Small IP Claims Update

 

Royal Courts of Justice

Photo Michael Reeve
Source Wikipedia

Creative Commons Licence

Jane Lambert

It is not often that one receives an accolade from a client. Usually, if a client wins, it is down to the natural justice of the case and nothing to do with the eloquence or preparation of the advocate. If the client loses, it's all the lawyer's fault.

So it was lovely to receive thanks from a public access client earlier this week whose case in the small IP claims track has just been resolved to his satisfaction. The client said that it actually took him a very long time to find someone who truly understands IP the way I do, especially in relation to e-commerce and added that there is certainly a market there for me to tackle.

Although the case was in the small claims track it was not an easy one.  Had the claim not settled a novel point of law would have to have been decided and there were also procedural issues that required several preliminary hearings.

Before 2010 claims like this would have been brought in the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice where the costs on each side would have run into thousands.  Since 2012 it has been possible to run most IP claims where the primary relief sought is an injunction in the small claims track of the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court ("IPEC").  As I said in There's Nothing Small About the Small IP Claims Track 3 Feb 2017 Linkedin, the legal issues in the small claims track can be just as complex as those in the multitrack but the procedure is much simpler and the costs correspondingly lower.

I have updated my Small IP Claims page with two new articles:

•  There's Nothing Small About the Small IP Claims Track 3 Feb 2017 Linkedin which I mentioned above; and
• Five Pernicious Intellectual Property Myths 7 Feb 2017.

Should anyone wish to discuss this article or IP enforcement in general, call me on 020 7404 5252 during office hours or send me a message through my contact form.