Thread: Brexit
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Old 12-06-2018, 11:22 AM   #6
glatt
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Arlington, VA
Posts: 27,717
Even though we are about three months out from Brexit, my firm is now advising clients who want trademark protection in the UK to file joint trademark applications in the EU and the UK.

The current EU trademarks will be grandfathered in to the UK once it leaves the EU, but future trademarks must be filed in both locations if a company wants protection in both places. And since the process of having a trademark approved in the EU takes about 3 months, we're now at the time when a new trademark filed today will issue in the EU after Brexit, so that company would have no protection in the UK from an EU trademark. They would have to file all over again in the UK and wait for that process to be completed, delaying protection there by months or more.

I'm not sure how this will impact my firm. We have a London office that handles EU trademarks for us, and I suppose they will still offer that service as well as the less desirable UK trademark service, but will clients think to come to a law firm in London to file EU marks after London leaves the EU? We may see a decline in overall business. We also have an office in Brussels that could handle the EU trademark work, but all of our knowledgeable EU staff is in London.

Interesting times.
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