Dear UK nationals in Slovakia,

It was great to meet some of you in person at our public meetings in the spring when we expected Brexit to happen on 29 March and then on 12 April.

As you will know, Boris Johnson has succeeded Teresa May as Prime Minister. In his first address to Parliament, the Prime Minister confirmed that the UK will leave the EU on 31 October.

Whilst the UK government would prefer to leave with a deal, no deal remains a very real prospect. It is therefore essential that you register your residence with the Slovak Foreigners Police if you have not already done so. We would advise you to do this as soon as possible, as there is likely to be increased demand in the autumn as new international students arrive and the Brexit date gets nearer.

The Prime Minister gave a clear guarantee to EU nationals living in the UK, thanking them for their contribution to UK society, guaranteeing their right to live and remain in the UK, and reassuring them that their status will never be used as a bargaining chip. Like other British embassies across the EU, our team here have been working hard to ensure that our host countries reciprocate the UK’s offer in full and communicate these reassurances and actions to UK nationals across Europe.

The Slovak government passed it’s own ‘No Deal’ legislation in March to fully reciprocate the UK’s offer and allow UK residents to continue to live, work, study and do business in Slovakia, as long as they registered their residence before Brexit. You should by now have received a letter direct from the Slovak Foreigners Police. If you have not, please get in touch with your local Slovak Foreigners Police to register as soon as you can.

In addition, the Slovak No Deal legislation also provides for continuing current arrangements for reciprocal healthcare, pensions, recognition of qualifications and social security at least until the end of 2020. In the absence of a deal, this will provide some continuity until the longer-term arrangements beyond 2020 are agreed.

The Slovak No Deal Act also provides for recognition of UK issued driving licences in Slovakia in a no deal scenario. So there is no immediate need to exchange your driving licence for a Slovak one, but we recommend you consider doing so after 6 months of being resident in Slovakia. This is because, if you no longer have a UK address, you will not be able to renew your UK driving licence when it comes up for renewal. However, if you exchange your UK licence for a Slovak one, you will, in future, be able to exchange your Slovak licence for a UK one if you need to.

Please continue to check our Living in Slovakia Guide for the latest information and sign up to email alerts.

There is more detail and advice in the guide, but the key things for you now are:

• correctly register as a resident in Slovakia (if you have not already done so)
• check your passport is valid for travel (after Brexit, in the absence of a deal, you will need a certain amount of validity left on your passport to comply with Schengen rules when travelling)
• pets: depending on whether your pet has a UK or an EU pet passport, and whether you intend to travel with your pet after Brexit, there may be actions you need to take now (for example blood tests needing to be taken in advance of travel). Please check our Living in Slovakia Guide for more information.

The Living in Slovakia Guide is your first port of call for advice, but if you have any specific questions, there is a telephone line and email service. You can find details in the Contact Section of the British Embassy website and you can follow the Embassy on Facebook and Twitter.

We will continue to do everything we can to keep you updated. Protecting the rights of UK nationals in the EU is an absolute priority for the UK government.

Yours faithfully,

Kimberly Gillingham

Chargé d’Affaires

British Embassy

Bratislava

5 August 2019

Global corporation Toshiba has found itself at the centre of a landmark legal moment that will feature in the timeline of UK trade mark history. The organisation is the first to have its distinctive multimedia ‘motion’ mark (a moving trade mark) registered under changes to UK trade mark law implemented in January this year.

Whilst it has been possible to register motion marks before this, submissions were required to be illustrated graphically. Under the new system, applicants can now submit their moving, hologram or sound trade mark using a multimedia file.

View the Toshiba registered multimedia motion mark.

Tim Moss, Chief Executive of the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) said:

Trade marks are likely to become increasingly innovative in the digital age, as organisations explore imaginative ways of reflecting their distinctive brand personalities using creative intellectual property.

Under the amended trade mark law, submission of motion marks, hologram trade marks and sound marks via multimedia format now enables examiners to see exactly what the creator of the mark intended.

Worldwide corporation Toshiba was the first to have its multimedia motion mark registered in the UK under the new system. Based on the art of paper folding known as Origami, the graphic motif was created by the company to reflect the Toshiba brand.

Matt McDowell, Head of Communications, Toshiba Europe, said:

We are thrilled and honoured to be the first brand to legally protect our motion mark in the UK using a multimedia graphic representation. The Toshiba brand is synonymous with innovation and reliability and this initiative further demonstrates that our brand identity guides the business in both our communications and our behaviours in delivering our brand promise.

As a forward-looking and entrepreneurial company, we have developed a new brand identity that provides a strong and consistent framework for all communication. This is more than just a refreshed logo. Our communication strategy is a content centric, digital first strategy, and because of this, we believed it was essential to trademark all aspects of the brand, including our motion mark.

Toshiba applied for its multimedia motion mark via London based Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys, Marks and Clerk.

Jason Chester, Associate and Chartered (UK) and European Trade Mark Attorney at Marks & Clerk said:

The filing of the UK’s first multimedia ‘motion mark’ is a milestone in the history of UK trade mark law and we are proud to have worked with Toshiba to be part of it. The Bass & Co. Pale Ale triangle logo made history when it became the first UK trade mark registration in 1876 and is still in use today. We hope that people are still talking about the Toshiba multimedia motion mark in 142 years’ time, when branding is likely to have taken on further new dimensions.

