What happens if the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) do not find a suitable deal by March 2019? The UK Government has now prepared solutions regarding trademarks and designs in case of a ‘no deal’ outcome before March 29, 2019.
Following regulations will apply for registered European Union trademarks (EUTM) and registered Community Designs (RCD):
# Existing registered EUTMs and RCDs remain valid in the European Union.
# Existing registered EUTMs and RCDs receive equivalent trademark protection in the UK through a new UK right. In this context, right holders will be notified that a new UK right will be granted. If the protection is no longer needed, there is the possibility to opt out.
# Pending EUTMs and RCDs applications will be able to be refiled within nine months from the date of exit retaining the EU application date and/or the UK seniority date. Applicants will not be notified and have to consider whether they refile the trademark in the UK obtaining protection.
# Right holders taking a refiling will need to meet the costs of refiling the application in accordance with the UK application fee structure.
# UK applicants will continue to be able to apply for protection in the European Union.
# Provision will be made regarding the status of legal disputes involving EU-rights which are ongoing before the UK courts and more information will be provided.
# The Government works together with the WIPO on solutions in order to provide continued protection of international registered trademarks and designs designating the European Union.
Following regulations will apply for unregistered Community Designs (UCD): • Existing UCDs remain valid in the European Union.
# Protection of existing UCDs in the UK will be provided for with no action required by the right holder.
# In addition, the UK will create a new unregistered design right in UK law which mirrors the characteristics of the UCD and should be known as the “supplementary unregistered design right”.
Following regulations will apply regarding correspondence addresses and confidentiality rules:
# There will be no immediate changes regarding the correspondence addresses and confidentiality regulations.
# The current rules remain in place for the time being after Brexit.
The publication of the UK Government is available at: