The General Court has clarified the law on rights of representation before EU courts, but some lawyers think further challenges are possible.
Gregor Kleinknecht, partner at Hunters Law in London – who is qualified in Germany and England and Wales – says it was “abundantly clear” that UK practitioners couldn’t represent parties before the European courts after the end of the Brexit transition period.
“Perhaps the applicant thought it would get around the rules by engaging what the decision calls a ‘patent attorney litigator’,” he says. He points out, however, that existing case law – a 2008 ruling in Imperial Chemical Industries v OHIM – already ruled out that option.
UK lawyers now have an idea of where the cut-off lies – the question is whether the legality of that determination will be further challenged or whether they will cut their General Court losses.
Read the full article in Managing Intellectual Property here.
