Post-Brexit Trade Mark and Designs

08/12/20

On December 31^st 2020, the UK will leave the European Union trade mark and design systems.  We have prepared the following brief – and hopefully helpful – resumé of what is going to happen with Brexit and the main things that need to be considered.
 
Before we begin, please let us clarify that Brexit does not affect patents.  The European Patent Convention (“EPC”) is nothing to do with the EU and, although the UK is leaving the EU, it is remaining as a member of the EPC.
 
But, it is a different story for trade marks and designs...

Much Ado About Nothing

20/11/20

For a long time, a source of tension among UK trade mark and design attorneys was the fact that the UK was one of the few EU member states to abide by a decision to allow attorneys from any European Economic Area country to represent clients in proceedings before any national office of an EU member state.  With this in mind, one of the ironies of Brexit is that, from 1^st January 2021, UK trade mark and design attorneys will (in general – please see below for a super-important exception!) lose the right to represent clients before the EU IPO.