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Law360 (May 14, 2021, 9:10 PM EDT) -- The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has launched new initiatives aimed at fast-tracking appeals and oppositions of trademark applications for medical products and items related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The USPTO announced on Thursday that the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board will expedite review of ex parte appeals for applications that were examined under a program launched last year to prioritize certain trademark and service mark applications related to the pandemic.
Under the new program, the TTAB will try to issue a ruling on a trademark applicant's appeal within six months of the filing of the notice of appeal, so long as the applicant does not ask for reconsideration, remands or briefing extensions, the USPTO said.
The USPTO is also offering a program to streamline oppositions against trademark applications related to COVID-19. The program will allow a TTAB attorney or judge to join the parties' mandatory settlement and discovery conference if the application was examined under the prioritized program for COVID-19 applications, according to the agency.
"Eligible applications must cover a product that is subject to U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for use in the prevention and/or treatment of COVID-19 or a medical or medical research service for the prevention and/or treatment of COVID-19," the USPTO said.
The announcement follows the USPTO's notice last month that it was launching a similar program for patent applications. Under that program, the agency will take up to 500 petitions and aim to issue decisions within six months of granting a petition, it said.
In addition to speeding up appeals for patent and trademark applications, the USPTO has deferred provisional application fees for pandemic-related products and processes.
The agency has also extended certain patent and trademark filing deadlines to accommodate those affected by the pandemic, giving tips on how trademark applicants and registrants could deal with logistical complications created by the virus outbreak.
According to an April report by Dechert LLP, U.S. trademark applications have jumped from 495,000 in 2019 — previously the all-time high — to 659,000 last year.
Though applications are often an indicator of the marketplace's attitude, Dechert said that China was an "even bigger factor" for the growth than "optimistic" new companies, with more than two-thirds of last year's increase coming from Chinese applicants.
--Additional reporting by Hailey Konnath. Editing by Steven Edelstone.
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