BREXIT-Time to Analyze Your EU Contracts?
Many US companies have entered into licensing agreements, distributorship agreements, or other commercial agreements that set out what they or another party may or may not do in the “European Union.” Historically, countries joined the European Union but they did not depart. Of course, with BREXIT, the constituent countries of the European Union will change when the United Kingdom departs. Consequently, now is a good time for parties to these types of agreements to review them and give some thought as to how they might be construed with the changing composition of the European Union and whether a contract amendment would be appropriate. Furthermore, in light of the closeness of the Scottish Independence Referendum in 2014 and other independence movements within the United Kingdom, it would also be wise to review contracts that set out what a party may or may not do in the “United Kingdom” or “Great Britain.”