HSF Legal Guide to Brexit - an update on provision for intellectual property rights

IP rights which are designated as applying across the EU (EU trade marks, Community plant variety rights, Community registered designs and Community unregistered designs) and those, qualification for which involves activity within the EU (such as database rights), are all at risk of termination in relation to the territory of the UK once the definition 'EU' no longer includes the UK. However, the Commission and the UK Government have agreed at negotiator level (as published on 19 March 2018 and subsequently, 19 June 2018) certain sections in the withdrawal agreement including provision of replacement rights for those registered rights thus affected and for the UK Government to provide replacement rights for UK registered rights.

The UK Government’s White Paper detailing its proposal for the future relationship between the UK and the EU (published on 12 July 2018) includes a limited number of proposals relating to intellectual property as follows:

• The UK intends to explore staying in the Unified Patent Court (UPC) and Unitary Patent system post-Brexit. The UK will work with the member states that have signed up to the UPC Agreement to ensure that the UPC Agreement can continue on a firm legal basis;

• Arrangements on future co-operation on intellectual property are recognised as important to provide confidence and security to rights holders operating in and between the UK and the EU;

• The UK will establish its own Geographical Indications (GIs) scheme to provide continuous protection for UK GIs in the UK and protection for new GIs applied for by UK and non-UK applicants

In our detailed briefing, we review the proposals for the treatment and protection of intellectual property rights in the UK at Brexit: see Intellectual Property and Brexit (part of the HSF Brexit Legal Guide 2018).

See also the Herbert Smith Freehills Brexit Hub and Brexit Blog.

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