The new EU Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court system (not yet in force) will only apply to participating EU member states and so Brexit will have an impact on the new system.
The UK was set to be one of the parties that ratifies this agreement because we’re one of the top three countries in terms of validated patents (alongside France and Germany). However, because of Brexit, this responsibility will now fall to the Netherlands.
A division of the Unified Patent Court was set to be located in London, but the decision to leave the EU means that this court will need to be relocated. This is likely to cause a significant delay to the implementation of the unitary patent, as well as considerable expense.
Our exit may reduce the number of applications for in unitary patents as they will no longer cover the UK (therefore reducing their value). This could cause a request for a reduction of the planned application fees, as the UK will need to be protected separately.
Our Intellectual Property lawyers are here to advise you on issues surrounding your patents and can answer any questions you might have.
For more information, please phone 0370 1500 100 or send our Referendum team an email with any questions.
Key Contact
Georgie Collins – Partner, Intellectual Property
Telephone: +44 (0)207 421 3997
Mobile: +44 (0)787 625 3304
Email: georgie.collins@irwinmitchell.com
Click here to view Georgie’s full profile
