Following the “Brexit” vote by the United Kingdom signaling an intent to depart from the European Union, there was a rush of speculation and guesswork about how EU trademark and design rights would be treated with respect to the UK. Brand owners faced uncertainty about whether they needed to make parallel trademark filings in the UK, and what they needed to do protect their rights and their businesses. Most practitioners assumed that some provision would be made to ensure continuity during the transition, but it was largely guesswork at that time.

What progress has been made and what obstacles remain to a smooth transition? How will these changes impact brand owners with EU or UK trademark properties? The good news is that a roadmap has been drawn and largely agreed upon by both the UK and EU. However, other non-trademark issues still threaten to derail the ratification of these plans, and brand owners need to be mindful of both the withdrawal progress and the status of their brands in order to ensure continuity of protection.