Brexit & your patents

The impact of Brexit on patents

The grant of European Patents or UK national patents will be unaffected by Brexit.

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Brexit & your patents

The European Patent Convention is an international (not European) treaty; therefore BREXIT will have no impact on the grant European patents (EPs) and the validation of EPs in the UK.

Patentees will still be able to obtain patent protection for the UK through the European Patent Office (EPO), which is not an EU institution, in exactly the same way as they do today. UK-based European Patent Attorneys will continue to be able to file, prosecute, validate and oppose EPs for clients before the EPO covering all designations as is the current practice.

UK national patents will not be affected.

There will be some changes to SPC law after Brexit and guidance on this can be found here. This guidance is relevant if you:

  • Own a patent or supplementary protection certificate (SPC) in the UK
  • License or use others’ UK patents or SPCs
  • Are applying for a patent or SPC which will have effect in the UK
  • Are involved in legal proceedings relating to a UK patent or SPC

If you have any questions or concerns about IP Rights in the UK outside the EU, or would like further advice on this matter, please contact your usual HGF attorney.

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