Brexit and European Patents - some certainty here, at least

So the Brexit train rolls ever onwards, and while you may be for or against it, there is no denying that it has caused a lot of uncertainty. Mostly this relates to uncertainty over the extent to which existing institutions and processes that govern business between the UK and the EU will still be integrated, post-Brexit.

So it's nice to have some certainty for a change:

Mr Benoît Battistelli, President of the European Patent Office, has stated unequivocally that Brexit will have no effect on UK membership of the European Patent Organisation and that European patent attorneys based in the UK will continue to be able to represent applicants before the European Patent Office after the UK leaves the European Union.

President Battistelli said: "... the EPO is not an EU agency but an independent international organisation, of which the UK is a founding member."

In other words, because the European Patent Office is not an EU institution, any Brexit shenanigans one way or the other will not affect it.

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