Q&As
What impact will Brexit have on patents and SPCs?
How will European patents and the UK patent system be affected, if at all? What will happen to existing Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs) and paediatric extensions and will they still be available after Brexit? What will Brexit mean for the future of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) and the UK’s involvement in the system? Are there any practical steps that patent and/or SPC proprietors should be taking to prepare for Brexit?
European and UK Patent Systems
Brexit will not affect the existing European patent system because the European Patent Convention (EPC), which established the European Patent Office and governs the grant of European patents, is a treaty between contracting states, not a piece of EU legislation. The UK will remain a signatory to the EPC irrespective of whether they are a member of the EU, as is the case for Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. Similarly, the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), which allows an applicant to file one patent application designating multiple jurisdictions, is not a piece of EU legislation and
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