The European Commission has released its latest Communication in order to introduce the work on the preparation for the UK's withdrawal from the European Union (COM(2018) 556 final dated 19-07-2018).

Unless a ratified withdrawal agreement establishes another date or, in accordance with Article 50(3) of the Treaty on European Union, the European Council, in agreement with the United Kingdom, unanimously decides that the Treaties cease to apply at a later date, all Union primary and secondary law will cease to apply to the United Kingdom from 30 March 2019, 00:00 (CET). This is exactly two years after it notified the European Council of its intention to withdraw.

The EC has reminded stakeholders and businesses of seven particular areas that businesses in the EU27 need to consider in order to prepare for Brexit:

1) Preparing in general for the withdrawal is not just a matter for EU and national authorities but also for private parties. All businesses concerned have to prepare, make all necessary decisions, and complete all required administrative actions, before 30 March 2019 in order to avoid disruption.

2) Assess your responsibilities in the supply chain under EU law after Brexit. For example EU27 businesses that buy goods from the UK will be considered as importers for the purposes of EU product legislation, they will have another set of obligations under EU law.

3) If your activity relies on certificates, licenses or authorisations issued by UK authorities or by bodies based in the UK – or held by someone established in the UK – these may no longer be valid in the EU post-Brexit.

4) Doing business with the UK post-Brexit will become more complex in terms of customs and VAT procedures.

5) When exporting products to third countries with which the EU has a Free Trade Agreement, exporters may enjoy a preferential tariff rate if the products have enough «EU content» according to rules of origin.

6) EU rules restrict the import/export of certain goods to and from third countries – for example, live animals, products of animal origin, and some plants and plant products, such as wood packaging. Post-Brexit, goods destined to or coming from the UK will be subject to these EU rules. 

7) The transfer of personal data from the EU to the UK is still possible, but it will be subject to specific conditions set in EU law. Companies that are currently transmitting personal data to the UK should be aware that this will become a «transfer» of personal data to a third country. Companies should assess whether, in the absence of an adequacy decision, measures are necessary to ensure that these transfers remain possible.

Specifically in the field of Industrial Property rights the European Commission has issued a notice to stakeholders concerning the withdrawal of the United Kingdom and EU legislation in the field of supplementary protection certificates (SPC) for medicinal products and plant protection products (27 April 2018).

Although there are still considerable uncertainties, in particular concerning the content of a possible withdrawal agreement, there are some automatic legal repercussions in the field of SPCs, which derive from the fact that the UK becomes a third country, namely the following:

1) An authorisation to place the product on the market granted by a UK competent authority as of the withdrawal date [30 March 2019] will not be considered a first authorisation to place the product on the market in the European Union for the purposes of Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 469/2009 and Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 1610/96.

2) As of the withdrawal date [30 March 2019], Regulation (EC) No 469/2009 and Regulation (EC) No 1610/96 no longer apply to the United Kingdom (for applications for a supplementary protection certificate submitted before the withdrawal date, the EU is trying to agree solutions with the United Kingdom in the withdrawal agreement).