The nine-month grace period to apply for equivalent UK trade mark rights has now ended, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has confirmed.
Businesses that had applications for European Union trade marks (EUTM) and/or registered community designs that were not registered at the end of Brexit transition period had until 30 September 2021 to apply in the UK for the same protections.
Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK’s intellectual property regulator created a comparable UK trade mark for every registered EUTM.
These rights are recorded on the UK trade mark register and have the same legal status as if the business had applied for and registered them under UK law.
Comparable rights also keep the original EUTM filing date, original priority or UK seniority dates, and can be challenged assigned, licensed or renewed separately from the original EUTM.
But the scheme has now been withdrawn, meaning rights applicants will now have to file an application for UK registration under the usual processes.
Commenting on the end of the scheme, the UK IPO said: “All future applications will be considered business as usual and that normal processes now apply.”
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