Fish's John Conroy Quoted in Law360 Article, "5 Things IP Attorneys Need To Know About Brexit"

John Conroy(Munich) was quoted in a Law360article, "5 Things IP Attorneys Need To Know About Brexit"

Don’t Expect a Unitary Patent Soon

“It certainly leaves the project up in the air,” said John Conroy of Fish & Richardson PC’s Munich office.

The U.K. is still part of the EU today, with its formal exit subject to possibly years of negotiations about the terms. However, it is highly unlikely that the unitary patent system would launch as planned, only to have the U.K. depart soon after, attorneys say. That leaves the other countries in the unitary patent system with a few options.

The Unitary Patent Is Now Less Appealing

“It certainly makes it less appealing,” Conroy said. “The primary factor that goes into getting a patent is the size of the market. The EU is going to be a little bit smaller now, so the value of the unitary patent is going to be a little bit less.”

EU Trademarks and Designs Won’t Cover the U.K.

“After Brexit, an EU trademark is no longer a U.K. trademark. That right is going to disappear,” Conroy said.

To read the entire article from Law360published on June 24, 2016, click here.