NIPC News

Royal Courts of Justice Author:  Aurelien Guichard   Licence:  CC BY-SA 2.0   Source:  Wikimedia   Jane Lambert The presiding judge of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal is the Master of the Rolls.  It is a very important office.  Previous incumbents such as Lord Denning and Lord Woolf  have greatly influenced the development of the law.   The present Master of the Rolls is Sir Geoffrey Vos.   According to the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary website , his successor is to be the Chancellor, Sir Colin Birss. Sir Colin has held many important judicial offices over the years, but I would argue that one of his most significant achievements was the relaunch of the Patents County Court in 2010.   The court had been established by the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 to resolve patent and design disputes between small and medium enterprises.  Despite the high hopes of those who promoted it, the court wa...

Author Basher Eyre Licence CC BY-SA 2.0  Source Wikipedia, Rolls Buildin g Jane Lambert Congratulations to Richard Meade QC on his appointment to the High Court bench (see the Judicial Appointments Commission press releas e of 4 Sept 2020).  He will take up his appointment on Monday.   As I said in  Appointments to the Court of Appeal   2 Aug 2020, Sir Colin Birss's elevation to the Court of Appeal gad left a vacancy in the Patents Court. It will now be filled by Richard Meade. Interestingly. the JAC press release stated that more High Court judge announcements will be made as the year progresses. In yesterday's communication to members of the IP Bar Association, Daniel Alexander QC congratulated Richard Meade and Sir Colin Birss but also reminded us of other appointments.  The Chancellor, Sir Geoffrey Vos, will be the new Master of the Rolls.   Simon Clark, Philip Harris and Brian Whitehead have been appointed to hear ...