The referendum may not have many immediate implications as it could take years before the UK exits the EU officially. However, already there are forecasts of an increase in inflation for fashion and footwear prices, and UK fashion businesses sourcing clothes, footwear or accessories from overseas, which do not include a currency conversion clause in their purchasing contracts, are asking for trouble.
 
What will happen to the intellectual property rights of fashion brands? Fox Williams believe that the EU trade mark and the EU design, will almost certainly cease to cover the UK, resulting in a need to secure separate rights in the UK. The conversion of existing EU IP rights to national UK rights is likely but how this will be implemented and whether it will involve re-examination is unclear. 
 
The enforcement of IP rights may also bring issues. What happens to a pan-European injunction granted in favour of a non-UK company pre-Brexit? Does it automatically cover the UK post-Brexit or will it need to be registered in the UK to continue in place? This has the potential for re-opening disputes by designers and fashion brands alike.

And what about grey market imports? The UK could become a haven for parallel imports. If any transitional provisions on the protection of EU trade marks leave gaps in protection, the rights could be left unprotected if the fashion brand does not already have a UK trade mark in place.

Have you been affected by Brexit yet? What are your views? We’d love to hear from you