BREXIT | 2306®

The up-turn since the Brexit vote (23.06.16) in the number of UK trade mark and design filings is continuing apace, but does it really make sense? 

The Spanish word “bonanza” means calm sea and fair weather.  Idyllic holiday conditions, in fact.  The weakness of the British pound (the pound is now between 8 and 17% weaker against other currencies than it was before the Brexit vote) is supposed to be good for people coming to the UK on holiday.  But brand owners may benefit too.  It means UK firms have become better value for money than they were before...

As the UK is still in the EU, EU trade mark and design applications filed now and for the foreseeable future will continue to cover both the UK and the EU.   Between now and Brexit, the authorities will put in place mechanisms for dividing out EU trade marks and designs into separate ones covering the UK and the “EU-of-27” (as the remaining member states are endearingly known). 

The reason patents will not be affected very much by Brexit is that the European Patent Office is not an EU institution.  It refers to geographical Europe.  In contrast, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (which handles trade marks and designs) is official an agency of the European Union.  It refers to political Europe.

The European Union operates a so-called “unitary principle”, according to which EU IP rights are in force in all member states, and cannot exist in only some member states.  (This is in contrast to national rights which can be in force in selected member states only and not the whole of the EU).  Thus, currently, EU trade marks (formerly called Community trade marks), registered Community Designs, and unregistered Community designs cover the whole of the EU (including the UK). 

This may sound like an odd way to start our “2306” Brexit Bulletins, but it’s an important point.  UK people have voted to leave the EU, but leaving does not happen automatically and is likely to take until at least 2019.

On 23rd June 2016 (23/06/16), the UK voted to leave the European Union. No country has ever left the European Union before, and no one knows what to expect.