy people. Let us therefore focus our attention now on those who are most vulnerable.
We will continue to keep you informed through our website and social media channels about any news we believe may be of interest to you.
Warm regards, and thank you all for your hard work and solidarity,
The ELZABURU Team
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Direct links to other press releases of interest:
- Order JUS/430/2020, dated May 22, activating Phase 2 of the De-escalation Plan for the Administration of Justice in Response to COVID-19
- Royal Decree 537/2020, dated May 22, extending the state of emergency
- Royal Decree 514/2020, dated May 8, extending the state of emergency
- Royal Decree 492/2020, dated April 24, extending the state of emergency
- Royal Decree 487/2020, dated April 10, extending the state of emergency
- Royal Decree 476/2020 of March 27, extending the state of emergency
- Royal Decree 463/2020 of March 14
- EUIPO Decision (in English)
- Resolution of the Director of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM) on the Extension of Deadlines for the Continuation of Administrative Proceedings
- Resolution of the Director of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM) Regarding Deadlines in Administrative Proceedings
- Resolution of the Director of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM) on the Continuation of Administrative Proceedings
- Updated Information from the EPO
- Decision of the President of the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) on the Extension of Time Limits