The Impact of COVID-19 on Alt Legal
Alt Legal Team | March 17, 2020
We hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during this evolving crisis caused by COVID-19. We know that this is a difficult and scary time for everyone.
We know many of you have questions about the impact of COVID-19 on your docketing provider as well as the broader IP community.
First, we’ve always used technology to make the lives of our customers and team easier. Since our inception, our company has implemented tools to support remote working for our team, so nothing will change our team’s ability to serve our customers. The only change we’ve made is to reschedule Alt Legal Connect 2020 from March 22-24th to October 25-27th (details here).
Below you will find deadline and other processing procedure updates from IP offices serving the majority of our customers. For those of you new to working remotely, we’ve also included a list of our favorite tools below. Akin Gump has also put together this handy guide with legal tips for working remotely.
Lastly, we’ve listed some organizations working to fight the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that would love your donations.
Of course, if we can help with anything, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 646.665.7975. We’re happy to help with Alt Legal, setting up legal tech to maximize remote work, or really anything at all.
Updates from Major IP Offices
USPTO: The USPTO office is closed to visitors. There are no deadline extensions or processing delays.
EUIPO: In-person meetings and events are postponed, and all deadlines between March 9th and April 30th are postponed to May 1, 2020.
CIPO: The regional Toronto office is not receiving correspondence, but CIPO remains otherwise operational and all deadlines remain in force.
UK IPO: UK IPO will be extending time periods where possible and will consider extensions on a case-by-case basis. They may even reinstate or restore rights in certain cases
WIPO: The WIPO is closed to visitors, but otherwise the office is fully operational.
CNIPA: CNIPA has returned to normal operations.
Our Favorite Tech Tools for Working Remotely
Slack: instant messaging for work teams
Zoom: conference calling and screen-sharing software
Google Meet: conference calling and screen-sharing software
UberConference: conference calling and screen-sharing software
Join.me: conference calling and screen-sharing software
Legaler: (free for one year) conference calling and screen-sharing software
Clio: case management software
MyCase: case management software
RocketMatter: case management software
Dialpad: VoIP phone system
Asana: Task Management system