New Email Address for UK Intellectual Property Office Services

Due to limited access to UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) buildings during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, forms and correspondence filed by post are taking longer than usual to process and the fax service has been turned off completely.

To counteract this the UKIPO has set up a dedicated email address to enable the filing of forms. Forms can now be filed by emailing them to [email protected].

As fee-bearing forms now incorporate the payment method within the form, you should avoid sending copies of your email to any other IPO email address as this may result in duplicate processing and in paying the fees twice.

To sign the forms, you can simply use a text string signature (a string of characters, preceded and followed by a forward slash (/), e.g., /Robert Lambton/).

It is also acceptable to sign the forms by inserting a TIFF or JPEG image of your signature or with a digital signature created using an electronic PKI–based certificate recognised by the UKIPO.

More information can be found on the UKIPO’s website: How to file documents with the Intellectual Property Office - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Some other useful email addresses for UKIPO services include:

• for requesting extensions of time for deadlines: [email protected]. For more details see: Directions on requesting an extension of time by e-mail - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

• for filing third-party observations on the patentability of published patent application: [email protected]. For more details see: Observations about patentability - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

• for filing a request for a UKIPO opinion on infringement or validity of a patent: [email protected]. For more details see: Opinions: resolving patent disputes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

• for filing post-grant amendments: [email protected]. For more details see: Amending your patent after grant - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

• for withdrawing a patent application: [email protected]. For more details see: Direction: withdrawal of patent applications by e-mail - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

You should be aware that the UKIPO is receiving a high volume of incoming correspondence at this time so it is definitely advised to prominently mark your emails as urgent if you require your emails, or any email attachments, to be processed within a short time-frame.

In particular, if you need the processing to be completed before your application is published (for example so that the application is published with up-to-date ownership details) and it is coming up to 6 weeks before the publication date (around 18 months from the application’s filing or priority date), you should mark the email(s) with “Urgent – Publication Imminent”.