UK Industry Group Identifies “Cliff-Edge” Risks For IP In Brexit

A United Kingdom industry association today issued a report on “cliff-edge” risks to intellectual property rights protection from the Brexit separation of the UK from the European Union, and asks for assurance the issues will be considered.

The 12-page report issued by the Alliance for Intellectual Property is available here [pdf].

The announcement is here.

The announcement highlights issues identified by the report as:​

• A loss of reciprocity for unregistered design rights

• The future of the exhaustion of IP rights in the UK

• Continued entitlement of UK artists to the Artist’s Resale Right for works sold in the EU

• The portability of online content services throughout the EU

• Rights to broadcast throughout the EU on a single UK license

“Other concerns include a loss of influence over EU IP legislation which will impact the UK, and increased pressure on enforcement bodies at borders, which could lead to an increase in the import of unsafe counterfeit goods to the UK,” it states. “It also repeats the call made by the Alliance’s ‘Trading Places’ report for any new trade deals made with third countries post-Brexit not only protect UK IP laws, but also seek to raise standards in the jurisdictions in which the UK negotiates.”

The report notes legislation and regulations it deems to be positive, including: the Digital Economy Act 2017, the Code of Practice on Search and Copyright, the Digital Charter, the Creative Industries Sector Deal, and activities undertaken by the UK IP Office. It also highlighted positive statements from government officials, including Prime Minister Teresa May who said the UK-EU agreement will need to include intellectual property.

The Alliance for Intellectual Property, established in 1998, is a UK-based coalition of 20 organisations with an interest in intellectual property rights protection. Its members include representatives of the audiovisual, toy, music, games, business software, sports, brands, publishing, photography, retailing and design industries.