Post- Brexit plot twist: UKCA-mark no more?

Published

Aug 04 2023

Written By

Senior Associate
UK

I am a senior associate in the Intellectual Property Group in London, with a focus on regulatory and commercial matters primarily in the life sciences and healthcare sectors.

Ewan Grist

Partner
UK

I am a partner in our Intellectual Property practice based in London, specialising in IP enforcement and litigation across a range of rights including patents, trade marks, designs and confidential information. I frequently act in complex litigation (often with a cross border element) before the IPEC, High Court, Court of Appeal and CJEU, as well as in proceedings before the EUIPO/UKIPO. I also advise on international customs enforcement programmes and detentions.

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Recent updates to the official guidance regarding the use of the UKCA-mark suggest that the UK Government intends to extend, indefinitely, its recognition of the EU’s CE-mark for placing a broad range of categories of goods on the market in Great Britain.

Further to our previous update, it appears from the latest update (made on 1 August 2023) to the UK Government’s UKCA-marking guidance, that the CE-marking affixed to a large number of categories of products to be placed on the Great Britain market will continue to be recognised, indefinitely, beyond December 2024.

While detailed guidance has not yet been published, this U-turn in post-Brexit regulation effectively does away with the requirement to affix a UKCA-mark on certain products being placed on both the EU and the Great Britain markets from January 2025.

This change in policy affects many products, including machinery, radio equipment, low voltage electrical equipment, personal protective equipment (PPE), toys, measuring instruments, etc. Note that certain categories of goods, such as medical devices, will be subject to specific guidance yet to be published.

Should you have any questions regarding the above or any other product compliance regulatory matter in the UK or abroad, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.