US Patent Office Closed December 24th, 25th, and 26th
A few days ago, President Trump issued an executive order closing federal offices on December 24th and 26th this week. Christmas Day was already a federal holiday. Federal workers now have the rest of the week off.
This closure affects filing deadlines. The Patent Office’s rules state that an action with a deadline falling on “a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, [is] timely if it is filed on the next succeeding business day.” MPEP 510 further clarifies that “the definition of “Federal holiday within the District of Columbia” includes an official closing of the Office. When the entire USPTO is officially closed for business for an entire day, for reasons due to adverse weather or other causes, the Office will consider each such day a “Federal holiday within the District of Columbia” under 35 U.S.C. 21. Any action or fee due on such a day may be taken, or fee paid, on the next succeeding business day the Office is open.”
This isn’t the first time the Patent Office has closed just before or after Christmas.
Last year, the Patent Office closed on the 24th because of severe weather in the Washington, D.C. area. The Office allowed late filings during that period, saying “we will deem any action or fee due on Tuesday, December 24, or Wednesday, December 25, as timely if taken or paid no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on Thursday, December 26, which was the next business day the USPTO was open.”
The federal government and Patent Office also closed on December 24th, 2020, when Christmas fell on a Friday.