The Brexit transition ended on December 31st, 2020 and impacted directly on the scope of European Community trademarks, which are granted for the territory of the European Union (EU).

EU registered trademarks are still in force, and their owners were given a fully equivalent United Kingdom (UK) trademark with a new registration number, at no additional cost and with no forms to file. While no UK certificate of registration has been be issued, the details of the new registration can be found on the UK IPO online register.

Pending EU applications, however, will not cover the UK territory, unless a local UK application is filed by September 30, 2021. Such new UK applications will maintain the original filing and priority date of the related EU application.

Trademarks registered in EU under a Madrid Protocol designation (International Registrations – IR) are still valid in the 27 Member States, but if the holders are interested in maintaining the protection in the UK, a subsequent designation must be done to cover the UK territory.

For further information, please contact us at info@lermanszlak.com