Brexit White Paper Discusses UPC Position
While there have been various issues which have caused significant delays to the introduction of the Unified Patent Court (UPC), the release of the UK White Paper entitled ‘The Future Relationship between the United Kingdom and The European Union’ which focuses on Brexit will come as a positive step in where Britain stands in its participation with the long awaited Unified Patent Court Agreement.
Released yesterday, the White Paper is the UK Governments first step in providing a more detailed proposal on Brexit and the future relationship between the UK and the EU, stating it seeks ‘a principled and practical Brexit.’
It is in Chapter one of the paper in which Intellectual Property Rights are mentioned, stating that ‘there is a long history of European cooperation on patents’, and while the UPC Agreement has already been ratified by the UK it is stated they ‘intend to explore staying in the Court and the Unitary Patent System after the UK leaves the EU.’ While legal challenges brought forward by Germany regarding the UPC continue to cause delays, this White Paper is seen as encouraging in further developing the introduction of such an agreement.
What about other Intellectual Property Rights?
As it stands there is no definite answers in the White Paper regarding other Intellectual Property Rights, most notably trade mark and design protection. However, the paper does stipulate the importance of intellectual property and how it encourages innovation and creativity and states that ‘Arrangements on future cooperation on IP would provide important protections for right holders, giving them a confident and secure basis from which to operate in and between the UK and the EU.’
If you have any questions relating to Brexit and your Intellectual Property Rights please contact us where our team will be happy to discuss this or any other IP matter.
See Related:
The UK Announce Ratification of the UPC Agreement
Brexit and its Effects on Intellectual Property Protection
European Commission Release Position Paper in Preparation for Brexit
