On the 1 October 2013 the previously known Patents County Court
(PCC) completed its restructure and will now be known as the
Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC).
The principles behind the restructure is to make it clear that the
court hears claims in connection with all sorts of intellectual
property rights, including trade marks, patents, designs, copyright
and passing off and not just patents as the old name
suggested.
In October 2010 the now old PCC was subject to radical reforms
which resulted in resounding success. The reforms included
the PCC's costs cap structure, a maximum two day trial length
and active case management that resulted in the number of claims
issued in this court more than doubling over the past three
years.
The key reforms enabled parties to bring claims who would normally
be put off by the likely costs and time span involved in litigating
in the High Court and has provided another valuable way for rights
owners to protect their intellectual property rights.
The IPEC will continue the good work of the PCC but its
restructure has brought in a number of additional benefits. A
summary of the key reforms include:
- The court handles claims in connection with a whole range of intellectual property rights.
- All cases issued are subject to a cost recovery cap of £50,000 for the winning party (for the liability stage of proceedings) and damages awarded will not exceed £500,000.
- The court operates a small claims track for claims where damages will not exceed £10,000.
- Trials are heard by specialist judges.
- It is not a county court, but a specialist list of the Chancery Division of the High Court.
- Active case management procedures, such as issued based disclosure and limitations on evidence, provide for a more streamlined and proportionate justice system with both applications and trials being dealt with on paper, without a hearing, and some cases being resolved in just a few months from start to finish.
DMH Stallard has worked with a number of clients guiding them
through the old PCC and has a detailed understanding of the
processes under the new restructured IPEC.
Sarah Cook, Associate in the firms dedicated IP Group
commented,
"From our experience, the IPEC is far more beneficial to
businesses looking into the option of litigating in this court
because of the cap on adverse costs and because of the court's
ability to hear claims more expeditiously."
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