The United Kingdom and Gibraltar European Union membership referendum and the implications for brands, Designs and Patents (part 1 – trademark)

Brexit – der momentane Stand

Am 23. Juni 2016 hat eine knappe Mehrheit der Briten für den Brexit, also für den Austritt aus der Europäischen Union gestimmt. Nach zähen Verhandlungen über drei wichtige Aspekte des Austritts (finanzielle Verpflichtungen des Vereinigten Königreichs, die Grenze zwischen Nordirland und Irland sowie die zukünftigen Rechte von EU-Bürgern im Vereinigten Königreich und der Bürger des Vereinigten Königreichs in der Europäischen Union) sind die Verhandlungen nunmehr in die zweite Phase eingetreten, in der über die zukünftigen Beziehungen des Vereinigten Königreichs und der EU verhandelt werden soll, sowie über eine eventuelle Übergangsphase nach dem EU-Austritt am 29.März 2019 [BBC:”No turning back on Brexit as Article 50 triggered”].

The United Kingdom and Gibraltar European Union membership referendum is on Union brands, have Community designs and European patents varying degrees of impact, in part by further negotiations, particularly in the next 15 months depend. Today's the first part of this series deals with the consequences for Union brands.

Unionsmarken

The Union brand is only effective in the Member States of the EU (items 1, Abs. 2 UMV). Leaves the United Kingdom, the EU, lose all registered trademarks Union and International brands designating the EU in the United Kingdom their effectiveness [Notification of the EUIPO 01.12.2017]. Even British lawyers should probably will no longer appear before the EUIPO and act as agent for Union brands (items 120 UMV).

Whether and in what form the United Kingdom with the EU to respect. of dealing with older brands and Union Union trademark applications is some is completely unclear at the present time. Two scenarios appear currently to imagine:

1. no agreement
   the United Kingdom and the EU should not agree on a special regime for Union brands, so the exit time they lose their effect in the United Kingdom. The trademark owner is then optionally forced to sign an additional national brand in the UK, which, however, does not share the older seniority of the Union brand, but is considered as a completely new trademark application. can risk to the proprietor of the latter arise, if, for example. a competitor has since applied for a similar or even identical sign in the UK.
2. Agreement on the right to walling
   The UK and the EU could agree on a transitional arrangement for Union brands, allows, the “British part” Union brand into a new national brand in the UK to convert without losing the seniority of the Union brand. From a year 1998 EU28 registered trademark Union could then emerge a EU27 Union brand as well as a national brand in the UK, both the seniority of the year 1998 had. Such a process could for example be similar to the existing in the Union Trade Mark Regulation process of converting a Union brand in national brands (items 139-141 UMV) be designed, but without abandoning the original Union brand.

It should be noted, that the scenario “no agreement” not to be equated with a “no deal” – United Kingdom and Gibraltar European Union membership referendum without any agreements between the EU and the UK. So it is quite conceivable, that the above-mentioned problem due to lack of time (particularly as a result of the British negotiating tactic) is not clarified, be if too many other issues considered more important under time pressure. Furthermore, other scenarios of converting the Union brands are conceivable and it was just an obvious scenario discussed. However, it seems very likely, that come additional costs to the owner of Union brands, if they want to get their trademark protection in the United Kingdom upright.