On the 1st October 2013 further amendments to the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) will come into force. Some of the most significant changes affect the Patents County Court (PCC) which is to be replaced
The IPEC will retain the same functions as the PCC and transitional provisions in the amendments to the CPR provide that all proceedings which began in the PCC will continue in the IPEC as if they had started there. Additionally, all orders made and anything done in accordance with the PCC will be treated as if they were made or done in the IPEC.
The amendments also introduce changes to the scaling costs which are recoverable for claims in the IPEC. Court fees, costs relating to the enforcement of any court order and wasted costs can now be recovered alongside the scaling costs set out in the CPR.
The PCC has proven to be a popular and effective forum for small and medium size enterprises to enforce their intellectual property rights since it was established in its current form back in 2010. Its replacement with the IPEC is more a case of evolution than revolution and it will continue to provide IP owners with an accessible court that also better reflects the range of IP proceedings that can be brought before it.
On the 1st October 2013 further amendments to the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) will come into force. Some of the most significant changes affect the Patents County Court (PCC) which is to be replaced with the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC), which will sit as a specialist list of the Chancery Division of the High Court
The IPEC will retain the same functions as the PCC and transitional provisions in the amendments to the CPR provide that all proceedings which began in the PCC will continue in the IPEC as if they had started there. Additionally, all orders made and anything done in accordance with the PCC will be treated as if they were made or done in the IPEC.
The amendments also introduce changes to the scaling costs which are recoverable for claims in the IPEC. Court fees, costs relating to the enforcement of any court order and wasted costs can now be recovered alongside the scaling costs set out in the CPR.
The PCC has proven to be a popular and effective forum for small and medium size enterprises to enforce their intellectual property rights since it was established in its current form back in 2010. Its replacement with the IPEC is more a case of evolution than revolution and it will continue to provide IP owners with an accessible court that also better reflects the range of IP proceedings that can be brought before it.