The EUIPO posted a Q&A document on the impact of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU on the EU trade mark and Community design on its website in January.

The document states: “Subject to any transitional arrangement that may be contained in a possible withdrawal agreement, as of the withdrawal date, the EU rules in the field of trademarks and designs no longer apply to the United Kingdom.”

The main consequences of this are addressed in 29 questions and answers. The Q&A does not consider future – and so far unknown – specific bilateral or unilateral arrangements, nor does it take into account the elements set out in the EU’s guidelines issued for the negotiations under Article 50.

You can read the Q&A document here. The EUIPO has also posted a revised version of the Notice of the European Commission, first published on 5 December last year.

The MARQUES Brexit Task Force will review these documents. To the extent that they raise issues of concern to brand owners, MARQUES will continue to make the position and interests of its members known to the EUIPO, EU Commission, UK government and others involved in the Brexit negotiations.

The MARQUES position paper on Brexit, published in November last year, is available to download here.

The UK IPO’s Brexit guide was updated on 1 November last year and is available to read here.