Dear colleagues and friends,
At these trying times, when all of us face new challenges, unprecedented in our times, we would like to extend to all of you our best wishes for good health and spirit. We also wish all those affected by this pandemic to successfully overcome the personal, social, economic or health-related hardship and a quick return to our peaceful routine.
It is the first time in the last hundred years that the entire world, regardless of national identity, religion, color, race or gender, faces one and the same challenge with all our differences appear to be unimportant. It is to be hope that the lessons of these times that when faced with real issues we are really all alike, and that our past differences really do not matter, will remain with us and in the past corona era we will enter a better world than the one we all left only a few weeks ago.
We wanted also to provide to all of you some information on the activity of the Israeli Patent Office and that of our firm.
The Israeli Patent Office
The Israeli Patent Office (ILPO) acknowledges that the current Covid-19 pandemic may make it difficult to meet certain deadline and accordingly announced some measures that are aimed to assists the applicants at these times. Generally, it was announced that failure to meet deadlines in view of the current pandemic, may be regarded as a reasonable excuse for missing deadlines. That encompasses many of the deadlines, including the deadline for national filings. A request for extension needs, however, to be accompanied by an explanation of the circumstances and if these will be related to the current outbreak, the request will be treated favorably.
In order to permit time for applicants to file a request for extension of term, missing of deadline that expires until May 1, 2020 (for example, the last date to file a response of an office action), will not cause the files to be closed by the ILPO.
Deadlines in legal proceedings at the ILPO (for example oppositions) will also be extended, automatically, until May 1, 2020.
It is important to note that this extension does not apply to all deadlines and certain ones are specifically excluded. These include renewal deadlines, deadlines for filing PTE applications and other deadlines prescribed in the PTE-related provisions, certain deadlines in cancellation proceedings and the deadline for filing an opposition.
The Reinhold Cohn Group
We feel, of course, responsible for the health and safety of our employees and in concern for their safety, we have switched to working remotely and remain committed and are fully equipped to provide complete and uninterrupted service to our clients in Israel and throughout the world.
Please note that the period of Wednesday, April 8, 2020 through Thursday, April 16, 2020 is a public holiday of Passover and the Israeli Patent Office as well as our office will be generally closed. This notwithstanding, our professional staff will be available during this period for any urgent matters that may arise. We will resume full operation on Sunday, April 19, 2020.
The Reinhold Cohn Group | 
