Conference on intellectual property litigation

Last week, I spoke at the 2nd edition of LITCON – a CII conference on intellectual property (IP) litigation. The theme was cost effective strategies for managing IP rights litigation in multi-jurisdictions. My talk focused on the UK’s specialist court established for handling IP disputes involving small claims – the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC). Whilst India does not already have such an institution, the draft national IP rights policy has recommended the inclusion of a specialised patent bench at each of the four High Courts in Mumbai, Kolkata, New Delhi, and Chennai.

The IPEC handles disputes in four types of intellectual property rights – copyright, patents, designs, and trade marks. Richard Hacon is the presiding judge. The court tackles smaller, shorter, less complex and lower value IP cases. Also, the court offers a cost-effective avenue for small and medium enterprises. For a claim of upto £300, the fee for starting the case would be £35 whilst the hearing fee, even lower, £25. There are two tracks based on the claim amount sought – small (upto £10,000) and multi (upto £500,000). Examples of intellectual property cases at IPEC include revocation or invalidity of patents, designs, and trade marks, misuse of trade secrets, and employee’s compensation with regard to a patented invention. After the hearing, if you do not agree with the judge’s decision, you may choose to appeal before another judge from the same court, Court of Appeal, or Chancery Division of the High Court. The IPEC’s decisions on previous cases can be found here.

With campaigns such as Start Up India, Stand Up India and Make in India gathering momentum, the creation of specialist IP courts, similar to the IPEC, would facilitate the expeditious and efficient disposal of small value disputes. I can imagine what an enormous relief this could be for small and medium-sized businesses!