Jurisdiction(s):
European Union

EUIPO v Nowhere (CJEU): pre-Brexit UK rights cannot ground EU trade mark challenges; only rights subsisting at final decision can support oppositions or invalidity

Published on: 06 March 2026

Published by a LexisNexis EU Law expert

Legal News

Article summary

EUIPO v Nowhere Co Ltd, Case C-337/22 P, ECLI:EU:C:2026:71

What are the practical implications of this case?

The most immediate practical implication for parties in EUIPO contentious trade mark disputes is that the judgment finally lays to rest any reliance on UK-founded IP rights created before the Brexit transition ended on 31 December 2020 (IP completion day) as grounds of attack, whether in oppositions or invalidation actions. In effect, it ratifies the EUIPO’s choice to halt, at IP completion day, all unresolved contentious trade mark cases based solely on UK rights, drawing a clear procedural line. Its reach is broader, however. Where a right is not in force on the date the EUIPO issues its decision in contentious trade mark proceedings, it cannot sustain a challenge—be that because of Brexit, revocation, cancellation, or non-renewal. In truth, this largely reaffirms the EUIPO’s settled approach and draws a contrast with equivalent proceedings before the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO). On this point, the IPO and EUIPO have historically been slightly out of step, and this ruling underscores that divergence...

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