France: Analysing Brexit’s impact on European trade marks and designs

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

France: Analysing Brexit’s impact on European trade marks and designs

c963031c-805d-4f1a-9099-1548249f5b9fbrexit-min-2-final.jpg

In the latest international briefing for France, Aurélia Marie assesses the effect of Brexit on EU trade marks and designs

There are two possible scenarios following the vote on June 23 2016 in favour of Brexit: the agreement accepted by the European Commission on November 25, but not voted for by the UK Parliament is eventually accepted by the UK, or no agreement is found and the UK has to leave the European Union without any agreed rules on March 29 (hard Brexit).

In the first scenario, the agreement provides a transitional period from March 30 2019 to December 31 2020 and provides for the continuation of rights attached to European trademarks and designs in the UK. In addition, during this transitional period, the UK will remain subject to all European regulations.

EU trademarks will give rights for their remaining duration to national comparable trademarks in the UK with no new examination. The same rules will apply for registered designs and non-registered designs.

For pending filings, an extended priority period of nine months to file nationally in the UK after the end of the transitional period for both trademarks and designs is provided

An EU administrative or court action pending on December 31 2020 (EUIPO or ECJ) will have effect in the UK even if the decision is to occur after the transitional period, except if the grounds of the decision are not applicable in the UK.

If no agreement is established, on March 29, the UK will become a "third country" to the EU. There is no current UK regulation to cover what will happen to EU trademarks and designs, only drafts. However, these drafts seem to provide similar provisions to those in the agreement.

As the amount of fees for renewal is unknown, it may be beneficial for registrants to renew all EU trademarks or designs that can be renewed before March 29.

marie.jpg

Aurélia Marie

Cabinet Beau de Loménie

158, rue de l’Université

F - 75340 Paris Cedex 07 France

Tel: +33 1 44 18 89 00

Fax: +33 1 44 18 04 23

contact@bdl-ip.com

www.bdl-ip.com

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Attorneys explain why there are early signs that the US Supreme Court could rule in favour of ISP Cox in a copyright dispute
A swathe of UPC-related hires suggests firms are taking the forum seriously, as questions over the transitional stage begin
A win for Nintendo in China and King & Spalding hiring a prominent patent litigator were also among the top talking points
Rebecca Newman at Addleshaw Goddard, who live-reported on the seminal dispute, unpicks the trials and tribulations of the case and considers its impact
Attorneys predict how Lululemon’s trade dress and design patent suit against Costco could play out
Lawyers at Linklaters analyse some of the key UPC trends so far, and look ahead to life beyond the transition period
David Rodrigues, who previously worked at an IP boutique, said he may become more involved in transactional work at his new firm
Indian smartphone maker Lava must pay $2.3 million as a security deposit for past sales, as its dispute with Dolby over audio coding SEPs plays out
Powell Gilbert’s opening in Düsseldorf, complete with a new partner hire, continues this summer’s trend of UPC-related lateral movement
IP leaders at Brandsmiths and Bird & Bird, who were on opposing sides at the UK Supreme Court in Iconix v Dream Pairs, unpick the landmark case and its ramifications
Gift this article