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 however is that cases at the PCC can be argued by solicitors or patent agents, rather than having to be presented by separate qualified barristers (though a patent agent also has right of audience in the Patents Court in appeals from the Patent Office; a patent agent holding a Litigator Certificate has right of audience in any case before the Patents Court and in the court of appeal in appeals from the Patents Court).
Formally, the PCC has the status of a county court; however there is no restriction on the complexity of cases it can hear, nor the levels of damages and costs it can award. Cases can be transferred from the PCC list to be heard by the High Court at the discretion of the PCC; the High Court also routinely transfers cases from its list to the PCC. As with the High Court, appeals from PCC decisions (if leave to appeal is granted) are heard by the Court of Appeal.
Since Autumn 2001, the judge appointed to the PCC has been Judge Michael Fysh QC. Cases are heard by the judge or an appointed deputy judge.
References
External links
- The Work of the Patents County Court by Judge Michael Fysh QC, (Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre (OIPRC) Working Paper Series No 3, February 2003).
- UK Patents County Court - Phoenix Risen? by Michael Burdon, partner at Olswang solicitors, (Patents World, July/August 2003).
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Sunday May 25, 2008 at 18:38:38 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation
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 however is that cases at the PCC can be argued by solicitors or patent agents, rather than having to be presented by separate qualified barristers (though a patent agent also has right of audience in the Patents Court in appeals from the Patent Office; a patent agent holding a Litigator Certificate has right of audience in any case before the Patents Court and in the court of appeal in appeals from the Patents Court).
Formally, the PCC has the status of a county court; however there is no restriction on the complexity of cases it can hear, nor the levels of damages and costs it can award. Cases can be transferred from the PCC list to be heard by the High Court at the discretion of the PCC; the High Court also routinely transfers cases from its list to the PCC. As with the High Court, appeals from PCC decisions (if leave to appeal is granted) are heard by the Court of Appeal.
Since Autumn 2001, the judge appointed to the PCC has been Judge Michael Fysh QC. Cases are heard by the judge or an appointed deputy judge.
References
External links
- The Work of the Patents County Court by Judge Michael Fysh QC, (Oxford Intellectual Property Research Centre (OIPRC) Working Paper Series No 3, February 2003).
- UK Patents County Court - Phoenix Risen? by Michael Burdon, partner at Olswang solicitors, (Patents World, July/August 2003).
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Sunday May 25, 2008 at 18:38:38 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation
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