On 31 January 2020, the UK will formally leave the
European Union and enter a "transition" period, which is
currently set to end on 31 December 2020. In this article we look
at what this means for the UK's intellectual property
regimes.
On 31 January 2020, the UK will formally leave the European
Union. The UK's relationship with the EU will no longer
be governed by the EU Treaties, but instead by the terms of the
Withdrawal Agreement agreed between the UK and the EU in late
2019. Pursuant to that agreement, the UK will enter a
"transition" period, which is currently set to end on 31
December 2020.
From a business perspective, during the transition period, it
will feel like nothing has changed. Under the terms of the
transition period, most EU law continues to apply to the UK and in
the UK and continues to be interpreted and applied as if the UK
were still an EU Member State. EU law, including that
relating to intellectual property, continues to be
