They did not make the top 100. Nevertheless, it was good to see that questions about the Unified Patents Court (UPC) were raised in Labour’s list of 170 questions regarding Brexit.

There is currently much speculation about whether the UK will ratify the UPC agreement in its current form; seek to amend the agreement to allow the UK to participate in the UPC; or whether the UK will turn its back on the UPC. The UK government has now been asked to clarify its intentions regarding the UPC and the questions are quoted below.

Given that Labour limited the list to 170 questions (one for each day before the planned trigger of Article 50), it is perhaps not surprising that only two questions were dedicated to IP issues. However, there are numerous additional IP-related issues that the government needs to consider.

Will the UK introduce its own system of Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs)?  What transitional provisions will be put into place regarding European Union Trade Marks and European Registered Community Designs? Will the UK seek membership in its own right of the Hague Agreement for the international registration of designs? Will UK registrants still be able to register or hold .eu domains once the UK leave the EU?

Despite some uncertainty in this area, we can provide guidance on the potential post-Brexit consequences for IP.  If you have any questions on how Brexit may impact your Intellectual Property, or would like to discuss how you may need to adapt your IP strategy, please contact us.

 

“110.Does the government intend to proceed with ratification of the EU agreement to establish a Unified Patent Court, in the agreement’s present form; and if not, what steps is the government taking to negotiate an alternative agreement to which it would be willing to sign up? 111. If the Unified Patent Court (UPC) goes ahead, will the Human Necessities seat of its Central Division continue to be located in London, as prescribed in Article 7(2) of the UPC agreement?”

 

http://labourlist.org/2016/10/labours-170-questions-for-david-davis-on-brexit/