Brexit and EU Trade Marks
The Brexit transition period agreed between the UK and EU is due to end on 31 December 2020. With offices in both the UK and Germany, Venner Shipley LLP will continue to represent clients before the EUIPO following the end of the transition period.
UK legislation has been agreed which will ensure that owners of existing registered EU trade marks will continue to have protection in the UK, even in the absence of an agreement on trade between the UK and the EU. For more information about obtaining equivalent protection in the UK for EU trade mark applications, or international applications designating the EU, that remain pending at the end of the transition period, please see our separate notification here.
An equivalent UK “cloned” right will be created by the UK IPO for every EUTM registration, and for every granted EU designation of an international registration, in force at 31 December 2020. No action is required by you.
The new UK right will retain the filing or priority date of the EU right on which it is based, and will keep the last eight digits of the existing EU registration number. A prefix will be added depending on the type of registration (rights stemming from EUTM registrations will have the prefix “UK009”; and rights stemming from EU designations of international registrations will have the prefix “UK008”).
Where the EU trade mark is a granted designation of an international registration, the new UK right will nonetheless be a UK national registration.
The UK right will retain the same renewal date as its corresponding EU right (save for a UK right stemming from a “subsequent designation” of the EU through an international registration for which the renewal date shall be the tenth anniversary of the subsequent designation). Separate renewal fees will need to be paid to renew the UK right and its corresponding EUTM registration.
TM, and separate renewal fees will need to be paid to renew the UK right and its corresponding EUTM registration.
We will automatically assume responsibility for the equivalent cloned UK rights created on 1 January 2021 at no cost, and will forward a schedule of the new UK rights to you shortly afterwards. We will also send you reminders concerning the payment of renewal fees for the new UK rights when they fall due, unless you instruct us otherwise, although we always recommend that you keep your own record of renewal deadlines.
Please contact your usual attorney if you have any questions.
