Due to BREXIT’s imminent effects on intellectual property, we would like to inform you that as of 1st January 2021, not all the registered EU trademarks and Community designs will automatically enjoy protection in the UK. In particular, there will be a distinction between trademarks already registered before the end of the Brexit transition period (i.e. 31.12.2020) and trademarks still in application status on that date.
The former will automatically convert into a separate EU and UK trademark, starting from 1st January 2021. The resulting UK trademark will have the same application date, priority and registration as the EU trademark from which it was generated.
On the other hand, ongoing applications will not benefit of this provision, but there will be a period of 9 months to submit a specific application in the UK to obtain the same protection, even if the data of the filing of the suspended EU application. An additional measure we recommend to all EU trade mark owners is to update the proprietary data of their file as needed, so that the UK trade mark creation is already done with the correct data. Any coexistence agreements and licensing rights concerning EU trade marks will continue to affect registrations in the UK. If they have been registered with the EUIPO, they have also been registered with the UKIPO. The same criterion applies to EU designations of international trademarks and the same applies to Community designs. It will therefore be important to monitor the progress of pending applications until 31.12.2020 to assess the appropriate actions to be taken to ensure the proper management of intellectual property assets in the United Kingdom. For any information needed as regards this matter, please contact us and we will be happy to assist you.