What effects will Brexit have on the Finnish Trade Register trademarks design protection and patents?

What effects will Brexit have on the Finnish Trade Register trademarks design protection and patents?
Below is a summary of what effects the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union (Brexit) will have on

the Finnish Trade Register; and
on trademarks designs and patents.
Effects of Brexit on the Finnish Trade Register
Processing of notifications submitted to the Trade Register
On 1 January 2021 the United Kingdom (UK) withdrew from the EU and does no longer belong to the European Economic Area (EEA). In limited liability companies at least one board member and the managing director must be resident within the EEA. However the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH) can grant an exemption from this requirement.

The board members and the managing director are responsible for their activities to the company the shareholders or someone else. To ensure this responsibility it is required that the enforcement of judgements under the Finnish law apply to at least one of the board members and the managing director.

Exemptions due to place of residence
In practice we now grant exemptions due to place of residence only to persons living permanently in countries that have acceded to the Lugano Convention. The Convention is a general agreement on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgements in civil matters.

The UK has not acceded to the Lugano Convention and has been bound by it only because of EU membership.

A consequence of Brexit has been that not all the board members of a limited liability company can have their permanent place of residence in the UK. If the managing director of the company lives permanently in the UK he or she will be granted an exemption only if at least one of the board members lives permanently within the EEA.

A trader living in the UK will need a permit to set up a branch in Finland. Under the Finnish Act on the Right to Carry on a Trade the trader must have a representative who is entitled to receive summons and other notifications on behalf of the trader. The representative must be resident in Finland and the Trade Register must be notified of the representative.

Effects of Brexit on trademarks designs and patents
Registered EU trademarks and Community designs are automatically converted into national trademarks and design rights in the United Kingdom. EU trademark and Community design applications that were still pending at the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020 must be converted into national applications within nine months. In such a case the applicants themselves have to be active.

More information about the effects of Brexit is available on the websites of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the UK Intellectual Property Office.

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