The UK is set to leave the European Union on 31st January 2020. Under the agreement, the UK will formally leave the EU on 31st January 2020 but will enter into an 11-month transition period ending on 31st December 2020. During the transition period, the UK will continue to apply EU law and will be treated as it if were still a member state. In other words, the status quo will be maintained until the end of 2020. Negotiations between the UK and EU will take place throughout the transition period on the future relationship between them. We will provide further updates as the situation develops.
Implications for Intellectual Property
EU Trade Marks and Registered Community Designs are administered through the EUIPO, which is an EU institution. Whilst EU Trade Marks and Registered Community Designs will remain unchanged during the transition period, there will be changes once the transition period ends on 31st December 2020. Further information on those changes can be found on our Brexit website pages. However, as a European IP firm, we are set up to continue to represent our clients in all of their European IP matters following Brexit. You will continue to receive the high levels of service and client care which you have come to expect.
The European Patent Office (EPO) is not an EU institution, so Brexit will have no effect on the current patent system even after the transitional period ends. 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 to the information above, the UKIPO has published a recent news item focused on intellectual property and the transition period. We will continue to provide updates during the transition period. However, if you have any queries during this time please speak to your usual contact at the firm.
