This talk was organised by the UCL Institute of Brand and Innovation Law
About this event
The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (REULA) received Royal Assent in June 2023 and will enter into force on 1 January 2024. While original plans for a post-Brexit ‘bonfire of EU laws’ were abandoned, the new Act still abolishes certain now-familiar principles of EU law and introduces provisions intended to make it easier for UK courts to depart from retained EU case law (now re-branded as ‘assimilated law’). While many thousands of pieces of legislation have been saved from the end of year bonfire, the Government clearly sees REULA as the catalyst for future regulatory departure from EU laws.
This conscious uncoupling of UK and EU laws introduces uncertainty in a number of areas, including in relation to intellectual property law, which for so long have been the focus of EU harmonising efforts. Of course, with legislative uncertainty comes the risk of increased litigation, but also, perhaps, offers the UK courts and legislature a welcome opportunity to ditch aspects which just weren’t working for the UK’s IP stakeholders.
In this event, our distinguished panel summarised the key provisions in REULA, highlighted its potential implications for the main IP rights, and reviewed the main opportunities for law reform in this area.
The Speakers
- Dr Ruth Fox, Director of the Hansard Society
- Professor Phillip Johnson, University of Cardiff, Barrister, Appointed Person
- Nina O’Sullivan, Mishcon de Reya LLP
- His Honour Judge James Tindal, Specialist Civil Circuit Judge, Birmingham CJC
Chair: The Rt Hon. Sir Richard Arnold, Lord Justice of Appeal