Photo Credit / Sam
On 23 June 2016, the UK public voted to leave the EU.[1] The referendum result caused great uncertainty and shocked the world. IP professionals were eager to know what impact Brexit would have on their intellectual property rights in the UK. Two months have since passed. Numerous assumptions have been made, but the big questions remains unanswered. The changes that will come, however, will take time to work through; that is, no change will happen in the short term.[2]
The Brexit referendum was advisory in nature and not legally binding. The process of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU will take at least two years once notice is given by the UK government, and the two year period can be further extended on agreement from other EU member states. The impact will be highly dependent on follow-up negotiations between the UK, the EU and non-EU countries. Their decisions will shape the necessary transitional arrangements and the final form of future relations between the UK and the other parties. For now the UK is still an EU member, with no immediate impact and/or changes foreseen in the near future.
• Patents
| Likely Unaffected |
UK national patents |
The decision to leave the EU does not impact UK national intellectual property rights, and patent rights granted by the UKIPO remain unaffected |
| European patents (UK) |
The European Patent Convention (EPC) is not an EU instrument, and the UK will continue to be a contracting state of the EPC. A patent granted by the EPO and validated in the UK will continue to be valid in the UK. |
| International applications |
The UK is a contracting state to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). A PCT application can still enter the UK either via the EPO regional phase or directly via the UK national phase. |
| Likely Affected |
Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs) |
SPCs for patents have their origins in EU regulations, some observers expect the UK to overhaul the system. |
| Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court (UPC) |
Many observers predicted the Unitary Patent and UPC to take effect in early 2017, which requires UK ratification of the UPC agreement, however. Since UK ratification seems improbable after the vote, it is widely believed that the commencement of the two systems will be delayed. |
• Design Rights
| Likely Unaffected |
UK national registered designs |
The decision to leave the EU does not impact UK national intellectual property rights, and design rights granted by the UKIPO remain unaffected |
| Likely Affected |
EU Registered Community Design |
(Applications for) RCDs administered by EUIPO will no longer cover the UK once the withdrawal is complete. Since transitional arrangements are expected to be put in place to convert existing EUIPO rights to equivalent UK rights, IP experts suggest applicants continue to apply for EU protection and, if they have a particular focus on the UK, consider also applying for UK national protection. |
| International applications |
The UK is not yet a member of the Hague System. Applicants may not be able to file and prosecute international design applications for protection in the UK when the UK is no longer an EU member. |
• Trademarks
| Likely Unaffected |
UK national trademarks |
The decision to leave the EU does not impact UK national intellectual property rights, and trademark rights granted by the UKIPO remain unaffected |
| International applications |
The UK is still a member of the Madrid System. Applicants may continue to file and prosecute international trademark applications for registration in the UK. |
| Likely Affected |
EU Trademarks (EUTMs) |
(Applications for) EUTMs administered by EUIPO will no longer cover the UK once the withdrawal is complete. Since transitional arrangements are expected to be put in place to convert existing EUIPO rights to equivalent UK rights, IP experts suggest applicants continue to apply for EU protection and, if they have a particular focus on the UK, consider also applying for UK national protection. |
Footnotes：
- Please see http://www.bbc.com/news/politics/eu_referendum/results
- Please see https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/national-and-international-level-concerns-and-developments-regarding-the-ip-landscape
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