Since the United Kingdom’s (UK) departure from the European Union (EU), EU trademarks are no longer granted automatic protection in the UK, unless such trademarks were registered with the EU Intellectual Property office by 31^st December 2020.
 
Notably, trademark proprietors whose EU applications remained pending on 1^st January 2021 must file an application to register their trademark with the UKIPO by 30 September 2021 (note that this deadline cannot be extended). Failure to do so will result in the loss of protection for the trademark in the UK and the EU filing date (including any valid priority/seniority date). If an application is successful, the trademark will receive protection in the UK and will also retain the filing date of the EU application, including any valid priority/seniority claims.

This alert is prepared by partner, Charmayne Ong, and associate, Cheam Tat Sean.