Updated: October 20, 2021
On January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union, an action commonly referred to as “Brexit.” From January 31 to December 31, 2020, a transition period was in place.
Understanding Brexit impacts to trademarks within the EUIPO and UKIPO
- Registered trademarks:Now that the transition period has expired, European Union Trade Marks (EUTMs) will no longer protect trademarks in the United Kingdom. Instead, the Intellectual Property Office of the United Kingdom (UKIPO) created “cloned” local copies of registered EUTMs, International Registrations designating the E.U., and Registered Community Designs onto the corresponding UKIPO registers. This cloning process was limited to trademarks registered prior to January 1, 2021.
- Pending applications:For pending applications, trademark owners were provided nine months – until September 30, 2021 – to apply to register trademarks with the UKIPO and retain the earlier filing date of the pending EUTM.
- Trademark applications post-September 2021: Trademark applications will now need to be filed separately with both the EUIPO and UKIPO to ensure protection in both jurisdictions.
Continuous coverage
CompuMark™ trademark research and protection from Clarivate™ empowers trademark professionals worldwide to create, expand and protect strong brands. We are committed to helping our customers act with confidence regarding their trademarks in both the United Kingdom and the European Union.
Since January 1, 2021, we offered CompuMark Search and Watch customers extended jurisdictional coverage to help ease the Brexit transition. Now, we are aligning our CompuMark Search and Watch products to reflect the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
Beginning October 23, 2021, customers will experience jurisdictional coverage changes to SAEGIS, TM go365, and Full Search orders covering the UK and the EU. Additionally, customers who place new Watch subscriptions will notice jurisdictional coverage changes for EU region Watches and UK jurisdiction Watches.
If you have any questions on your United Kingdom or European Union trademark Searches or Watches, please reach out to your account manager for more information or contact us here.
Please note: This update is provided for information purposes only and is not legal advice. Your interpretations, conclusions, decisions or other actions are your own for which you have full responsibility.
