IP 'small claims' service is launched
16 November 2011
The government has confirmed that a new small claims service will be introduced at the Patents County Court (PCC), helping small and medium sized businesses protect their copyright, 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 £5,000 per case.
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.
Evidence presented to the recent Hargreaves Review, Digital Opportunity: A Review of Intellectual Property and Growth, indicated that around one in six (17 per cent) of small and medium sized businesses had given up attempting to enforce their rights due to high court costs.
Supporting documents highlighting enforcement issues of IP can be found here. For further information on the Patents County Court, click here.