Brexit

Brexit and legal consequences on your business: Our team is here to help you!

More than 5 years after the referendum in which the British citizens voted to leave the European Union, the legal consequences of the Brexit are only beginning to become known.

Indeed, there has been a great deal of uncertainty regarding the “break up” terms between the United Kingdom and the European Union since the United Kingdom gave notice of its exit from the Union, leading to complicated negotiations and the risk of a “hard Brexit” or no deal Brexit.

The main legal consequence of the UK’s exit from the EU is the inapplicability of EU legal instruments on British territory.

In fact, European directives are intended to continue to apply in the United Kingdom as long as they have been transposed into English domestic law. On the other hand, European regulations, which are directly applicable in the member states, were destined to have no effect on English territory.

Just in time, the post-Brexit agreement was finally reached and sets out the terms of the divorce between the European Union and our neighbours across the Channel.

It appears today that the consequences of the Brexit are felt beyond the English borders. You may think you are not impacted because you do not have an establishment in the UK or because you do not export to the UK.

However, your activity can be directly or indirectly linked to the UK territory: your computer servers are located there, your subcontractors host your data in a cloud located there, you have a community trademark, which has protected you until now also in the United Kingdom …

In this way, any link between your business and the UK territory, even the most tenuous, may be impacted.

Personalised support

To comply with the new regulations applicable as a result of Brexit, your company may have to take certain administrative steps, particularly with regard to its intellectual property rights. Caution also recommends that companies implement data transfer mechanisms.

Our team is at your disposal to assist you in these steps, to ensure the best possible transition.

Lexing-Belgium can also call upon its English desk to help you.