New hours of business at the IPO

Guidance for business

1. On 15 July 2011, the Intellectual Property Office is changing the times and days we are open for business for the filing of new patent and trade mark applications which do not make a declaration of priority from an earlier application. These changes will be introduced through Directions under section 120(1) of the Patents Act 1977 and section 80(1) of the Trade Marks Act 1994.

2. The purpose of this document is to provide guidance so that businesses can familiarise themselves with the changes to our opening hours before they are introduced.

3. A summary table of the new hours of business PDF document(17Kb) is available.

When will the new opening hours be introduced?

4. The new opening hours for patent and trade mark applications will take effect on 15 July 2011. From this date, any new patent or trade mark application which does not make a declaration of priority from an earlier application can be filed at the Office at any time and on any day and it will be given that date as the legal filing date.

5. We plan to introduce similar opening hours for registered design applications. There is currently no provision within the Registered Designs Act 1949 which allows the comptroller to give directions as to the hours of business on which the Office will be open. The hours of business for registered design applications are detailed in rule 45 of the Registered Designs Rules 2006 and these will need to be amended to allow us to introduce similar opening hours for designs. Our aim is to introduce these changes as soon as practically possible but this will be subject to legislative and Parliamentary timetables.

Why are we changing our opening hours?

6. The changes are designed to:

  • Improve the services we offer by removing unnecessary restrictions on when we can accord filing dates
  • Give applicants more flexibility in when they can file their applications
  • Align law and practice with the technical capabilities of our electronic filing systems which currently allow applicants to send us their patent and trade mark applications even at times when the Office is officially closed for business
  • Reflect the increasing use of courier delivery services which can allow applicants to get applications to the Office 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

What specific changes are being introduced?

New patent and trade mark applications which do not make a declaration of priority from an earlier application

7. As from 15 July 2011, we will be open for the filing of new patent and trade mark applications which do not make a declaration of priority from an earlier application on all days and at all times. This will result in the date of receipt of these applications in the Office being recorded as the legal filing date, even if the application is filed on a weekend or a public holiday.

Standardising our opening hours

8. We will also be removing the small inconsistencies which currently exist between the various IP rights in relation to the hours of business for filing documents and completing other business with the Office.

What will the new hours of business for the Office be from 15 July 2011?

9. The times and days we are open for business will be as follows:

  • The Office will be open on all days and at all times (including public holidays) for the filing of new patent and trade mark applications which do not make a declaration of priority from an earlier application. This applies to all methods of filing.
  • The Office will also be open at all times from midnight on a Monday morning until 23:59 on a Friday for the filing of patent and trade mark applications which make a declaration of priority, and the filing of all other forms and documents. This applies to all methods of filing.
  • The Office will be open from 09:00 on a Monday morning until 23:59 on a Friday and from 09:00 on a Saturday morning until 13:00 for the filing of new registered design applications and documents other than:
    -  Applications for a renewal of a design under section 8 of the Registered Designs Act 1949 and
    -  Applications for the registration of a design or designs which include a declaration of priority under section 14 of the Registered Designs Act 1949.
  • The Office will be open on Monday to Friday between 09:00 and 17:00 for the filing of new registered design applications which make a declaration of priority and for the filing of applications for the renewal of registered designs.
  • The Office will be open on Monday to Friday between 09:00 and 17:00 for all other classes of business.
  • The Office will be closed on public holidays and any Saturday which follows a public holiday for all classes of business except for the filing of new patent and trade mark applications which do not make a declaration of priority from an earlier application.

10. All other applications and documents can, however, be filed with the Office on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday but they will continue, as now, to receive an official filing date of the next working day.

Withdrawal of an earlier patent or trade mark application

11. Customers are reminded that the Office is not open for the filing of a withdrawal request on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday. Therefore, any request to withdraw a patent or trade mark application which is filed on one these days will receive an official filing date of the next working day.

12. This is important when it comes to "regenerating a priority date", whereby an earlier patent or trade mark application must be withdrawn (with no rights outstanding) by the time the later application for the same invention or trade mark is filed. It should be kept in mind that where a new patent or trade mark application which does not claim priority is filed on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday together with a request to withdraw an earlier application, this will result in the new patent or trade mark application being given the Saturday / Sunday / public holiday as its filing date, but the withdrawal of the earlier application will not take effect until the next normal working day.

13. Further information on how to withdraw a patent application and the Office's 2010 practice notice on regenerating a priority date are available.

Time periods for response

14. The new hours of business detailed above have no effect on our existing practices for time periods which expire on a Saturday/Sunday or public holiday. Therefore, any time period which expires on a weekend or public holiday will continue to be extended to the next working day.

Where can I get further information?

15. The Directions under section 120(1) of the Patents Act 1977 and section 80(1) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 will be shortly available on our website.

16. Any questions arising from this notice should be directed to Debbie Cooke on 01633 814140 or via email to Information.