Brexit: Intellectual Property Rights

The European Commission and the United Kingdom have established a transition period within the Brexit process, allowing the UK to remain as a European Union member from March 29th, 2019 to December 31st, 2020. Meanwhile, they have drafted a substantial part of the Withdrawal Agreement, which was made public by the Commission on February 28th, 2018. You can consult this document here 

In that transition period, the referred Withdrawal Agreement ensures the protection of granted and registered rights and respective registration proceedings, the protection in the United Kingdom of international trademark registrations designating the European Union as territory for protection, the protection in the United Kingdom on European Union non registered designs, the protection of data basis, priority rights with respect to European Union trademark applications and pending plant varieties proceedings, as well as for complementary certificates of protection that are pending in the United Kingdom, and the exhaustion of rights.

More recently, the United Kingdom Government has published a document called "Technical Note: Other Separation Issues - Phase 2", where it is emphasized its commitment in ensuring the protection of intellectual property rights in the United Kingdom after leaving the European Union, in identical terms to those that have already been established in the Commission Position Paper, published in September, 2017. You can consult this document here

We will continue to monitor the Brexit as to this specific theme of intellectual property rights and will let you know of further developments.