Intellectual property rights applicants have just months left to claim an earlier filing date for EU trade marks and designs, it has been warned.
Under the scheme, customers with EU trade marks and design applications that were pending on 01 January 2021 can file for a UK right and claim the earlier filing date.
It comes after the United Kingdom and the European Union agreed to recognise intellectual property rights that were filed within a reasonable time period of Brexit. This means businesses can:
- apply to register the same right as a UK right within nine months after the end of the transition period, this being up to and including 30 September 2021
- claim the earlier filing date of the pending right; and/or
- claim any valid international priority you had on the pending EU application, along with any UK seniority claims recorded against it.
But the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) said the service will close as planned on 30 September 2021 – meaning applicants have just three months left to claim.
Encouraging applicants of such rights to file “as soon as possible”, the regulator said an early application will help with early examination and allow time for refiling “if necessary”.
Commenting on the scheme, the IPO said: “If you apply to register a pending right as a UK trade mark, the application must relate to the same trade mark that was the subject of the EU right application [or] seek protection in respect of goods and services that are identical to, or contained within, the corresponding EU application.”
“If the details of the application do not match those of the corresponding EU application, you will not be able to claim the earlier EU filing or priority dates.”
For more information about the filing process, please click here.
For help and advice with related matters, please get in touch with our expert intellectual property team today.