The campaign on Brexit has been like a game of deal or no deal. The plan is to follow through with Brexit on 29th March 2019 if all goes to plan. Thereafter there will be a 21 month transition period where citizens, businesses and the UK Government can keep all their current rights until approximately 31st December 2020. However there is still a no deal status so it is very unlikely that this plan will follow through. Brexit will impact rights to live and work, the movement of goods and services and copyrights – all related to the creative industries. Here is what will happen to logo designers and other creatives if Brexit goes ahead.
Rights To Live & Work
Something that is worrying many people who are currently living in the UK is their right to stay in the UK. There is currently free movement to work and live if you are a citizen of a country who is a member of the EU. This has created job opportunities, especially those in the creative industries like logo designers. It has been cemented that those who have lived and worked in the UK for more than 5 years will get to stay here permanently however if you have lived here less you will have to apply for residency. The creative industry relies on this free movement of work as many people freelance and can work for lots of companies all over the EU. For example a logo designer from Spain can work for a British company. This industry is extremely prosperous at the moment with lots of new technologies introducing new jobs for those with a creative eye and talented flare. It has been revealed that the reliance on freelance creatives has risen from 75% to 83% in the past year due to budget cuts in their own departments. Brexit could really hinder British companies if they cannot employee talent from other countries.
Movement Of Goods & Services
This is a tricky one for the creative. What logo designers do is deliver a service but what they are actually doing is creating a product that can be visible online all over the world. At the moment products can circulate freely around the EU giving logo designers many more opportunities for jobs and experience. It is unclear how this will be impacted when Brexit comes into action – but products and services wont have the freedom to circulate like they do now. This will introduce a whole host of new issues – how will a company be able to prove that their product – a logo for example- was made in the UK? This is incredible
Copyright Laws
Another difficult subject for those in the creative industries. At the moment all logo designers in the UK are protected by British and EU design laws. Designers must apply for a right to design however, interestingly enough – if they don’t their designs are still protected for 15 years in Britain and 3 years in EU. However with the introduction of Brexit – this will risk the protection of many well known logo designs all over the UK – impacting a large amount of business
So it looks like a lot has yet to be decided and we will have to wait until December 2020 to have a definite idea of what the future holds for the creative industries in Europe.
James Holloway is a journalist covering European politics, economic developments, and cross-border relations. His work focuses on policy changes, trade agreements, and key events shaping Europe’s future.
