Insights: Brexit and Boult Wade Tennant LLP

As you know, on 23 June 2016 the UK voted to leave the EU.   Notice of leaving was given under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union on 29 March 2017.  At time of writing, no agreement has been reached on the terms of departure and the UK is presently set to leave the EU on 29 March 2019.

Boult Wade Tennant have prepared for all possible outcomes.  Should the UK leave the EU, you will be able to continue to instruct your usual advisors and your instructions will be carried out before the EUIPO.   We have three mechanisms in place to ensure a seamless service to our clients.

Agreement
It may be that UK attorneys are entitled to continue to act directly before the EUIPO (as we have done since its foundation in 1996) in relation to all cases, for an indefinite period, or for a defined term.  It may also be that UK attorneys are entitled to continue to act on all ongoing cases where we are presently acting, until they conclude.  However, at time of writing, neither of these outcomes has been formalised.

Our Madrid Office
We have established Boult Wade, S.L., a company which is majority owned by Boult Wade Tennant LLP, and established through a joint venture with local firm A.C. Legal. Senior lawyer Álvaro Cabeza is the Madrid based Principal of Boult Wade, S.L. We have worked with Álvaro for many years and he is joined by Isabel Blanco Esguevillas who has been part of our trade mark team in London since 2017 and is now returning to Madrid.  Álvaro and Isabel, and the growing Madrid team, act before the EUIPO as well as before the Spanish National Trade Mark Office.

Our Berlin Office
In January 2019 we were delighted that Mr Michael Maier, a German lawyer (rechtsanwalt), joined our partnership, after working in private practice and in-house for many years.  We have arranged for new premises and staff in Berlin, where Michael, with his growing team, acts before the EUIPO, the German National Trade Mark office, the German Courts and also before the General Court (Luxembourg).

Our London, Cambridge, Oxford and Reading Offices
For our teams in the UK it is business as usual and  they will continue to provide high quality, market leading services to our clients across trade marks, designs and patents

Our reputation precedes us and we feel very privileged  in the fact that for the past 14 years, we have been ranked in tier one for both patent and trade mark prosecution in the UK by both Managing Intellectual Property (MIP) and The Legal 500 and have won awards from reputable and trusted professional organisations on numerous occasions.. We are also ranked consistently in the top band by other leading publications such as Chambers and Partners, Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) 1000 and World Trademark Review (WTR) 1000. The firm’s quality provision of services to clients and its integrity is at the core of our working culture.

We are completely client focussed and  pride ourselves in giving specific, proactive advice, which is finely tuned to our clients’ business. We look forward to expanding our services to our existing and future clients with our new offices in Spain and Germany.

Next Steps
You do not need to take any action in relation to your EUTM or EU Design applications and registrations.  If, at a future date subsequent to Brexit, our UK attorneys are not able to act directly at the EUIPO, then our teams in our Berlin and Madrid offices will act.  They will closely follow our instructions and also provide insight if they have suggestions which arise due to their professional skill and experience.

If you have any questions then please do not hesitate to contact us.  We look forward to hearing from you.