WIPO and UKIPO reach agreement on international marks designating the European Union

Brexit will not affect the rights of holders of international registrations protected in the EU. WIPO and UKIPO sign an agreement regarding international trademarks after Brexit.

The World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) and the United Kingdom Trademark Office (UKIPO) have reached an agreement on the status of international trademark applications and registrations which, having designated the European Union (EU) in their coverage territories, were left without legal coverage before the departure of the United Kingdom (UK) from the EU, the “Brexit”, whose transition period will, in principle, end on December 31, 2020.

Under this agreement, international trademark applications and registrations will enjoy protection in the UK in the following cases:

  • Holders of international registrations designating the EU, on which the EUIPO has not taken a final decision on grant or refusal in the EU before January 1, 2021, will have 9 months to apply for registration of the international mark in the UK, the application date will be the same as that of the international registration when it applied for extension to the EU.
  • Holders of International trademarks who have been granted protection in the EU before January 1, 2021, will have access to obtain a “comparable trademark” (CTM) for each designation. These new comparable trademarks created in the UK will be independent of the international registration and will be governed by UK law. Applicants will have to prosecute and manage the trademark directly through UKIPO.
  • Owners with british nationality of International trademarks who have designated the EU, will not have their rights affected in relation to those trademarks.
  • The holder of an International Trademark, who has created a CTM may file a request for subsequent designation in the UK, which will result, once the said subsequent designation has been granted, in the CTM being replaced by the subsequent designation, the latter benefiting from the priority date of the CTM. This will maintain the centralised prosecution of your trademark, this designation will undergo the usual examination for new registrations carried out by the UKIPO and will be published for third party opposition purposes.
  • As the United Kingdom is a Contracting Party to the Madrid Protocol, applicants will continue to be entitled to file an application and subsequent prosecution through UKIPO as the Receiving office for WIPO inscriptions. After the end of the transition period, they will not be able to use the EUIPO as an RO.

For more information regarding basic requirements for obtaining an international registration click at this link.

The explanatory text of this agreement drafted by WIPO can be consulted here.

Feel free to contact us at: info@herrero.es

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