Implications of Brexit on Intellectual Property Rights in the UK

Evaluate the Implications of Brexit on the protection of Intellectual Property Rights in the
UK.
Introduction
There's a referendum by the United Kingdom to leave the European Union amid all the yelling, the half-
truths and the speculation. What does that mean in relation to IP rights? Let's be clear, nobody knows all
the specifics of what's going to happen next, and that includes all the people who said they did. Yet for
several months, and even years, there is still plenty of affirmation available into the future.
It's important to bear in mind that vote is just a vote. In itself, it does not change the UK, Europe, and the
rest of the world’s legal relationships. But if the British Parliament meets the expressed will of UK
citizens and officially petitions to leave the European Union, it will take years for the legislative process
for an exit to run its course. Material adverse changes to UK law are unlikely to occur during that period.
First of all, the formal termination process will begin with the issuance of a termination notice from the
UK Government pursuant to Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, which will trigger an initial
two-year negotiating period (Sunset Period) for the specifics of the withdrawal (Withdrawal
Agreement).The United Kingdom and the European Union may sign one or more separate agreements on
the nature of their future partnership (Future Partnership Agreements) in addition to the negotiation of the
withdrawal agreement.
If the Settlement Period is not extended by unanimous consent of all European Union Member States, and
if no exit agreement is signed within two years, then the United Kingdom will automatically cease to be a
Member State of the European Union (Unregulated Status).At present, the stance of the UK Government
is that the scheduling of the Article 50 notice service is a matter for the Prime Minister. There is also no
guarantee as to when the Sunset Period will begin, which means the actual Brexit date (British departure
from the European Union) remains unknown.
There will continue to be confusion throughout the Sunset Period, not only with regard to the economic
implications of a Brexit, but also in relation to potential regulation of all sectors and industries, and legal
rules for them. The article would certainly suggest options, but the real situation would depend very much
on the negotiations between the British Government and the rest of the European Union.
Present EU-wide rights, such as the EU trademark or the registered Group logo, will continue to exist
until the European Union withdrawal takes effect. So, the good news is that IP rights owners do not need
to jump into urgent action, though considering a change in strategy is advisable. Throughout this point,
the circumstances under which Brexit can occur are not predictable, rendering contingency planning
difficult. Yet we do predict this:
 EU-wide rights, such as EU trademarks or Group design registered, will cease to be valid in the
UK;
 EU rights will continue to exist in the remaining 27 EU Member States with the possibility of
introducing national rights in the UK;

 Within the United Kingdom, pan-European injunctions will not be valid or available, meaning
that IP infringements in the United Kingdom and the European Union will have to be litigated
separately;
 The current European patent scheme will not be affected, but it is unlikely that the latest Unitary
Patent will extend to the UK once (and probably if) it comes into force.
There are multiple escape situations. The United Kingdom will follow the lead of Norway at one end of
the continuum and remain tightly aligned with the European Union. The United Kingdom will become a
member of the European Economic Area (EEA) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), under
this "Norway model”. The United Kingdom will have access to the EU Single Market, remain subject to
the EU principles of the free movement of goods, individuals, services and resources and continue to
make (although reduced) budgetary payments to Brussels. The United Kingdom will also remain subject,
through the EFTA Court, to most EU legislation and the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the
European Union (CJEU). But the UK will have little control over any proposed EU legislation.
The "World Trade Organization (WTO) model" falls at the other end of the continuum, which will see the
United Kingdom split from the European Union to rely solely on WTO laws. The UK will no longer be
subject to EU or CJEU judgements. The model is chosen would be a matter of business relationships
between the UK, the European Union and all other affected parties, including existing EEA members
(Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein). Under general terms, the closer the post-Brexit relationship between
the UK and the EU is, the less the effect on IP protection. Whatever the essence of the potential
relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union, specific implications for IP will
follow.
Vast quantities of EU law are part of UK law, whether through directly applicable EU regulations or EU
directives that have been transposed into UK law by domestic law. Most of UK intellectual-rights
legislation falls from the European Union. Under the Norwegian model, the UK will also have to
incorporate EU IP rights directives into national legislation. UK judges will be bound to obey the
interpretation of the law by the CJEU, by the EFTA court's decisions. Under a WTO scheme, the UK will
be free to oppose all EU legislation. The 1972 European Communities Act is likely to be repealed. Both
clauses of the European Treaty and EU Regulations which are directly applicable will vanish from the
legal environment of the UK. The United Kingdom will then be able to amend, revoke, and modify any
existing law enforcing it.
EU law is, however, so interwoven with UK law that unravelling one from the other is likely to be an
arduous task, particularly in the field of IP. If the government decided to amend the law, it would take a
substantial amount of time to review and replace all laws relating to the UK's membership of the
European Union. Therefore Brexit 's effect on UK IP law cannot be felt immediately. This is possible that
UK and EU law will slowly diverge as legislation is checked and replaced over time and when UK judges
perceive this without the impact of the CJEU precedent. Such separation will confuse IP holders and will
make it more difficult and costly for IP owners to handle transactions across borders between the UK and
the EU and to prepare and execute IP compliance strategies. A Brexit does not explicitly affect legal
commitments under IP law conventions such as the Berne Convention, the Paris Agreement, the Madrid
Framework etc.

Dissertation Aim
The primary aim behind writing the dissertation on the topic is to consider the changes which will happen
in the field of Intellectual Property after the UK will be out from the European Union. Another aim is to
discuss all the laws of the European Union of IP and what the UK needs to do to overcome the IP matters
after coming out from the European Union.
Dissertation Objectives
Following are the main objectives of the dissertation:
 To discuss the IP laws of the European Union.
 To consider the circumstances which will raise for the UK after a transition period in the IP
Laws.
 To explain the situations of infringement of IP Laws immediately after the UK is separated.
 To discuss the possible solutions for the United Kingdom in the field of IP Laws.
 To explain the recommendations for the UK to be learnt from other countries like Norway.
Dissertation Design
The dissertation is based on four chapters. Chapter 1 is based on the brief introduction of the proposed
topic of the dissertation, which explains the dissertation question, a summary of the dissertation, the
current situation of the UK. Chapter 2 describes the IP Laws of the European Union, which are currently
enforced while the UK is part of it. It also highlights the strong areas of the IP Laws of the European
Union. Chapter 3 is based on the circumstances and situations which will rise for the United Kingdom,
which will raise once it will be out from the European Union completely. All the possible infringements
against the IP Laws shall also be discussed in the same chapter, which will trouble the UK after the
Brexit. Chapter 4 is the conclusion of the dissertation and also includes some of the recommendations for
the UK, which they need to adapt as soon as possible to overcome those immediate problems of the IP
Laws.
Dissertation Methodology
The dissertation is based on secondary sources only. All the data and material which is used in the
dissertation is collected and gathered from the case laws, statutes, law reports, textbooks, journal articles,
newspaper articles, and official websites of the UK government. The dissertation does not include any
personal interviews, questionnaires from the companies in the UK.