Watermark

17 December 2007
IP Australia, including the Patent Office, Trade Marks Office and Designs Office, will be closed over the Christmas/New Year period.  This means that any Official deadlines, such as examination request deadlines, acceptance deadlines and opposition deadlines, falling on a date in this period will, in general, be able to be met on Wednesday 2 January 2008. 

However, if a deadline for serving evidence on another party in opposition proceedings falls in this period, that deadline will NOT be extended.  It is not an IP Australia deadline but a deadline to serve documents on the other party.
Clients should also be aware that the last day of the 12 month fee-free response period which is applicable to Australian patent applications is not a deadline as such, and is thus NOT extended.  Response fees will apply.  Also, if an acceptance deadline for a pending application falls during the closure period, filing a response on 2 January is unlikely to be successful because the Examiner will not have had time to consider the submission and then accept the application on that day.

We therefore urge clients to provide early instructions in relation to any applications or opposition proceedings which have deadlines falling during the closure period. 
Watermark’s Melbourne and Sydney offices will be open but our Perth office will be closed on 27 and 28 December.  All of our offices will be closed on Monday 31 December.

The closures are summarised as follows: