The IPO in Wales - the new epicentre for IP lobbying after Brexit?

The AmeriKat has been having a blissful few weeks away from the UK and the Brexit nightmare.  Her head has instead been filled with palm trees, ocean waves and beautiful Pacific blue skies.  That was until she looked at her email yesterday with news from the UK Intellectual Property Office alerting her to new guidance entitled "Intellectual Property and the Transition Period".

Tomorrow is Brexit Day.  What does that mean for IP lawyers?  It means that after tomorrow we will be in what is called the "the transition period".  The period starts as of 1 February 2020 and will end on 31 December 2020.  The UK will remain in both the EU customs union and the single market, and, for IP, business will continue as normal, e.g., the UK will remain part of the EU trade mark, registered and unregistered Community design systems.

As the Guidance states:

"There will be no disruption to IPO services or changes to the UK IP system during this transition period. The IPO will convert almost 1.4 million EU trade marks and 700,000 EU designs to comparable UK rights at the end of the transition period. These will come into effect on 1 January 2021. 

The arrangements in the IP section of the Withdrawal Agreement take effect at the end of the transition period. These arrangements provide legal certainty and protect the interests of rightsholders and users of the IP framework. 

The Withdrawal Agreement ensures continued protection of existing EU-level IP rights in the UK after the end of the transition period. 

This will ensure existing UK IP rights can be managed appropriately in line with existing domestic arrangements."