By: Christie McGuinness
In a historic referendum on June 23, 2016, Britain voted to leave the European Union, which many are crediting to a rise in xenophobia, extreme nationalism, and anti-Immigration sentiment. Whatever the reasons for the vote, it is certain this vote saw a drastic divide between age groups with younger British citizens typically voting to remain in the European Union. Scotland has already stated that a new vote on independence is sure to happen now that Great Britain is no longer a member of the European Union.
As is already seen in the economy today, the world has reacted in a negative way to the news of the “Brexit.” In an article by Thomson Reuters, it noted “[g]lobal markets reeled on Friday after Britain voted to leave the European Union, with $2 trillion in value wiped from equity bourses worldwide, while money poured into safe-haven gold and government bonds. Sterling suffered a record plunge.” In addition, “Britain’s big banks took a $100 billion battering, with Lloyds, Barclays and RBS plunging as much as 30 perfect.” These are just the overnight implications of the vote.
Other ways this vote will likely impact the average citizens is:
• Buying goods or services from other countries will become more expensive
• Mortgages could increase by up to a thousand pounds a year
• Value of houses will decline
• Vacations will be more expensive
Important for businesses, this vote could mean:
• Higher inflation
• Higher interest rates
• Potential recession in Britain
• Trade with other EU countries could be stalled because of likely tariffs
This vote impacts also the Intellectual Property rights of many companies because of EU-wide regulations.
• “European Union Trade Markets (EUTMs) would not be valid in the UK therefore current trademark-holders would have to register for national trademark protections.”
• Registered Community Designs would not be valid in the UK.
• Although patents would still be protected/governed by the European Patent Office, Britain would lose Supplementary Protection Certificates because those are governed by EU law.
• British courts will no longer be able to grant EU-wide injunctive relief for alleged violations of these Intellectual Property rights.
Many of these concerns must be addressed when Britain starts the formal negotiation process with the European Union for an agreement on the terms of Britain’s departure. This will hopefully provide clarity to the many ripple effects created by this vote.