We are writing to inform you of the national holidays in Taiwan, Mainland China and Hong Kong:

I.       New Year Holidays in Taiwan

Please be advised that the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) will be closed from 1 January   2015 to 4 January 2015 for New Year holidays, but the IPO will be open on 27 December 2014 (Saturday).  According to Article 48(4) of the Law Governing Administrative Procedures, for a case with an outstanding deadline falling on an official holiday, such a deadline can be extended to the first working day after the official holiday.  Given the above, for any of your Taiwanese patent or trademark cases with an outstanding deadline falling in the period from 1 January 2015 to 4 January 2015, the deadline can be extended to 5 January 2015.  However, if the deadline is 27 December 2014, it cannot be extended, and the applicant must take the relevant action and/or effect the relevant payment before 27 December 2014.

II.     New Year Holidays in Mainland China

Please be advised that the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and the China Trademark  Office will both be closed from 1 January 2015 to 3 January 2015 for New Year holidays, but the SIPO will be open on 4 January 2015 (Sunday).

According to Patent Examination Guidelines, for a patent case with an outstanding deadline falling on an official holiday or a weekend working day, the deadline can be extended to the first working day subsequent to the official holiday or working weekend.  Given the above, for any of your China patent cases with an outstanding deadline falling in the period from 1 January 2015 to 4 January 2015, the deadline can be extended to 5 January 2015.

According to the PRC regulations, for a trademark case with an outstanding deadline falling on an official holiday, the deadline can be extended to the first working day subsequent to the official holiday. Given the above, for any of your China trademark cases with an outstanding deadline falling in the period from 1 January 2015 to 3 January 2015, the deadline can be extended to 4 January 2015.

However, if the deadline of China trademark cases falls on 4 January 2015 (Sunday), it cannot be extended, and the applicant must take the necessary actions before 4 January 2015 (Sunday).

III.    New Year Holiday in Hong Kong

Please be advised that the Intellectual Property Department of Hong Kong will be closed on 1 January 2015 for New Year holiday.  For any of your Hong Kong patent/trademark cases with an outstanding deadline falling on 1 January 2015, the deadline can be extended to 2 January 2015.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.