The UK Government has today announced that Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty has been triggered. This formally starts the process for a member state to leave the European Union (EU). The maximum duration provided under the Treaty of Lisbon for a member state to negotiate its exit from the EU is two years.

During this time, the UK remains a member of the EU and there will be no effect to your European IP rights. While the outcome of the negotiations is difficult to predict, the UK's place in the European patent system remains unchanged. European patents are granted under the European Patent Convention (EPC) whose curator is the European Patent Office (EPO). Neither the EPO nor the EPC are instruments of the European Union and the UK will remain a contracting state like other non-EU countries, such as Switzerland. Bartle Read will continue to represent clients before the EPO in all proceedings.

We will be actively following the upcoming negotiations and keep clients abreast of developments as they occur. For more information, do not hesitate to contact us here.