The people of the United Kingdom have spoken: They do not wish to be part of the EU any longer. It will now take time, probably years, before we know the terms of the divorce between the UK and the EU. Having said that, what impact of Brexit do we foresee for trademark owners?
Short-term EUTM registrations are still valid in the UK. Keep in mind that the referendum has voted for Brexit, but the UK is actually yet to request for an exit, which might not happen until the autumn. This means that no short-term action is required and EUTM registrations remain valid in the UK.
Once Brexit is a fact, does it mean that the trademark protection in the UK will be lost by EUTM proprietors?
For existing EUTM registrations the answer is probably no. The expected solution is that a transitional period is set up where EUTM owners can extend/convert their EUTM registration to national UK registrations (this will likely include payment of official fees).
For new EUTM registrations the answer is that the UK will no longer be covered by EUTM and a separate application in the UK will therefore need to be filed. Today’s official fee to add the UK to an International/Madrid registration is only CFR 262 for the first class and CFR 73 for each additional class. In other words, it is not massively expensive.
From a prosecution perspective the changes will likely only be administrative and mean two applications with a little higher cost. From other perspectives we see the following three issues:
- Injunctions based on EUTM registrations normally cover the entire EU. Post-brexit the courts in the UK will no longer be able to issue pan-EU injunction, and vice versa court injunction in other EU member states will not cover the UK. This will increase the cost of litigation since two sets of litigation will be required.
- Today it is sufficient to use a EUTM registration in the UK to maintain it in the entire EU. Post-brexit EUTM proprietors, who rely on their EUTM in the UK, will need to revise their filing strategy.
- The case law of the Court of Justice of the EU will no longer be directly applicable in the UK, which probably will lead to differences in jurisprudence between the EU and UK. This will be important for brand owners to keep track of.
Overall our initial position is that there is no need for drastic actions with regard to the Brexit referendum. We will of course keep reverting to this subject until the dust has settled and the picture is more clear.
Kristian Martinsson, Attorney at Law
