On 30 July 2026, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued an official notice designating the severe earthquake that struck Japan on 28 July as an “extraordinary situation” under 37 CFR 1.183, 2.146(a)(5) and 2.148. Depending on the proceeding, affected patent and trademark applicants, patent owners, reexamination parties and trademark registrants may request measures such as restarting an unexpired response period, waiving certain petition fees or maintenance-fee surcharges, or obtaining relief from delays caused by the disaster. For trademark matters, the notice also provides for reissuance of unanswered Office communications and, in eligible cases, refunds of petition fees paid to revive an application or reinstate a registration.
The relief is not automatic and does not suspend every deadline. Affected parties generally must file a specific request, explain how the earthquake caused the delay and include a copy of the USPTO notice; some patent-related remedies also carry a defined filing cut-off. Statutory deadlines and statutory requirements remain outside the scope of the notice unless the law itself permits relief. The practical task is therefore to separate Office-set periods from deadlines fixed by statute, then confirm the correct filing route before relying on the emergency measures.
