Established in 1887, Spruson & Ferguson is a leading intellectual property (IP) service provider in the Asia-Pacific region, with offices in Australia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. They offer high-quality services to clients and are part of the IPH Limited group, which includes various professional service firms operating under different brands in multiple jurisdictions. Spruson & Ferguson is an incorporated entity owned by IPH Limited, with a strong presence in the industry.
Following from the recent political partisanship in the US there has been a shutdown of non-essential government services.
AustraliaIntellectual Property
Following from the recent political partisanship in the US there
has been a shutdown of non-essential government services. While
such a shutdown is not without precedence, there is a heightened
uncertainty in the present situation about a possible political
solution being readily forthcoming. While it is accepted that
politics is the art of the possible, the rhetoric from the
protagonists remains at this stage further apart than ever.
So far the USPTO remains open and is receiving documents for new
and existing applications. However, this is being sustained by
extra-ordinary measures, and will not be able to continue
indefinitely. The USPTO provided on its website the following
notice:
During the general government
shutdown that began October 1, 2013, the United States Patent and
Trademark Office will remain open, using prior year reserve fee
collections to operate as usual for approximately four weeks. We
continue to assess our fee collections compared to our operating
requirements to determine how long we will be able to operate in
this capacity during a general government shutdown. We will provide
an update as more definitive information becomes available.
Should we exhaust these reserve funds
before the general government shutdown comes to an end, USPTO would
shut down at that time, although a very small staff would continue
to work to accept new applications and maintain IT infrastructure,
among other functions.
While this shutdown should progress in an orderly manner and all
rights should be preserved, if you do have a pressing commercial
need for any of your matters before the USPTO to be progressed,
please contact one of our attorneys as soon as possible.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
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