The UK is currently scheduled to leave the EU on 31st October, but there is still uncertainty around when or what form Brexit could eventually take.

Legislation has been passed to prevent a no-deal Brexit. This means the Prime Minister is legally obliged to ask the EU for a delay to Brexit, if a deal is not agreed between the EU and the UK by 19th October.

There are now a number of possible outcomes, including a new or amended deal with the EU which is backed by MPs, or a further delay to the Brexit process.

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.

However, EU Trade Marks and Community Designs are administered through the EUIPO, which is an EU institution. As a result, EU Trade Marks and Community Designs will be affected by Brexit. 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.