On June 22, the population of England voted to leave the European Union.
This unprecedented event has raised uncertainty in the financial markets, but also in all areas where the European Union had centralized protection or procedures, such as the protection of European patents and the European trademark and design system.
As Interpatent stated, the unified courts agreed to come into operation in 2017, as well as the unitary patent, are not expected to come into force in time and their implementation will be delayed, so the current system would remain in place since England’s withdrawal from the European Union would prevent them from ratifying the agreement reached.
Unregistered Community designs that were protected until today will continue to be protected in the European Union, but upon its exit, England would not have to comply with this directive and could either impose other requirements, maintain the European Union guidelines, or create its own legislation on the matter.
Meanwhile, European trademarks and designs remain protected in the European Union and England for the time being, and will remain so until England finally withdraws, after which they have a two-year period to negotiate their exit.
For now, no major changes are anticipated regarding the protection of your trademarks and patents in the European Union. However, we assure you that we will monitor developments to provide you with the appropriate recommendations regarding the protection of your rights in England before any issues arise that require attention.
Eduardo Paiz
Director Regional
LX Lexincorp
Central American Law Firm.
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