If an applicant’s EU design was registered and published before the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020, it automatically continued to be protected in the UK after that date because the UK registry automatically issued a comparable UK registered design for each registered and published EU design, effective from that date.
However, if their EU application was still pending on 31 December 2020 the UK registry will not have issued a comparable UK registered design. They must therefore now make a separate UK application, referring back to the original EU application.
Vitally, they must do so before 30 September 2021 if they wish to retain the priority date of the original EU application – ie if they want their protection to run from the date of the original EU application.
If they fail to apply before that date, any future UK application they make to register their design will be refused.
Meeting the deadline is therefore extremely important.
Similar rules apply in relation to EU trade mark applications which were not registered and fully published by 31 December 2020.
Operative date
- Now
Recommendation
- Businesses and individuals should check whether any pre-Brexit applications to register an EU design (or trade mark) are still pending and, if that is the case, urgently consider whether to apply to register the design (or trade mark) at the UK registry.
This article from Atom Content Marketing is for general guidance only, for businesses in the United Kingdom governed by the laws of England. Atom Content Marketing, expert contributors and ICAEW (as distributor) disclaim all liability for any errors or omissions.
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