News

June 17, 2011

Cost of patent cases cut for small firms

Small businesses are set to benefit from new legislation making it less costly for them to protect their patent and design rights.

Under the new rules, small firms claiming damages of up to £500,000 will be dealt with in the patents county court (PCC). Previously, cases of this level could face litigation in either the PCC or high court – with unknown financial outlay.

The change in law means that lower value, less complicated cases – which typically involve small firms – will now automatically fall into the jurisdiction of the less expensive PCC.

According to the Intellectual Property Office, firms might have been deterred from protecting their rights in the past due to uncertainty over legal costs.

Forum of Private Business spokesman Chris Gorman welcomed the new legislation. “Prohibitive court costs have obviously deterred small-business owners from taking action up to now, even where they may have had a strong legal case to support them,” he said. “Capping the limit will help reassure business owners that their legal costs will not spiral out of control.”

Minister for Intellectual Property Baroness Wilcox said the changes would help small businesses and encourage them to innovate. “It will provide clarity over the legal processes, certainty over the risks and give small enterprises the confidence to stand on an equal footing with financially stronger companies,” she said.

Work is also now underway to expand the law further so the damages cap will cover cases of copyright and trademarks in the PCC.

• Patent system allows big business to "hijack" small firms' ideas