The UK government launched a consultation to collect industry views on the future regime for intellectual property exhaustion, published on Monday 7 June.

The government proposes four alternatives to the current EU linked system for a post-Brexit scheme. However, concern grows among UK IP owners as they fear that the option of international exhaustion, whereby UK-based companies would have limited control over sales abroad, may be selected.

Could it cause irrevocable damage? Intellectual property litigation expert Jeremy Blum told Managing IP that an alternative regime like international exhaustion might sound attractive for the lure of supposedly cheaper imported brands, but that it could have a negative effect on innovation by IP owners in the UK.

The consultation closes on Tuesday 31 August, 2021. You can read the full article on the Managing IP website.