The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) will no longer accept applications filed with a European Economic Area (EEA) address, it has been confirmed.
The new rules come after the Brexit transition periods came to an end on 01 January 2021.
It means that all intellectual property applicants will now be required to provide an “address for service” from the UK, Gibraltar or the Channel Islands.
The address for service – which could be the location of your head office or your solicitor’s – is used to correspond with the regulator.
The new rules may also affect some intellectual property applications and rights registered before the end of the transition period, for example, 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.
According to the IPO, the address for service must be changed before legal proceedings can be challenged or appealed.
Commenting on the changes, the regulator said: “From 01 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.”
Ahead of the end of the transition period, the IPO also warned that re-registered international designs may not immediately appear in the UK’s official intellectual property register after 01 January 2021 due to delays in updating the UK system.
However, holders of these rights will “not be disadvantaged” as re-registered UK designs will still have “effect in law” from the end of the transition period.
For help and advice on related matters, please get in touch with our expert intellectual property team today.