UK and EU agree six-month extension to Brexit

The UK is currently due to leave the EU by 31st October 2019 following a six-month extension granted by the European Union (EU) earlier this year.

UK Parliament has rejected previous withdrawal agreements and has as yet been unable to reach a consensus on a number of alternative options.

Implications for Intellectual Property:

The European Patent Office (EPO) is not an EU institution, so Brexit will have no effect on the current patent system.  Regardless of whether there is a deal or not, post-Brexit, patent applications filed by Carpmaels & Ransford at the EPO will still cover the UK (via conventional national validation), and they will be litigated in the UK national courts as usual. The European Patent Convention will continue to be part of UK law, and our European patent attorneys will continue to act in the usual way in all matters before the EPO.

Further information can be found on our Brexit website pages. These provide further guidance on the position of intellectual property post-Brexit and in a “no deal” scenario. However, as a European IP firm, we are set up to continue to represent our clients in all of their European IP matters regardless of the outcome of Brexit. You will continue to receive the high levels of service and client care which you have come to expect.

If you have any queries in the meantime about the impact of Brexit on your IP strategy please speak to your usual contact at the firm.