The
Government today confirmed that a new small claims service will be
introduced at the Patent County Court (PCC), helping small and
medium sized businesses protect their copyright, patents, trade
marks and designs.
Currently small firms are often put off enforcing their
Intellectual Property (IP) rights by high costs. The new process
will limit fixed costs and allow damages of up to £5000 per case.
New figures produced today by the Intellectual Property Office
(IPO) estimate that around 150 firms will benefit from the service
every year, providing an annual boost to UK business of £350,000.
The recommendation for a small claims service was made in the
Hargreaves Review of Intellectual Property and Growth.
Since the Review was published in May 2011 the Government has
been looking at building a business case for the service, which
has now been completed meaning it will become a reality.
Minister for Intellectual Property Baroness Wilcox said:
“This is great news for small and medium sized businesses as it
will give them the confidence to stand up and protect their
intellectual property rights. A small claims process means
businesses will not have to fight through lengthy court battles
instead of concentrating on growing their business.
“Businesses know how important it is to protect their rights and
have been calling for changes to be made to the system. The
Government is acting on these concerns because a strong
intellectual property system will enable innovative small
companies to grow and support the UK economy. We hope to have the
new system in place by this time next year.”
Justice Minister Jonathan Djanogly said:
“It is clearly much better for the economy if businesses are
spending their time and money on trading and growth, rather than
on unnecessarily complicated legal processes. That is why we are
modernising the justice system in order to provide simpler,
quicker and more cost efficient ways to resolve disputes."
Evidence presented to the recent Hargreaves Review, Digital
Opportunity: A Review of Intellectual Property and Growth,
indicated that around 1 in 6 (17 per cent) of small and
medium sized businesses had given up attempting to enforce their
rights due to high court costs.
Notes to editors
1. The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is an executive agency
of the Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills (BIS) and
is responsible for the national framework of Intellectual Property
rights, comprising patents, designs, trade marks and copyright.
2. Its role is to help manage an IP system that encourages
innovation and creativity, balances the needs of consumers and
users, promotes strong and competitive markets and is the
foundation of the knowledge-based economy.
3. It operates in a national and an international environment and
its work is governed by national and international law, including
various international treaties relating to Intellectual Property
(IP) to which the United Kingdom is a party.
4. Changes to the legal system for IP cases since June 2010 have
included new limits on costs (£50,000) and damages (£500,000) in
the Patents County Court.
5. The limits were implemented following a report by Lord Justice
Jackson in his review of Civil Litigation Costs on 14 January 2010.
6. Although recent reforms have improved the cost of taking
smaller IP cases to court, a business with a legal case worth less
than £5,000 could still face costs of up to £50,000 to get a
judgement against an infringer.
7. In the past some companies were put off protecting their
rights due to the cost. Supporting evidence to the Hargreaves
Review of Intellectual Property and Growth highlighted that
around 1 in 6 (17 per cent) of small and medium sized businesses
had given up attempting to enforce their rights.
8. The Central London County Court is designated as a Patents
County Court.
9. The Hargreaves Review of Intellectual Property and Growth, and
the Government’s response can be found at www.ipo.gov.uk/types/hargreaves.
10. Supporting documents highlighting enforcement issues of IP
can be found at www.ipo.gov.uk/ipreview.
11. For further information on the Patents County Court, please
visit the IPO website www.ipo.gov.uk.
12. For further information, please contact Dan Palmer on 0207
215 5303 or e-mail comunications@ipo.gov.uk.
Contacts:
BIS Press Office
NDS.BIS@coi.gsi.gov.uk
Dan Palmer
Phone: 020 7215 5303
dan.palmer@bis.gsi.gov.uk