The UK’s first hologram trade mark has been registered – by Google – under the updated law, but the first sound mark is yet to be registered under the new system.

The Hannay Partnership Limited was wound up on 2 August 2019 by District Judge Matharu at the High Court in Manchester following an investigation by the Insolvency Service. The Official Receiver has been appointed as liquidator.

At the hearing to consider the petition to wind up the company, the court heard that the Hannay Partnership, incorporated in March 2013, claimed to publish three quarterly magazines in support of the emergency services, entitled “To the Rescue”, “Survivor” and “On Call”.

From February 2015, the company cold-called local companies, societies and schools to sell advertising space in its magazines generating, on average, around £7,500 per week. However, sales staff made a variety of false and misleading claims to prospective advertisers in order to secure their business.

These claims included staff pretending to be members of the emergency services, misrepresenting the print runs and circulations of the magazines, and claiming that the proceeds from the publications were used for the benefit of the emergency services.

Insolvency Service investigators were told that the company produced 6,000 magazines per year across all editions, which were then distributed to emergency service premises for free.

The investigation found, however, that the company printed 450 magazines in total in 2017, and only 200 during 2018. Investigators found no evidence that the magazines were distributed to emergency service personnel, or that any financial contribution had been made by the company to the services or associated charities.

Scott Crighton, Chief Investigator for the Insolvency Service, said:

The Hannay Partnership manipulated the national goodwill towards our emergency services, using deliberately misleading practices to secure revenue that was then not used for the advertised purposes.

We welcome the court’s decision to wind up the Hannay Partnership in the public interest, stopping this unscrupulous behaviour in its tracks and ensuring that businesses and individuals that choose to contribute financially to our emergency services can do so in confidence that their donations will be passed on.

Members of the public who have been affected by the actions of the Hannay Partnership can contact the Official Receiver at piu.north@insolvency.gov.uk quoting CIB57536, with details of their case.

The Hannay Partnership Ltd (Company Number 08435649).

The petition was presented under s124A of the Insolvency Act 1986 on 3 May 2019 by the Insolvency Service on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The Official Receiver was appointed as provisional liquidator of the companies on 15 May 2019 by HHJ Hodge QC, a Judge of the High Courts of Justice Business and Property Courts in Manchester.

Company Investigations, part of the Insolvency Service, uses powers under the Companies Act 1985 to conduct confidential fact-finding investigations into the activities of live limited companies in the UK on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Further information about live company investigations is available here.

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available here.

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:

Businesses can apply for development contracts in a range of sectors, to help public sector organisations and government departments use innovation to solve their problems.

Wave Energy Scotland – feasibility studies

Wave Energy Scotland is aiming to reduce the duration, cost and risk of offshore operations for early stage wave energy converters.

This competition focusses on the technology and operations used to make the connection between a wave energy device and its moorings and/or electrical system.

The competition is open for applications and closes at midday on 16 September 2019.

CivTech 4.0 challenges

CivTech, part of the Scottish Government’s digital directorate, has launched a number of challenges offering SBRI funding. There are 11 challenges all running on separate deadlines.

UK Seafood Innovation Fund

The Seafood Innovation Fund is a 3-year, £10 million research and development (R&D) fund focusing on:

• delivering longer term, cutting-edge innovation across the seafood sector
• helping to take innovative ideas from early stage research to commercial viability

This competition aims to support the development and testing of innovative technologies across a range of sector areas including:

• primary producers
• onshore supply chains
• marine and diadromous fisheries
• marine and land-based aquaculture

There are 2 options for applicants:

• smaller feasibility studies designed to test new ideas (proof of concept) and can be up to a maximum £50,000 value and 3 months’ duration
• larger full R&D projects for more developed ideas, up to a maximum value of £250,000 and 18 months’ duration

The competition is open and the closing date is midday on 12 September.

2019 CRACK IT challenges

NC3Rs has announced 3 new challenges for 2019:

• Sharp and to the point – developing needles for high throughput and critical compound administration in mice
• CleanCut – animal free tumourigenicity assessment of genome edited human haematopoietic stem cells
• Transgene Track – development of a sensitive absolute quantification method for tracking AAV gene therapies and CAR-T cells in vivo

Point-of-care diagnostics at the frontline

The Defence and Security Accelerator is seeking proposals for innovative ‘point of care’ diagnostics technologies that provide earlier diagnosis, improved treatment and long-term health outcomes for individuals exposed to chemical and biological hazards.

The competition is open and closes on 26 September 2019 at midday.

The British Embassy in Zagreb held meetings across Croatia to update British citizens working and living in the country and answering their questions regarding Britain’s departure from the European Union.

In our team’s continuous effort to reach as many British expats in Croatia as possible, we will be announcing further outreach meetings here and via direct email and social media channels. Should you wish to receive such emails please subscribe by writing to ukcitizensincroatia@britishembassy.hr.

Previous British citizens outreach meetings

Further British citizens outreach meetings

The meetings are free and once you’ve registered, you will receive a confirmation email that includes the precise location of the meeting. The meetings will start with a short introduction to update you on the progress made so far in the negotiations and will be followed by a Q&A session.

For questions concerning your rights as a British citizen in Croatia contact us.

If you have any suggestions for other towns and places that could host our citizens outreach meetings, please email ukcitizensincroatia@britishembassy.hr.

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