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Jan 14, 2021 (Newsletter Issue 1/21)
EUIPO
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EU Customs Enforcement Post-Brexit


The European Commission informs on its website that the transition period for the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU ended on 31 December 2020. This means that the UK is now formally a third country and EU law no longer applies there.

For the purposes of customs, the UK is treated as any other non-EU country as of 1 January 2021. In particular, customs procedures and formalities now apply to trade between the UK and the EU.
However, in accordance with the agreed Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, EU customs rules and procedures generally continue to apply to goods entering and leaving Northern Ireland.

With regard to the enforcement of IP rights by EU Customs, the following will apply to Applications for Action (AFA) from 1 January 2021:

- Existing EU-wide AFAs filed via an EU27 Customs office will remain valid and enforceable in the EU27 but will cease to have effect in the UK.
- Existing EU-wide AFAs filed via the UK Customs authority will remain valid and enforceable in the UK but will cease to have effect in the EU27.
- Any new EU-wide AFA filed via an EU27 Customs office will apply across EU27 only and will not be enforceable in the UK. To obtain protection in the UK, the UK national system must be followed.

More information can be accessed here and here

Source: www.ec.europa.eu; www.twobirds.com