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Aug 06, 2020 (Newsletter Issue 13/20)
WIPO
Show Agreement

Brexit Agreement / Implications after Transition Period for Users


The Agreement on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) provides for a transition period ending on December 31, 2020. The Government of the UK has indicated the steps that it will take to deliver continued protection in the UK to marks in international registrations with effect in the EU before the end of the transition period.

International registrations under the Madrid System that EUIPO has neither refused nor protected on January 1, 2021
Holders of an international registration designating the EU that the EUIPO has neither refused nor protected on January 1, 2021, will be able to apply for a national trademark registration with the Office of the United Kingdom (UKIPO) in the nine months after January 1, 2021. The initial date of the designation of the EU will be preserved.

The same applies for holders whose international registration or subsequent designation of the EU, as the case may be, is inscribed in the International Register after the end of the transition period, but with a date earlier than January 1, 2021. In this case, the said nine-month period will be counted from the date on which the international registration or subsequent designation of the EU is inscribed in the International Register.

International registrations under the Madrid System protected in the EU before January 1, 2021
Following the end of the transition period, a comparable national trademark, recorded on the UK Register, will be created for every international registration protected in the EU before the end of the said period.

Where protection results from multiple designations of the EU in one international registration (e.g. a designation made in the international application and a subsequent designation) one comparable national trademark will be created for each designation.

These newly created comparable UK trademarks will be independent from the international registration and governed by UK law. Holders will have to manage them directly with the UKIPO.

Rights of holders of existing international registrations
The end of the transition period will not negatively affect the rights of holders of existing international registrations for which the EU is the Contracting Party of the holder and who are nationals of or domiciled in the UK or have a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in this country. The same will apply to international applications filed with the EUIPO by UK nationals or entities before the end of the transition period.

After the end of the transition period, the holder may subsequently designate the United Kingdom in the international registration that prompted the creation of a comparable United Kingdom trademark.

For further information, please click here

Source: www.wipo.int