By Tony O'Riley-
A no-deal Brexit could undermine protections enjoyed by British inventors, fashion designers and broadcasters, the Law Society of England and Wales has warned today.
Applicants for patents will need to apply for protection within nine months of the exit date from the EU, according to its expert advice. The warning comes among a trove of other warnings from the Law Society, who boast a wealth of legal experts across over a thousand law firms in the Uk, besides its own in house experts. o England and Wales president Christina Blacklaws said: “Those in the process of applying for EU trademarks and registered community designs – which, until now covered the UK as well as the EU27 – will need to make sure they apply for equivalent protection in the UK within nine months of the date of exit or they may lose protection here.
“But not only that – broadcasters will have to ensure they have the right to broadcast in the EU27 countries where their signal reaches.
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“As with other areas of law, if a no-deal Brexit goes ahead we will find ourselves dealing not with one entity and one set of rules but with 27 different countries all of which have their own legal systems.”
RELOCATION
Protecting intellectual property and broadcast regulation without a deal may mean more re-locations with broadcasters, who contribute significantly to the UK economy, moving to other countries in Europe. If the current impasse in Brexit talks remains unsolved, and the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal, registered EU trade marks and community designs will no longer have effect in the United Kingdom.
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The UK government has promised to provide registered EU trade mark and community design holders with an equivalent UK right upon exit so ensure continued protection in the UK. Sectors like the fashion industry which relies heavily on unregistered design right protection faces serious uncertainty over the Brexit crises which indicates no end in sight. Legal experts remain unclear about unclear whether disclosing a design in the UK first will result in a loss of protection in the EU and vice versa.
The Law Society warns that making the wrong decision could mean a loss of protection in either the UK or the EU and so designers may need to disclose their designs simultaneously in the UK and EU. UK-based broadcasters should be aware that, under a ‘no-deal’ Brexit, they will have to clear rights in all member states where the signal reaches.
It adds that ”UK owners of database rights may find that their rights are unenforceable in EU/EEA states”. A no deal will give enormous power to EU registrars to revoke EU domain names owned by UK companies or individuals, making it impossible to renew those domain names. EU online bosses are also likely to loose access to their favourite online shows when travelling in Europe.
Christina Blacklaws said: “The law governing intellectual property is largely harmonised across the EU. Much of the legislation and case law stems directly from EU level law.
“The government has taken steps to try to minimise disruption for rights holders but they will still need to be alive to the pitfalls resulting from a no deal exit as the current reciprocal arrangements between the UK and EU27 from which we have benefited until now will come to an end if we go out without a deal.”
Image: Law Society
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