Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to restrict European Economic Area address for service rules at the Intellectual Property Office in the event that there are no reciprocal rights of representation before the EU Intellectual Property Office at the end of the transition period; and if he will make a statement.

The Government is aware that this is an important issue for stake holders, in particular UK-based patent and trade mark attorneys.

Rights of representation before EU institutions and courts are the preserve of the Single Market and so do not form part of the UK Approach to negotiations with the EU.

This means that UK representatives will no longer have the right to represent before the EUIPO at the end of the Transition Period. This is without prejudice to the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) which ensures that UK legal representatives can continue to represent their clients before the EUIPO in procedures that are ongoing at the end of the transition period.

Officials at the Intellectual Property Office and the Ministry of Justice are having ongoing conversations with stakeholders on representation rights and address for service once the transition period ends.