The GeordieKat gets a scratch from IPEC as the small claims track comes to town

We are in full election campaigning mode here in the UK.  At the start of campaigning last week the main political parties's messaging was consistent on one thing - a renewed focus on the North (read pretty much anything further north than Luton).  So it was fitting (but completely unrelated) that this afternoon the announcement  that IPEC claims can now be issued and heard across England and Wales - not just London - landed into the AmeriKat's inbox.

According to the announcement:

"From last month, claims in the small claims track (SCT) of the IPEC can be issued and heard across England and Wales in the Business and Property Courts (B&PCs) in Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle, as well as in the Central London County Court in London.

Background
The IPEC is a specialist list in the High Court and one of the courts in the Intellectual Property List in the B&PCs. It provides a streamlined and cheaper way of resolving lower value and less complex intellectual property claims for businesses and individuals. Its small claims track hears the most straightforward intellectual property cases, where less than £10,000 is claimed. Its focus is mainly on claims relating to copyright, designs, passing off and trademarks. The hearings in the small claims track are short and informal, the parties are frequently unrepresented and the loser seldom has to pay the winner’s costs.

While its procedure is based on the usual small claims track rules, IPEC small claims disputes concern not only damages but also non-pecuniary remedies, such as a final injunction or a declaration of non-infringement (though applications for an interim injunction cannot be heard in the IPEC small claims track).


The Guide to the IPEC Small Claims Track is currently being updated to reflect these changes."

Thank you to Mr Justice Birss and the Chancellor of the High Court Judicial Office for alerting the Kat to this welcomed development in improving access to cost efficient IP dispute resolution to the rest of England & Wales.