Even though the Brexit deadline was 29 March 2019, the parts have agreed that the UK will remain in the EU a few more days, in order to avoid a hard Brexit. The date has been set for 12 April 2019, but the possibility of extending said deadline until 22 May 2019 is on the table.

With a new deadline ahead, many IP owners have been wondering what is going to happen with their rights, and mainly what is going to happen with their trademarks after Brexit.

As a result of this uncertainty, the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) has issued an “IP and Brexit Guide” clarifying, among other things, that: i) for all registered European Union Trade Marks (EUTMs) the UKIPO will create comparable UK trade marks; ii) comparable UK rights will retain the filing dates and will also inherit any priority and/or seniority dates; and, iii) new trademarks in the UK will be fully independent from the original EUTMs.