April 9, Canberra - IP Australia has announced that presently and until further notice, its officers will not be visiting field trials to undertake on-site examinations. Qualified persons currently managing or establishing field trials that may be ready for examination in 2020 should contact the PBR office to discuss possible alternative options.
The PBR office will continue sending the PBR-related correspondence to the company's physical addresses. If physical correspondence cannot be received at the moment, the involved parties are invited to set up an eServices account to receive such correspondence electronically.
Further on, acknowledging the negative impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic on business operations, IP Australia will consider deadline extensions upon individual request. Such requests need to be provided in writing and include a brief explanation of the COVID-19 impact on a company's or individual's operations. No extensions are currently provided for applications within the allowable prior sale period.
The same upon request/case-by-case procedure will be applied to the payment deadline extensions. Title-holders seeking extensions of the renewal fee payments should contact the PBR office as early as possible to determine possible options. As for the application fees, where a fee has been paid and an application is withdrawn or a grant surrendered before it becomes due for renewal, an automatic refund will be issued for any services not already provided. Currently, IP Australia is not waiving any PBR fees.
The Australian PBR office can be reached at:
Phone: 1300 651 010 (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday) Canberra time
International: +61 2 6283 2999
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