What Does Brexit Mean for Your European IP?
For the time being, your IP rights registered in Europe will remain unaffected. We must emphasize that the referendum is advisory rather than mandatory and will take two years or more to implement. This two year period of implementation does not even begin until the UK actually files to withdraw which may be many months away. Your European patent rights will not change in any way. The European Patent Office is not an EU institution and is unaffected by the UK exit from the EU. Existing European Trade Marks will be enforced in the UK as usual until the UK officially leaves the EU. When the exit occurs in two or more years, your European Trade Mark or Registered Community Design will no longer provide protection in the UK. At the moment, whether or not the UK will pass regulations to convert these registrations to UK national...
