UNCERTAINTY OVER EU TRADEMARKS CONTINUES!
Right now, a single trademark application filed in the European Union Intellectual Property Office ("EUIPO") provides protection in the 28 member countries of the European Union. In view of the UK Brexit vote on June 23, 2016, you might be wondering what this means for your EU Trademark (s). As of now, your trademark rights are secure, until the United Kingdom formally exits the EU.
As for the long term, EU trademark practitioners currently think that it is highly likely that the final terms of the United Kingdom's exit from the EU will include some mechanism to address the protection of EUTMs in the United Kingdom.
Because of these uncertainties, and in order to minimize any risks associated with this changeover, anyone who owns EUTMs and views the United Kingdom as an important market may want to consider filing for United Kingdom trademark registrations now, rather than waiting to see what happens when the United Kingdom formally exits the EU.
And for new trademarks, I recommend filing in both the EU and the United Kingdom if the United Kingdom will be an important market for you. This increases costs only slightly and clearly secures a priority date for the United Kingdom. I encourage you to reach out to me with any questions on your filing strategies. I'm here to help!
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