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CARES Act Grants Temporary Authority to USPTO and Copyright Office
Practical Law Legal Update w-024-7477 (Approx. 4 pages)
CARES Act Grants Temporary Authority to USPTO and Copyright Office
by Practical Law Intellectual Property & Technology
| Published on 30 Mar 2020 • USA (National/Federal) |
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) is the third major piece of legislation enacted in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in the US, and includes provisions granting temporary emergency authority to the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the US Copyright Office.
On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) (Pub. L. No. 116-136, 2020 H.R. 748) passed by Congress, which is the third major piece of legislation enacted in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in the US. Among other provisions, the CARES Act includes provisions affecting filing deadlines with the USPTO and the US Copyright Office.
In response to the national emergency declared by the President on March 13, 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the US, the CARES Act grants temporary authority to:
- The USPTO Director to toll, waive, adjust, or modify timelines if the national emergency:
- materially affects USPTO operations;
- prejudices the rights of applicants, registrants, patent owners, or others appearing before the USPTO; or
- prevents applicants, registrants, patent owners, or others appearing before the USPTO from filing a document or fee with the USPTO.
- The Register of Copyrights to toll, waive, adjust, or modify any timing provision if the national emergency will generally disrupt or suspend the ordinary functioning of the copyright system.
(Pub. L. No. 116-136, 2020 H.R. 748, at *517, 582.)
The authority ends 60 days following the end of the emergency. The CARES Act follows enactment earlier this month of:
- The Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 (Pub. L. No. 116-123) (Mar. 6, 2020), which provided supplemental emergency funding to several federal agencies to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the COVID-19 outbreak (see Legal Update, President Signs Legislation to Fund Coronavirus Response; Health Insurers to Waive Co-Pays).
- The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (Pub. L. No. 116-127) (Mar. 18, 2020), which, among other things, required group health plans and health insurers to provide coverage, without cost-sharing, for testing to detect or diagnose the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (which causes COVID-19) (see Legal Update, COVID-19 Legislation Includes Group Health Plan Coverage Requirements). The CARES Act amends certain provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
For a continuously updated collection of resources addressing COVID-19, see Practical Law's Global Coronavirus Toolkit.