European Union: Brexit And Its Effects On Intellectual Property Rights https://portal.iam-market.com/

1. European Union: Brexit And Its Effects
On Intellectual Property Rights
Historyinthemaking
June23rd
2016willforeverbeanhistoricdayinthehistoryoftheUnitedKingdom,aspeopletooktothepolling
boothstocasttheirvoteinaReferendumonthefutureoftheEuropeanUnion.WiththevotefallinginFavorofthe
UKleavingtobecomeanindependentnation.
Thedecision,Oftencalled“Brexit”bymanyareasoftheMainStreamMedia,willseetheenactingofArticle50ofthe
LisbonTreaty.ThisismorecomplexthanmanyrealizewithboththeUKandEUhavingtonegotiatearrangementsfor
theexitandhowanyfuturerelationshipbetweenthetwoentitieswillbehandled.
Onceanagreementisreached,ThentheUKwillfinallybeanindependentcountryoncemore.Thiswillnotbeaneasy
task,astheEUisveryfirminitsvisionofhowthingsshouldbeasistheUKGovernment–TheLisbonTreatystates
thatnegotiationsshouldcarryonuptotwoyears,butshouldthisfail;itcanbeextendedprovidedallpartiesagree.
Duringthesetwoyears–Despitethewillofthevoters,TheUKremainsamemberoftheEuropeanUnionandasa
resultalsoremainssubjecttotheEUregulations–ThisincludesIntellectualPropertyRights.
Agreementdecision
Oncetheagreementhasfinallybeenreached,therewillinevitablybechangestotheseregulations:
1. European Union Trademarks: The use of EUTM (European Trademarks) will no longer apply
within the UK once an agreement is reached, andthis will be a very serious concern to owners of
such Trademarks. However, that does not mean that owners will be left High and Dry as there
will be tools in place to help transfer an EUTM to a similar UK system.
Needless to say, the Trademark will still be active across the rest of the EU, and there is likely to
be no long term affects, but EUTM’s that are being used solely in the United Kingdom will be a
major issue. It will be very important to act quickly and ensure that your property now carries a
relevant UK trademark to protect your work from being misused.
The UK will remain a vitally important trading partner for the EU, there is no doubt about this, so
holders of EUTM may wish to consider the possible added protection of also taking out relevant
Trademarks in the UK as well, as yet there are no arrangements to re-purpose or transfer EUTM,
this will probably be one of many subjects of the Brexit negotiations, to a relevant UK
alternative, so being pro-active will ensure that your rights are full protected.
2. Patents: There is more good news with regard to Patents, as there is no real effect at all.
The European Patent Office (EPO) is independent of the EU itself and not an Institution, so any
patents registered in the EU will remain in force and all rights thereby will also be protected.

2. The Brexit decision will also have no effect on UK patents, as the UK will remain a member of
the Patent Co-Operation Treaty (also known as PCT) as well as the European Patent Convention
(EPC).
But it is not all good news as there are questions with regards to the role United Kingdoms in
the European Unitary Patent System, a new procedure that is due to be put into effect in 2017.
This will involve a simpler, cleaner and more efficient system of obtaining Patents and
protecting your intellectual property which would apply to all member nations of the EU – With
one application and just one set fee, would offer strong legal protection against any misuse in a
single Court to be known as the Unified Patent Court (UPC).
With the UK no longer being a member state, they will have the option to push for changes if
they feel it would be necessary. For many, it is presumed that there will be no need of this as
the agreement would actually be helpful to the UK as well as the EU – but it remains a large
question mark over the future.
3. Designs: European Designs will still be valid in the UK until the final agreements are made on the
Brexit issue, so it will be a good plan of action plan in advance with this spare time available.
It is most likely that the UK will allow for some form of transitional system to allow EU designs to
be incorporated into their own National Registration system as well, as this would be an obvious
benefit to both parties. Exactly what form this may take though is not known.
It is worth considering if the Protection offered by having a design registered in the UK is of any
benefit to you as an individual or owner. With two years at least before any final agreement is
made, there is plenty of time to ascertain if the possibility of registering for a National Design
Protection would be of benefit to you.
4. Copyright: Well here is possibly the best news of all, as Copyright is not affected in any way by
the UK decision to leave the EU. Instead of being an institution, the UK governs copyright by a
series of regulations that have been in force for many years, and are in balance with similar
statutes in the European Union. There are no concerns over protection of Intellectual Property
when it comes to Copyright.
Conclusion
It would be wise to consider your position and maybe look at updating your current arrangements, such
as licenses, that generally have an effect in the EU as it would be pertinent to ensure that you are
covered in the overall marketplace, regardless of territory.
Footnotes
1. The UK comprises four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

3. 2. The UK has not made announced this yet, so the 2 years' term for its exit remains undecided.
The content of this article is meant to be such that it provides a general guide to the subject matter.
Special advice should be researched and found about your specific circumstances. However, for more
information please take a look at our webpage www.iam-market.com