European Union: Brexit And Its Effects On Intellectual Property Rights

1. European Union: Brexit And Its Effects On Intellectual Property Rights History in the making June 23rd 2016 will forever be an historic day in the history of the United Kingdom, as people took to the polling booths to cast their vote in a Referendum on the future of the European Union. With the vote falling in Favor of the UK leaving to become an independent nation. The decision, Often called “Brexit” by many areas of the Main Stream Media, will see the enacting of Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. This is more complex than many realize with both the UK and EU having to negotiate arrangements for the exit and how any future relationship between the two entities will be handled. Once an agreement is reached, Then the UK will finally be an independent country once more.This will not be an easy task, as the EU is very firm in its vision of how things should be as is the UK Government – The Lisbon Treaty states that negotiations should carry on up to two years, but should this fail; it can be extended provided all parties agree. During these two years – Despite the will of the voters, The UK remains a member of the European Union and as a result also remains subject to the EU regulations – This includes Intellectual Property Rights. Agreement decision Once the agreement has finally been reached, there will inevitably be changes to these regulations: 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