The European Commission has implemented a fund to support European Union based small and medium-sized enterprises to obtain and exploit intellectual property rights, such as patents, trademarks and designs. The way the fund operates is slightly different from country to country. Generally, it provides support to SMEs of up to...
Priority Claim for European Design Rights based on Patent Application
Can an application for a community design registration claim priority of an international patent application – and if so for how long? That was the question that the Court of Justice of the European Union had to decide in matter T-579/19. Their decision dated 14 April 2021 was very interesting...
Trade and Cooperation Agreement with UK Approved by the European Parliament
The European Parliament finally put its approval to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union on 28 April 2021 and the Agreement came into full effect from Saturday 1 May. The Agreement includes a number of measures on protection of intellectual property which we...
Priority Rights in IP
The priority right (or "right of priority") for an intellectual property right, such as a patent, industrial design, or trademark, enables an applicant for the IP right to file an application in another country and have an effective date of filing which is identical to the date of the first filing in the first...
Brexit and Intellectual Property
The withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union raises a number of questions regarding the impact on existing and future intellectual property rights. The end of the Brexit transition period set out in the Agreement on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland...
IP-Rechte und BREXIT
Der Austritt des Vereinigten Königreiches aus der Europäischen Union wirft einige Fragen hinsichtlich der Auswirkungen auf bestehende und zukünftige IP-Schutzrechte auf. Das Ende der im Austrittsabkommen über den Austritt des Vereinigten Königreichs Großbritannien und Nordirland aus der Europäischen Union geregelten Brexit-Übergangsphase zum 31. Dezember 2020 naht. Fraglich ist, ob bis...
UK Design Rights after Brexit
As from the end of 2020, registered designs in the European Union will no longer be protected in the United Kingdom. The UK will be establishing a comparable design right for all holders of existing registered designs.