Brexit & trademarks: you need to act fast!
While many feel disappointed, shocked, and worried by the tyranny of the majority, all of those EU features can be kept by the UK:
- free movement of capital, goods, services, & persons will remain (under the EEA or EFTA) without being in the EU
- Mexico, the US, South Korea, etc, all entered into Free Trade Agreements with the EU, so why not with the UK, and between the UK and those countries?
- the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland do not need to be restored, just like there are no borders between Monaco (being outside of the EU) & Frankreich, the Holy See (being outside of the EU) and Italy, etc.
However, there is a real danger for EU TradeMarks (EUTM – formerly Community TradeMark CTM) holders, if these trademarks are registered from the UK! Trademarks holders should quickly re-register their trademarks in the UK before the UK exits the EU. EEA companies can register EUTM without a problem, so we believe that the EUTM registrations from UK companies will be kept. However when the UK exits the EU, this will cancel the protection coverage of that EUTM over the UK.
If the negotiations between the UK and the EU (more precisely: the European Commission EC) fail, in the worst case scenario no new EUTM will be granted registration from the UK. But the EC cannot just snatch EUTM holders’ rights nor cancel those EUTM. There are no needs to transfer EUTM to another EU country!