EU Brexit Draft
Agreement Irks British Authorities
The European Commission(EC) today, published the draft
Withdrawal Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom. This is
a draft of the agreement on the UK's orderly withdrawal from the EU and
including introductory provisions, citizens' rights, other separation issues
such as goods placed on the market before the withdrawal date, the financial
settlement, transitional arrangements, and institutional provisions – and a
protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland. It will now be discussed by the Council
(Article 50) and with the Brexit Steering Group of the European Parliament
before being transmitted to the United Kingdom for negotiation. A final version
of the Withdrawal Agreement should be agreed by the EU and the UK by October
2018 to allow for the timely ratification by the European Parliament, the
Council (Article 50) and the UK, according to its own constitutional
requirements.
The European Council (Article 50) is expected to adopt
additional guidelines in March 2018, in particular as regards the framework for
the future relationship and has called on the UK to provide further clarity on
its position on the framework for the future relationship.
But barely has the draft been published than it started
drawing flaks from the British authorities.
British Prime Minister, Theresa May fumed at the Brexit Draft,
particularly as it concerns the place of Northern Ireland.
However, being conscious of the Information and
Communication (ICT) industry that I report,
GutsyPen4ICTD serves you carefully copied and unedited, the
relevant sections of the Draft impinging on the ICT industry, including but not
limited to access to network and information systems and data bases,
intellectual property, IP registration procedure, continued protection of the
UK of international registrations designating the Union, continued protection
in the UK of unregistered Community designs, continued protection of data
bases, Data and information processed or obtained before the end of the
Transition Period, or on the basis of This Agreement, protection of personal
data, confidential treatment and restricted use of data and information and
information security.
Article 49
Access to relevant network and information systems and data
bases
By way of derogation from Article 7, the United Kingdom
shall have access, to the extent strictly necessary to comply with its
obligations set out in this Title, to the network and information systems and
the databases listed in [Annex Y+4].
TITLE IV
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Article 50
Continued protection in the United Kingdom of registered or
granted rights
1. The holder of any of the following intellectual property
rights which have been registered or
granted before the end of the transition period shall,
without any re-examination, become the
holder of a comparable registered and enforceable
intellectual property right in the United
Kingdom, as provided for by the law of the United Kingdom:
(a) the holder of a European Union trade mark registered in
accordance with Regulation
(EU) 2017/1001 of the European Parliament and of the
Council26 shall become the holder
of a trade mark in the United Kingdom, consisting of the
same sign, for the same goods
or services;
(b) the holder of a Community design registered in
accordance with Council Regulation (EC)
No 6/200227 shall become the holder of a registered design right
in the United Kingdom
for the same design;
(c) the holder of a Community plant variety right granted
pursuant to Council Regulation
(EC) No 2100/9428 shall become the holder of a plant variety
right in the United Kingdom
for the same plant variety.
2. Where a geographical indication, designation of origin or
traditional speciality guaranteed within
the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European
Parliament and of the Council29
, a
geographical indication, designation of origin or
traditional term for wine within the meaning of
Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and
of the Council30, a geographical
indication within the meaning of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008
of the European Parliament and of
the Council31 or within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No
251/2014 of the European Parliament
and of the Council32
, is protected in the Union on the last day of the
transition period, those
entitled to use the geographical indication, the designation
of origin, the traditional speciality
guaranteed or the traditional term concerned shall, as from
the end of the transition period, be
entitled to use a right in the United Kingdom granted under
the law of the United Kingdom which
provides for at least the same level of protection, with
respect to the geographical indication, the
designation of origin, the traditional speciality guaranteed
or the traditional term concerned, as
the protection provided for by the following provisions of
Union law:
(a) Article 4(1)(i) of Directive (EU) 2015/2436 of the
European Parliament and of the
Council33
; and
(b) as appropriate in view of the right concerned, Articles
13, 14(1), 24, 38, 44 and 45(1)(b)
of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012; Articles 102(1), 103, 113
and 157(1)(c)(x) of Regulation
(EU) No 1308/2013; Articles 16, 23(1) and, in so far as
related to compliance with Articles
16 and 23(1), Article 24(1) of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008;
or Articles 19(1) and 20 of
Regulation (EU) No 251/2014.
3. Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 and 2, if an intellectual
property right referred to in those
paragraphs is declared invalid or revoked, or in the case of
a Community plant variety right is
declared null and void or cancelled, in the Union as the
result of an administrative or judicial
procedure which was ongoing on the last day of the
transition period, the corresponding right in
the United Kingdom shall also be declared invalid or
revoked, or declared null and void, or
cancelled.
4. A trade mark or registered design right which arises in
the United Kingdom in accordance with
points (a) and (b) of paragraph 1 shall have as its first
renewal date the renewal date of the
corresponding intellectual property right registered in
accordance with Union law.
5. In respect of trade marks in the United Kingdom referred
to in point (a) of paragraph 1 of this
Article, the following shall apply:
(a) the trade mark shall enjoy the date of filing or the
date of priority of the European Union
trade mark and, where appropriate, the seniority of a trade
mark of the United Kingdom
claimed under Article 39 or 40 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001;
(b) the trade mark shall not be liable to revocation on the
ground that the corresponding
European Union trade mark had not been put into genuine use in
the territory of the
United Kingdom before the end of the transition period;
(c) the owner of a European Union trade mark having a
reputation in the Union shall be
allowed to exercise in the United Kingdom rights equivalent
to those provided for in
point (c) of Article 9(2) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 and
point (a) of Article 5(3) of
Directive 2015/2436 in respect of the corresponding trade
mark on the basis of the
reputation acquired in the Union.
6. In respect of registered design rights and plant variety
rights in the United Kingdom referred to in
points (b) and (c) of paragraph 1, the following shall
apply:
(a) the term of protection under the law of the United
Kingdom shall be at least equal to the
remaining period of protection under Union law of the
corresponding registered
Community design or Community plant variety right;
(b) the date of filing or the date of priority shall be that
of the corresponding registered
Community design or Community plant variety right.
Article 51
Registration procedure
1. The registration or grant of the intellectual property
rights pursuant to Article 50(1) and (2) of
this Agreement shall be carried out free of charge by the
relevant entities in the United Kingdom,
using the data available in the registries of the European
Union Intellectual Property Office, the
Community Plant Variety Office and the European Commission.
Annex III to Regulation (EC) No
110/2008 shall be considered a registry for the purpose of
this Article.
2. For the purpose of the registration process, holders of
the intellectual property rights referred to
in Article 50(1) and those entitled to use the rights
referred to in Article 50(2) shall not be
required to introduce an application or to undertake any
particular administrative procedure.
They shall not be required to have a correspondence address
in the United Kingdom, without
prejudice to such address being required at the moment of
the first renewal of the intellectual
property right concerned, where applicable.
3. The European Union Intellectual Property Office, the
Community Plant Variety Office and the
European Commission shall provide to the relevant entities
in the United Kingdom the
information necessary for the registration or grant in the
United Kingdom of the intellectual
property rights referred to in Article 50(1) or (2).
4. This Article shall be without prejudice to renewal fees
that may apply at the time of renewal of
the rights, or the possibility for the holders concerned to
surrender their intellectual property
rights in the United Kingdom, in accordance with the
relevant procedure under the law of the
United Kingdom.
Article 52
Continued protection in the United Kingdom of international
registrations designating the Union
The United Kingdom shall ensure that natural or legal
persons who have designated the Union in
respect of international registrations of trade marks or
designs pursuant to the Madrid system for
the international registration of marks or the Hague system
for the international deposit of industrial
designs before the end of the transition period, enjoy
protection in the United Kingdom for their
trade marks or industrial designs in respect of those
international registrations.
