Letters: A call for post-Brexit regulation
[Re: Brexit boost: UK trademark disputes double following Britain’s exit from the European Union, May 23]
Morning Wire’s article on the rise in UK trade mark disputes following Brexit was a welcome insight into the issues that innovators in the UK face and the hoops they need to jump through to protect and enforce their IP.
Currently, the UK’s brand owners are put in danger by a system that doesn’t contain appropriate safeguards to ensure that when they pay for someone’s services, they are qualified and regulated. The issue emerges when third party advocates not regulated in the UK hold themselves out as experts but in reality fail to understand the processes required by the system, wasting time and money for all involved.
Positively, the government’s Brexit Freedoms Bill sets out the UK’s aspiration to “be the best regulated economy in the world and creating a regulatory environment that encourages prosperity, innovation and entrepreneurship”.
What is needed now is for that bill to deal with the problems posed by unregulated representatives.
Where these third parties are involved, it slows and unnecessarily complicates proceedings, resulting in our SMEs spending more money and, crucially, time protecting their brands rather than getting on with what they do best.
The surge in trade mark disputes will only exacerbate this, and as we bounce back and try to level-up our country, this is a distraction our economy can ill afford.
Rachel Wilkinson-Duffy