UK Address For Service Changes Following Brexit

There have been many important changes to IP due to Brexit, as outlined in our recent update. As mentioned in this update, one important change relates to the way in which the UK-IPO will communicate with IP rights owners. IP rights owners will need to be attentive to these changes to ensure that they are properly notified of any events that relate to their rights.

Registered IP rights in the UK (including patents, trade marks and designs) are associated with an "address for service", which is recorded on the relevant IP register. This address for service is used by the UK-IPO in written communication. It is important that the address for service is capable of receiving and processing important communications so that the IP owner is properly notified of any events or actions that relate to their IP right. This allows trade mark owners to be notified when someone opposes their trade mark application. Equally, it allows patent owners to be notified when a third party