31.08.2021
The deadline for re-filing EU designs in the UK is looming on 30 September 2021. Make sure your UK rights are in place before this deadline, and in particular, double check these three scenarios where your UK design rights may not have been created automatically.
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If your design right was registered (and this means not just filed, but granted, with the registration certificate issued) before 31 December 2020, a UK right will have been created automatically for you.
If your design right was filed before 31 December 2020, but registered on or after 1 January 2021, then the UK right will not be granted automatically: you will need to re-file a UK right if you want UK protection, which you can do up to 30 September 2021.
Beware that the critical date is the date on which the design became registered – not its filing date. Confusingly, this is also not the ‘Registration date’ as noted on the EUIPO design register. This Registration date is the date from which the design has legal effect – it will be the same as the filing date, and it is not the date on which the design became registered. If you work only from the filing date or the registration dated as noted on the register you may miss some UK rights!
EU designs tend to proceed to registration quickly, meaning that relatively few will have been filed but not yet registered on 31 December 2020. But you should check for the following situations that are most likley to put EU designs in the 'danger' zone:
If in doubt, check the EUIPO register for your design and have a look at the timeline graphic. It will show the date when your design was 'Registered and fully published' - see the example below. If this is on or after 1 January 2021, as in this example, then a UK right was not automatically created and you will need to re-file a UK design right by 30 September if you want UK protection.
If you need help re-filing your EU design in the UK, or have any questions about Brexit or designs, get in touch!
12.09.2022
The long-term impact of Brexit on trade marks and designsSix years on from the Brexit referendum, we can happily say that the measures put in place for trade marks and designs have been successful in delivering a smooth transition. But IP owners now need to pay attention to upcoming changes to rights of representation, particularly in light of the huge growth in applications at the UK IPO.
10.08.2022
Protecting NFTs and cryptofinance services as trade marksThe EUIPO recently published new guidance on the classification of trade mark applications for non-fungible tokens (NFTs). This guidance is helpful as we are seeing many filings in this area; however, further clarification may be needed.
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