How Brexit affects patent and trademark management in the EU

At Artifact Translation, as specialists in translatingof documents related to registering patents and trademarks for international validation, we have monitored the implications that Brexit has had on the management of intellectual property in the euro zone and the United Kingdom.

With the end of the transition period provided for in the Withdrawal Agreement of the United Kingdom from the European Union, last 31 December to 2020 a new stage begins in the management of trademark and patent applicants, both in Europe and in the United Kingdom.

When it comes to trademark management, with the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the European Union Trademark Regulations ceased to be applicable in that country. (UE 2017/1001). This implies, among others, the following consequences:

• Any pending application for the registration of a Community trademark will no longer have protection in the United Kingdom..
• The rights granted by the Intellectual Property Office of the European Union will only have protection in the Member States of the EU.
• Holders of international trademark registrations with a European Union designation will continue to be valid only in EU Member States.
• The use of a community trademark in the United Kingdom (even for export) will no longer qualify as use in the European Union.
• Seniority claims in EU trademarks based on trademark rights in the United Kingdom will cease to have effect in the European Union.
• Representatives who lose their capacity to act before the EUIPO as a result of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU will be automatically removed from all filings in CTM-related proceedings..
• Trademark owners will have to appoint a new representative, if they or their previous representative did not have domicile in a Member State of the European Union. However, the EUIPO may send any notification or procedural document directly to rights holders domiciled in the EU..

On the other hand, with respect to Patents, given that the United Kingdom will remain part of the Munich Convention, the effect of Brexit will be, if any, very limited.

Impact of Brexit on the translation of European patents and trademarks

Regarding the management of Trademarks before the Intellectual Property Office of the European Union (EUIPO), as well as for processing patents before the European Patent Office (EPO) the translation requirements of the different documents will remain the same, after Brexit.

In the case of trademarks, these can be processed can be carried out in any of the 23 official languages ​​of the European Union before the EUIPO. Since English will continue to be one of these 23 languages, documents in that language may continue to be used before this intellectual property body of the Union.

In addition, at the European Patent Office, English will remain one of the three official languages ​​along with French and German. For this reason, the translation of the claims of those patents that, having been presented to the national offices of countries adhering to the London Agreement, want to apply for recognition in the EU and the United Kingdom.

At Artifact Translations we work with the three official languages ​​of the EPO. In addition, we translate the fascicles of granted patents into Spanish and Italian for presentation to the national offices in Spain and Italy, countries that did not adhere to the London Agreement.

To save time and laborious tasks for our clients, by simply indicating the application number, we will download the patent publication issue and give the translation the format required by the Spanish and Italian patent offices for validation..

From experience, we can venture to say that the quality of the translation of documents for the registration of patents and trademarks is a determining factor in their processing,, and even for approval. This is why it is vitally important to have the support of a specialized translation agency.

If you have any questions about the translation of documents for patent and trademark management, write to us or request a personalized quote with a guaranteed delivery date.. This is our quote request form.