EU business: data protection and copyright
Find out what EU businesses need to do with data protection, intellectual property and copyright in the UK.
This page sets out what EU businesses need to consider when transferring data to and from the UK.
For more EU business information, visit gov.uk/eubusiness.
Transferring personal data to the UK
The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement contains a bridging mechanism that allows the continued free flow of personal data from the EU/EEA to the UK after the transition period, until adequacy decisions come into effect, for up to 6 months.
EU adequacy decisions for the UK would allow for the ongoing free flow of data from the EEA to the UK.
Copyright and unregistered designs
Changes to EU cross-border copyright mechanisms may affect your business. Make sure you have the right permissions from 1 January 2021.
Check changes to copyright law.
You may not have protection for unregistered designs if you do not disclose your designs correctly.
Check the new rules for unregistered design protection in the UK and EU.
Intellectual property
If you export Intellectual Property protected goods, check the new rules for parallel exporting. You may need to contact the rights holder to get permission to continue after 1 January 2021.
You should check the new rules for registered address requirements for intellectual property rights in the UK from 1 January 2021.
Last updated 5 January 2021 + show all updates
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Updated with the latest information on transferring personal data to the UK.
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Added translations for Dutch, French, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish.
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First published.