Article 53
Continued protection in the United Kingdom of unregistered
Community designs
The holder of a right in relation to an unregistered
Community design which arose before the end of
the transition period in accordance with Regulation (EC) No
6/2002 shall in relation to that
unregistered Community design ipso iure become the holder of
an enforceable intellectual property
right in the United Kingdom, as provided for by the law of
the United Kingdom and affording the
same level of protection as that provided for in Regulation
(EC) No 6/2002. The term of protection of
that right under the law of the United Kingdom shall be at
least equal to the remaining period of
protection referred to in Article 11(1) of that Regulation
of the corresponding unregistered
Community design.
Article 54
Continued protection of databases
1. The holder of a right in relation to a database in
respect of the United Kingdom in accordance
with Article 7 of Directive 96/9/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council34 which arose
before the end of the transition period shall in relation to
that database maintain an enforceable
intellectual property right in respect of the United Kingdom
as provided for by the law of the
United Kingdom and affording the same level of protection as
that provided for in Directive
96/9/EC, provided that the holder of that right continues to
comply with the requirements of
Article 11 of that Directive. The term of protection of that
right under the law of the United
Kingdom shall be at least equal to the remaining period of
protection referred to in Article 10 of
Directive 96/9/EC.
2. The following persons and undertakings shall be deemed to
comply with the requirements of
Article 11 of Directive 96/9/EC:
(a) United Kingdom nationals;
(b) persons with a habitual residence in the United Kingdom;
(c) undertakings formed in accordance with the law of the
United Kingdom and having their
registered office, central administration or principal place
of business within the United
Kingdom; where such an undertaking has only its registered
office in the United
Kingdom, its operations must be genuinely linked on an
ongoing basis with the economy
of the United Kingdom.
TITLE VII
DATA AND INFORMATION PROCESSED OR OBTAINED BEFORE THE END OF
THE TRANSITION
PERIOD, OR ON THE BASIS OF THIS AGREEMENT
Article 66
Definition
For the purposes of this Title, "Union law on the
protection of personal data" means:
(a) Regulation (EU) 2016/679, with the exception of Chapter
VII thereof;
(b) Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and
of the Council81
;
(c) Directive 2002/58/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council82
;
(d) any other provisions of Union law governing the
protection of personal data.
Article 67
Protection of personal data
Union law on the protection of personal data shall apply in
the United Kingdom in respect of the
processing of personal data of data subjects outside the
United Kingdom, provided that the personal
data:
(a) were processed in accordance with Union law in the
United Kingdom before the end of the
transition period; or
(b) are processed in the United Kingdom after the end of the
transition period on the basis of
this Agreement.
Article 68
Requests for assistance
Article 61(1) to (7) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article
50 of Directive (EU) 2016/680 shall apply
in respect of requests for assistance received before the
end of the transition period.
Article 69
Confidential treatment and restricted use of data and
information
Without prejudice to Article 67, the provisions of Union law
on confidential treatment, restriction of
use, storage limitation and requirement to erase data and
information shall apply in respect of data
and information obtained by the United Kingdom either before
the end of the transition period or on
the basis of this Agreement.
Article 70
Information security
1. The provisions of Union law on the protection of EU and
Euratom classified information as well
as the Agreement between the Member States of the European
Union, meeting within the
Council, regarding the protection of classified information
exchanged in the interests of the
European Union83 shall apply in respect of information
obtained by the United Kingdom or
obtained from the United Kingdom by the Union or a Member
State either before the end of the
transition period or on the basis of this Agreement.
2. The obligations resulting from Union law regarding
industrial security shall apply to the United
Kingdom where the tendering, contracting or grant award
procedure was launched before the
end of the transition period.
3. The United Kingdom may continue to use cryptographic
products for the protection of EU and
Euratom classified information, provided those products were
configured and approved before
the end of the transition period.
4. Regarding cryptographic products referred to in paragraph
3, the United Kingdom shall ensure
that:
(a) the cryptographic products are used solely for the
protection of information referred to
in paragraph 1;
(b) the cryptographic products are not removed from its
territory;
(c) for the purpose of disposal, the cryptographic products
are handed over to the crypto
approval authority;
(d) the requirements set out in agreements between a Member
State the national crypto
approval authority of which has approved the cryptographic
product and the United
Kingdom are complied with.
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