Jeff Hay and Ted Claypoole discuss whether or not the unitary property right system will continue to apply in the UK after Brexit in this latest addition to our multi-part video series discussing the UK’s decision to leave the EU and the potential challenges and opportunities Brexit poses for businesses on either side of the Atlantic.

Jeff: OK, so Ted, let’s talk intellectual property because as we heard earlier, European Union has had a unitary property right system.  You apply once, you get a patent or trademark for the entire European Union.  That’s obviously going to change, or is it, I mean what’s the impact going to be?

Ted: Actually it’s not going to change that much from where it is precisely where it is now.  And by that I mean that the European Union has not imposed as much of a Unitarian system as they want to impose.  They are trying to, there are proposals to put in a more Unitarian system and unitary patent court in and those are on the table right now but at the now, the current system, from a patent standpoint if probably going to stay about the way it is this minute.  Even as the Brexit pushes off.  I mean I think maybe the more concerning piece for American companies is the trademark side has been more unitary and there’s going to be a question and I’m sure our Bond Dickinson folks would say that this is one of those issues that we all know if going to get worked out, that the, when you’ve applied for a full EU patent and Britain, UK steps off of the state, the UK piece of that is going to come off of that.   So in other words, you’re not going to have to reapply in all likelihood for anything that you’ve gotten currently that is a unified EU trademark.  However, we need to be planning for the point in time when there’s not, Britain is not unitary system.  And so that’s one of the things that I think people are concerned with right now, whether we need to be filing separately in Britain from this point forward to prepare for this or whether you can just file the unitary trademark piece right now.  Because one of the big trademark issues for us is the courts.  

View Part 1 - Brexit: Overview and Reactions

View Part 2 - Brexit: Currency Issues and Inflation

View Part 3 - Brexit: Outlook for the EU and Impact on the U.S.

View Part 4 - Brexit: U.S. Opportunity in the U.K.

View Part 5 - Brexit: The Impact on Mergers and Acquisitions

View Part 6 - Brexit: What the U.K.’s Exit Might Look Like

View Part 7 - Brexit’s Potential Impact on Corporate Passporting and the Banking Industry

View Part 8 - Brexit’s Potential Impact on Corporate Passporting and the Banking Industry Pt 2.

View Part 9 - Brexit: Why the Fintech Industry Should Be Watching Closely

View Part 10 - Brexit: A Brexit/Corporate Tax Mini Primer