Influences to EU trademarks after Brexit
According to the official notice issued from the European Commission and EUIPO regarding Brexit on Dec. 1, 2017, the United Kingdom submitted the notification of its intention to withdraw from the Union on March 29, 2017 and all Union primary and secondary law will cease to apply to the UK from March 30, 2019 unless a ratified withdrawal agreement establishes another date or the period is extended by the European Council.
The scope of protection afforded by an EUTM registration and a Registered Community Design (RCD) applies exclusively to EU Member States only. When the United Kingdom withdraws from the Union, the protection for EUTM registrations and RCDs are no longer apply to the United Kingdom. However, the UKIPO and EUIPO will try to negotiate and find the best solution to this matter, and enable EUTM and RCD owners to maintain their former EU trademark and Community design rights in the UK. However, the negotiation is still ongoing between UK and EUIPO.
For trademark right owners that have main market in the UK, it is very important to pay higher attention to the trademark protection in the UK. It is recommended that you may file a separate application in the UK, and obtain the trademark right in the signal country, in order to avoid any uncertainty factor from the negotiation.
For any inquiries and/or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Law, Trademark, and Overseas Department
Top Team International Patent & Trademark Office