What does Brexit mean for patent applicants?

Hi, do not worry, the « Brexit » will have no impact on pending or futur European patents designating UK owned by British companies or nationals. The member countries of the European Patent Organisation ar not all members of the European Union, as this is already the case of Switzerland, Norway, Island and Turkey and the European Patent Office (EPO) itself does not depend of the European Union.

However, the Brexit will certainly delay lasting or even definitely put into question the entry into force of the European patent with unitary effect (« EPUE »), more commonly known as the « Unitary Paten t» and the Unified Patent Court « UPC » which were announced us for years and and whose the United Kingdom was one of the founding pillars. Indeed, because of the Brexit, the Unitary Patent will not apply to the United Kingdom and the Agreement on the UPC will be void and will have to be completely renegotiated because the absence of the United Kingdom automatically suspends the Unitary Patent. In practice it is now hard to imagine the United Kingdom ratify the Agreement on the UPC as your country finally agrees to an EU output. Certainly the remaining EU member states will also have the possibility of renegotiating the Agreement on UPC so that the ratification of the United Kingdom no longer needed for its entry into force. But in reality, we can now ask whether the European patent with unitary effect is not already sentenced to death and will not suffer the same fate as its predecessor, the Community patent whose founding treaty dates back to 1975 and which has never been implemented. Indeed, the Unitary Patent without the United Kingdom which is one of the three
« key » countries with Germany and France for patent litigation in Europe, necessarily loses interest and attraction especially as the UK territory will not be protected by the Unitary Patent and the scheduled London branch of the UPC will never exist and sit.

For now, do not worry, you still have the « classic » English national patent and the « classic » European patent covering already UK that both continue to exist and function normally. And if the Unitary Patent eventually exist without the United Kingdom, you can also complete the Unitary Patent by a UK national filing before the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) of Newport (South Wales).

Concerning Community trademarks (« CTM ») and designs (« CD »), it will be a different story…

In any case, if this can contribute to rasurer you a little more, know that French people and the rest of Europe continue to appreciate the English and work with UK companies whathever happens because we are too much attached to the Queen of England and the Royal family, Winston Churchill, the Royal Navy, William Shakespaere, William Turner, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Charlie Chaplin, James Bond, Harry Potter, Diana Rigg (Emma Peel), Stephen Hawking, David Beckham, the Beatles, the regretted David Bowie and the great Elton John, Kate Bush, the BBC and of course English humor!