The United Kingdom (UK) left the EU on 31 January 2020. The British have until the end of this year to reach agreements about their future relationship with the EU. This period can be extended once by two years. So, between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2022 it will be either ‘deal’ or ‘no deal’.
This will have no consequences for patent matters as the UK remains a signatory of the European Patent Convention. Brexit will probably have consequences for supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) and parallel imports, though. For trademarks and designs, existing registrations are likely to remain guaranteed in the event of a either a ‘deal’ or ‘no deal’. However, one should take into account that when all existing registrations will be converted into comparable national rights in the UK, the handling of new applications in the UK may be substantially delayed. That can be a reason to have new applications filed in good time.
Read more about this in our Brexit dossier.
