Intellectual property applicants will be required to provide an “address for service” from the UK, Gibraltar or the Channel Islands after the end of the Brexit transition period, it has been confirmed.
Under existing rules, a patent, trade mark or design application can be filed with an address for service from all of the above regions, as well as the European Economic Area (EEA).
An address for service is the address used to correspond with the IPO. This could be the address of your head office or your solicitor, for example.
However, from 01 January 2021, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) will no longer be able to process applications with an address in the EEA.
While the changes are unlikely to affect current rights holders, some may be asked to change their address for service in exceptional circumstances.
This includes trade marks, designs and granted patents that are challenged by means of revocation and/or invalidity proceedings, and pending trade marks that have been challenged by means of opposition proceedings.
Failure to change the address for service in these scenarios could mean that the proceedings against you could succeed and you could lose your rights, said the IPO.
Commenting on the changes, the IPO said: “Subject to legislative implementation, on 1 January 2021 the UK IPO’s rules on address for service will change.
“From 1 January 2021 you will need an address in the UK, Gibraltar or the Channel Islands before we consider your application. This means we will no longer accept addresses in the EEA.”
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