On 6 September 2017, the EU Commission (Task Force for the Preparation and
Conduct of the Negotiations with the United Kingdom under Article 50 TEU) has transmitted to EU27 a Position paper on Intellectual property rights after Brexit, for discussion at the Council Working party (Art. 50) of 7 September 2017. The paper contains the main principles of the EU position in this regard, to be presented to the UK in the context of negotiations under Art. 50.
The EU Commission Task Force has identified the following General Principles to be applied in accordance with Union law, as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the European Union on the date of entry into force of the Withdrawal Agreement between the EU 27 and the United Kingdom:
- Intellectual property rights having unitary character within the Union
- Applications for Intellectual property rights having unitary character within the Union
- Applications for supplementary protection certificates or for an extension of their duration
- Legal protection of databases
- Exhaustion of rights
