Patents County Court

In the legal system of Courts of England and Wales, the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC; previously the Patents County Court or PCC) in London is an alternative venue to the High Court for bringing legal actions involving intellectual property matters such as patents, registered designs, trade marks, unregistered design rights and copyright. Hearings are usually conducted in the Thomas More Building at the Royal Courts of Justice site in the Strand or at the Rolls Building, Fetter Lane

Originally established in 1990 by an order made under Section 287 (1) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the intention was that the PCC should be a forum where simpler cases could be dealt with under a cheaper and more streamlined procedure than the High Court. In practice, following the Woolf Reforms of 1998, the streamlined procedure is now available in all courts. One remaining difference was that cases at the PCC can be argued by solicitors or patent attorneys, rather than having to be presented by separate qualified barristers.

In order to revitalise the court and provide some procedural distinction from the High Court, a new set of procedural rules were introduced in Autumn 2010, at the same time that (as he then was) His Honour Colin Birss was appointed as the judge of the PCC. These rules meant that much more detail was required in the particulars of claim (the document that sets out the claimant's case), the procedure as a whole was streamlined further (no disclosure, no examination in chief of expert witness, tight control by the Judge of the issues that go to trial) and financial limits were introduced to both the damages (at £500,000) and the legal costs (at £50,000, with an additional cap per stage) recoverable. Trials should last no more than two days. The revitalised court has been generally viewed as a success.

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