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June 24, 2016
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The United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union may have far reaching consequences for immigration and trade and it will have an impact on trademark rights as well.  For those trademark owners who have sought to protect their marks through the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) (formerly referred to as OHIM) with a European Union trade mark registration (EUTM) (formerly referred to as a Community Mark or CTM), the UK’s departure from the EU spells uncertainty for how owners of EUTMs will protect their marks in the UK.  Some commentators agree that a mechanism will be established to extend protection for EUTMs to the UK or establish corresponding UK registrations, but whether that will actually happen is uncertain and what the process might look like is equally uncertain.  At the moment, EUTMs remain enforceable in the UK but this bears monitoring as those rights will change when the UK exits.

Through our network of foreign firms and agents, the attorneys in the McNees Intellectual Property Group assist clients in protecting and enforcing their trademarks and other intellectual property rights around the world.  Rest assured that we receive timely updates from our agents in Europe and will keep our clients informed of the impact of the UK’s departure from the EU.