Does The Triggering Of Article 50 Impact My IP Rights?

While there have been plenty of headlines about the triggering of Article 50 by the UK's Prime Minister, Theresa May, the situation surrounding IP rights remains stable. The final outcome of the negotiations around Brexit, which will now begin in earnest, is uncertain. However, no change is envisaged until March 2019 – the earliest date at which the UK would leave the EU. In some key areas of IP, no changes are envisaged at all.

No changes to European patent protection

We have the certainty of no changes to patent prosecution at the European Patent Office or at the UK Intellectual Property Office. The European patent system is based on the European Patent Convention, which is a non-EU convention. The UK is a founding member of the European Patent Organisation, which started with seven countries in 1977 and has 38 member states today. Several of the member states are not part of the EU and Britain's departure from the EU will have no effect on membership of