Since our BREXIT WHAT’S GOING ON PART I was published on October 2018, we have been tracking the news as police tracks robbers.
On November 13rd, 2018, Agreement on the BREXIT was finally reached between UK and EU representatives, and followed by the EU political declaration. Such declaration states the broader guidelines on future relations between the European Union and the United Kingdom after end of March 2019. We draw your attention on the fact that there are only little changes between the Draft and the Agreement and that key points such – as the cloning of the registered EUTMs and RCDs at cost-free – are still there…. such as some uncertainties that we pointed out on October.
The following day, a little against all expectations, Theresa May has managed the feat of getting the government to approve the text (11 votes against 27 with some resignations after).
And finally, during the last summit of November 25th, in Brussels, the Twenty-seven leaders of the Union and the European Parliament approved, in consistency with the EU position since the beginning, the Agreement too.
We remain unresolved in the process of adopting the text by the British Parliament scheduled on December 11th, 2018.
To date, everyone is careful to make any prediction as the outcome of this vote is uncertain. If the logic of the number of votes may suggest that the parliament will reject the project defended by Theresa May, the fear of no deal can however rally some “hard-brexiters” by a sort of survival instinct against chaos.
The question is: what would happen if the parliament disapproves of the text … and answer is, if not approved by the UK parliament, then we enter the logic of no-deal with an immediate effect on March 30, 2019… Therefore, on IP, we have to go back to the UK Government Guidance on IP from September 24th , 2018.
On the other hand, if the text is approved, then …. Nothing changes: A transition period is opened until December 31, 2020, with a possibility, in July 2020, to be extended until December 31, 2022. Therefore, initiated in 2016 … the situation could only be effective 6 years later!
One (positive) point: decisions of the CJEU should guide the practice of the UK courts another 4 years after the end of the transition period.
Clotilde Piednoël