Latest Government Resources: Intellectual Property Laws and EU Trade
Intellectual Property Laws
The Brexit implementation period will run until 11pm on 31 December 2020 (Exit Day). Until then, EU law will continue to apply to the UK — and EU rules will continue to be interpreted and applied consistently in the UK and EU. After this date, there will be many changes to how UK businesses will trade with the EU. Some of these will affect how you protect your creativity, including your brand.
The key impacts to brand owners following Exit Day are as follows:
If you already hold an EU trade mark registrations or a Registered Community Designs (RCD), it will be immediately and automatically converted into an EU trade mark registration or RCD plus a comparable, independent UK right, which will have to be renewed separately when they next become due. While this process should be straightforward, there may be complexities around issues such as IP co-existence agreements, licences or security interests. There may also be some circumstances where you do not want your EU rights to be replicated in the UK.
Pending EU trade mark applications and RCD applications will not be automatically be granted comparable UK rights. This refers to any EU trade mark applications not published as at the end of October. New corresponding UK applications must be filed within nine months from 1 January 2021 in order to retain the EU filing date. It may be advisable to file UK applications corresponding to pending EU trade marks or pending RCDs now.
If you currently have no pending applications or existing registrations, but require protection for your brand in the UK and EU, you will need two separate trade mark or design registrations. If in doubt, seek specialist advise now.
VAT
Claim VAT refunds from EU countries from 1 January 2021: claiming VAT refunds from EU member states from 1 January 2021. The date you can amend and view refund claims has been updated
Claim refunds of UK VAT from 1 January 2021 if you're an EU business: The date you can claim back VAT charged on or after 1 January 2021 has been updated.
Regulations
Meeting climate change requirements from 1 January 2021: Guidance updated – the European Commission has confirmed that UK-accredited verifiers are able to verify 2020 emissions for UK operators only, but not EU operators.